Top 10 Trader Joe’s Holiday Items

Every Year, Trader Joe’s churns out the creme de la creme of seasonal, holiday goodies. From new takes on Christmas classics to festive remixes of year-round Trader Joe’s products to creative concoctions we’ve never seen before, Trader Joe’s holiday items can’t be beat.

The best Trader Joe’s seasonal items sell out fast, so we grabbed everything we could find the moment we could find it, then sat down, tasted them all, and ranked our favorites. No matter what religion you are, we all belong to the church of loving delicious goodies. Run to TJ’s immediately and try to grab these Trader Joe’s holiday items before it’s January (ew).

Best Adorable

Cookie Mug Hangers

These tiny gingerbread men that hang on the side of your mug are so aesthetically pleasing that I assumed they’d taste horrible. I assumed I couldn’t have it all. I assumed wrong. These look adorable and taste great! The way they hang on your mug turns any coffee into a Christmas coffee. If you adore Christmas, grab a box of these so you can feel festive every single morning. It feels like Santa himself would be a fan of these edible mug ornaments.

Credit: Liv Averett /

Rating:

8/10

Sporks

Best Fruit-Based

Cranberry Butter Cookies

These new cranberry butter cookies are so much better than they look. They aren’t dry like most shortbread cookies. The cranberries add a perfect hint of tart sweetness. These would be absolutely heavenly dunked into hot tea. They are one of the best Trader Joe’s seasonal products.

Credit: Liv Averett

Rating:

8.5/10

Sporks

Best Peppermint

Peppermint Pretzel Slims

If seasonal sweets mean peppermint to you, grab a bag of the Peppermint Pretzel Thins. These are easily one of the best Trader Joe’s seasonal items in stock for the holidays. They’re crunchy, creamy, and perfectly pepperminty. This is the kind of seasonal snack you could eat by the handful because they’re not too filling. And if you’re like me and love the combination of sweet and salty, these definitely hit the spot. It’s the chocolate-covered pretzel you know and love with a holiday twist.

Credit: Liv Averett

Rating:

8.5/10

Sporks

Best for Gifting

Dark Chocolate Covered Peppermint Joe-Joe’s

If you eat more than one of these, you may need to go to the hospital. They are so rich and dense. Plus, if you store them in the fridge like regular Joe-Joe’s, your teeth might break when you go to enjoy them. All this said, they’re worth the danger. The Chocolate Covered Peppermint Joe-Joe’s are phenomenal. They come in a sleek, festive sleeve and make the best host’s gift around the holidays. And if the host is me, maybe show up with two boxes just to be safe.

Credit: Liv Averett

Rating:

9/10

Sporks

Most Surprising

Baton Lover’s Quartet

I had a huge revelation during this taste test: I am a baton lover. I owe an immense amount of thanks to Trader Joe’s holiday items for giving me the Baton Lover’s Quartet. These cream-filled cylindrical cookies are so light and crispy and flavorful. And speaking of flavors, there are four: chocolate orange, hot cocoa, chocolate hazelnut, and classic. I love each one in its own special way, but obviously chocolate orange is the holiday GOAT.

Credit: Liv Averett

Rating:

9.5/10

Sporks

Best Variety Pack

Belgian Cookie Trio

Don’t let the boring packaging fool you: These cookies taste great! The Belgian Cookie Trio contains three different types of cookies that are chocolaty, nutty, and crispy. That’s right, crispy. These are not crunchy. They’re crispy. And if you know you know that crispy cookies are an underrated kind of delicious. I would eat these with cold milk or hot coffee. Their versatility is great. Plus, I feel like I can eat a thousand of them and never get full. Score!

Credit: Liv Averett

Rating:

9.5/10

Sporks

Best Ice Cream Runner-Up

Gingerbread Ice Cream

I’m not crazy about gingerbread, but I am crazy about this gingerbread ice cream from Trader Joe’s. It’s incredible. It packs an insane punch of gingerbread flavor. It’s a ginger-spiced ice cream base with Trader Joe’s Triple Ginger Snap Cookies and a gingerbread swirl. Is that gingerbread-y enough for you?!

Credit: Liv Averett

Rating:

10/10

Sporks

Best Ice Cream

Candy Cane Joe-Joe’s Ice Cream

This is my favorite of the new Trader Joe’s holiday items this year. And when it comes to peppermint ice cream in general, this is one of the best. It takes the candy cane Joe-Joe’s we know and love and mixes them into a swirl of peppermint and vanilla ice cream. The best part is the thick ribbon of fudge in the pint. I could (and did) eat an entire container of this stuff in one sitting. I plan to buy more before December ends.

Credit: Liv Averett

Rating:

10/10

Sporks

Best Candy

Dark Chocolate Sea Salt Caramels

These are perfection. The chocolate is sweet, the caramel is gooey, and there’s plenty of salt. Plus, they come in a cute little box for gifting. These are among my favorite Trader Joe’s seasonal items and I wish they stocked them year-round! Or maybe it’s for the best that they don’t…

Credit: Liv Averett

Rating:

10/10

Sporks

Best Cookie

Candy Cane Joe-Joe’s

When it comes to Trader Joe’s seasonal cookies, Candy Cane Joe-Joe’s reign supreme. They are crunchy, pepperminty, and sweet. They have done a wonderful job replacing the now-discontinued peppermint Oreo, and they’re super affordable to boot. I wait all year for these to come out and then stockpile them when they do. Please don’t tell my girlfriend that boxes of these are hidden all over our house. I can’t help it! They’re the best of all the Trader Joe’s holiday items.

Credit: Liv Averett

Rating:

10/10

Sporks

Other Products We Tried:
Salty Honey Toffee Milk Chocolate Covered Crackers, Mini Dark Chocolate Mint Stars, Minty Chocolate Covered Marshmallows, Gluten Free Joe-Joe’s, Maple Glazed Dougnuts, Mini Peppermint Meringues, Candy Cane Chocolate Covered Almonds, Jingle Jangle, French Apple Tart, Apple Crumble Pie, Cranberry Pistachio Bark, Holiday Shaped Chocolates, Peppermint Mini Ice Cream Cokes, Jingle Jangle Pretzels, Seasonal Scandanavian Swimmers