i went to trader joe’s for holiday snacks.

First, let me admit something that made me feel a little silly: I recently listened to a podcast about the history of Trader Joe’s and only just learned that Trader Joe’s was founded by… a man named Joe. I know. I don’t know what I thought Joe stood for, but here we are. Sometimes you have to own your unawareness.

That realization aside, I recently took a trip to Trader Joe’s to stock up on holiday snacks. I bravely navigated the small, crowded aisles and filled my basket exclusively with sweet, chocolatey, holiday-themed goodness. I looked the cashier directly in the eye as he rang up my purchases – no vegetables, no protein, just seasonal sugar. (Did I have a lie prepared in case he asked if I was hosting a holiday party? Absolutely.)

There were so many festive snacks that narrowing them down was not easy. Here’s what came home with me, and my thoughts on each one.

Peppermint Brookie
This brookie is a brownie base topped with a peppermint-flavored sugar cookie and finished with sugar crystals on top. Going in, I was convinced this would be my favorite. After all, I love brownies and I love cookies. Surprisingly, it didn’t quite live up to my expectations. The sugar cookie layer was a bit overpowering, and I couldn’t really taste much of the brownie underneath. Not bad, just not the standout I was hoping for.

Mini Dark Chocolate Mint Stars
These were perfectly bite-sized and very rich. The chocolate tasted like dark chocolate rather than milk chocolate, and the mint flavor was subtle. They reminded me a bit of Thin Mints, but with less mint. Honestly, they taste exactly like their name: a chocolate-covered cookie. Simple and snackable.

Candy Cane Baton Wafer Cookies
These were an absolute win. Light, crisp, and melt-in-your-mouth, they tasted exactly like a candy cane. The peppermint flavor really came through without being overwhelming. I’d give these five stars and can confidently say I could eat an entire can in one sitting without regret.

Sweet & Salty Snack Mix
According to the bag, this mix includes mini peanut butter-filled pretzel nuggets, half-dipped chocolate-covered potato chips, chocolate-drizzled caramel popcorn, and roasted salted peanuts. In reality, it felt like the mix was mostly popcorn. I had to dig around to find the peanut butter pretzels, and I didn’t spot any peanuts at all, though maybe they were all hiding at the bottom of the bag. It was fine, but not particularly memorable.

Jingly Jangly
This festive mix contains dark chocolate pretzel and Joe-Joe’s cookie bark, mini milk chocolate peanut butter cups, dark chocolate-covered caramel popcorn, and milk chocolate candies. Once again: popcorn. I didn’t love it here, which is saying something because I usually adore popcorn. The chocolate overwhelmed everything else, and the pretzels and cookie bark tasted mostly like, wait for it, chocolate. I didn’t get much salty crunch from them. That said, the mini peanut butter cups were excellent and easily the highlight of the mix.

Hot Cocoa Polar Bear
You really can’t go wrong with hot chocolate since it’s basically just milk and chocolate. That said, this polar bear was large. I used less milk than usual because I was worried the bear would cause a hot cocoa overflow situation. Once it melted, little marshmallows floated to the top, which was charming. Flavor-wise, it tasted more like white chocolate than traditional hot cocoa. My drink also had a faint pink tinge thanks to the bear’s red scarf. At 410 calories per bear, this is definitely an indulgence, but a fun one.

Overall, this Trader Joe’s holiday haul was heavy on chocolate, peppermint, and popcorn. And while not every snack was a hit, a few definitely earned a spot on my will buy again list. If nothing else, it made for a very festive snack week.