New Trader Joe’s Strawberries & Crème Pancake & Waffle Mix, Reviewed

Trader Joe’s has done the impossible: They’ve convinced me that pancake mix deserves to exist. Making pancake and/or waffle batter from scratch isn’t hard, so buying Bisquick seems a little lazy to a breakfast purist like myself. But Trader Joe’s justifies going the mix route by making it interesting. A while back I tried (and really liked) their Ube Mochi Pancake & Waffle Mix. And now they’ve put out something summery that sounded good enough to try: Strawberries & Crème Pancake & Waffle Mix.

The store’s site describes it The Mix is replete with sweetened dried strawberry pieces, exuding the bright, bold flavor of this iconic berry; the addition of white chocolatey chips lends a pleasantly sweet and creamy counterpoint.” Sounds sweet but good. I busted out some milk, eggs, and oil and made a batch of pancakes to find out if this new Trader Joe’s product should find its way into your pantry before it inevitably disappears from shelves.

New Product!

Trader Joe’s Strawberries & Crème Pancake & Waffle Mix

Trader Joe’s

Pros: Like the ube mochi pancake mix, this is a talc-y white powder that comes to life when you add the wet ingredients and mix it up. They added in sweetened strawberry pieces and white chocolate chips this time. And, boy, do the strawberry pieces work. The resulting pancakes and waffles smell and taste like strawberry through and through, but that sweet, tangy flavor is really pronounced when you get one of those morsels. Trader Joe’s markets this as a summertime item, but if you happen to need something to serve at a belated Mother’s Day brunch, this Trader Joe’s pancake mix is just the thing.

Cons: The “creme” is just regular sized white chocolate chips. It’s creative, but it isn’t really practical. Those big honkin’ chips drop straight to the bottom of the mixing bowl. Why not just mix it back up then to fix the problem? Well, in some cruel test of my patience, the batter caused the chips to stick to the sides of my mixing bowl like their lives depended on it. So it was tough to say the least. My other gripe with this product is Trader Joe’s directions. The box said to heat a pan on medium, and that quickly resulted in a burnt hockey puck for my first pancake. (I also added the batter to my teeny-tiny Dash waffle maker and made quite a mess.)

Rating:

8/10

Sporks

The verdict: Practicality isn’t this pancake mix’s strong suit, but it tastes good enough to buy all the same.