Decades ago, my father was a tour guide at Independence Hall in Philadelphia. He often remembered the bicentennial year—just a few years before I was born—in 1976. He recalled it as a year-long celebration that saw a huge rise in tourism in Philly. People seemed more interested in US history and the birth of our nation. There were reenactments, parties, fireworks displays, and festivities of all kinds. A few times he'd remarked to me as a child: "Well, you'll be around for the 250th anniversary of our country." And here I am.
We won't be attending any major Fourth of July events this year, but 7/4/26 has been a date planted in my psyche for a very long time now. As far as festivities go, Sonia and I will keep things simple but fun. I mean, we have napkins and plates with red, white, and blue stars. And thanks to Trader Joe's, we have these super duper patriotic cookie bites.
Those of you who've been reading for a while now understand it takes a really special cookie to get a glowing review on this blog. That's not what's going to happen here, unfortunately, but hey I'm down with the fun red, white, and blue theme and there's at least some uniqueness going on here, so let's get down to brass tacks, shall we?
Trader Joe's Red, White & Blue Cookie Bites are tiny balls of crunchy vanilla cookie surrounded by fruit-flavored candy coatings. The red flavor tastes like cherry and the tub is mostly that red flavor for some reason. I think it represents courage, valor, and sacrifice. Or maybe it just stands for cherry. I like the flavor okay, but there is a bit of that cough syrup vibe.
The blue flavor is blueberry-esque. I like it a tad better than its crimson counterpart. Also justice, vigilance, and perseverance are admirable qualities. Go USA.
The white flavor tastes like lemon to me. It's the best of all and there were like five in the entire gigantic tub. Apparently Trader Joe doesn't believe in purity and innocence. I'm kidding. Or am I?
It's going to be hot this Fourth of July, and the candy coating on these cookie bites is going to melt if you take them to a barbecue or outdoor party or something. So...I wish we had like some Trader Joe's Bomb Pops or some other frozen America-themed treat to review today, but I guess you can always do something indoors...in the air conditioning...and hope these vaguely snackable cookies stay solid long enough to try one of each flavor before you say "meh" and hand the tub to the kids.
Should I even score this one? I mean they're not bad. It's just...they're not great either. Someone commented on our YouTube channel "This guy should not be allowed to review cookies." Maybe that's true. I am terribly jaded when it comes to cookies. We've literally reviewed over a hundred types of Trader Joe's brand cookies. Maybe I should refrain from posting negative cookie reviews because normal folks seem to be fond of every cookie that TJ's puts out. Leave your own personal score for these cookies in the comments. Let's just do it that way.
Five bucks for the ten ounce tub. Kosher. Personally, I wouldn't buy Trader Joe's Red, White & Blue Cookie Bites again. Have a great Fourth of July weekend, everybody. Stay safe out there.
Bottom line: America turns 250 years old this weekend and these are red, white, and blue cookie bites.
Looks like we've got another product of Norway here. Apparently Erling Haaland and his teammates have been importing tons of food from their homeland during the World Cup. If only someone had told him about Trader Joe's. He and his Nordic football buddies could have tried this steelhead trout with Trader Joe's Lefse Norwegian Potato Flatbread. I'm sure that combo would have been stellar.
We actually kind of forgot we had Trader Joe's Smoked Steelhead Trout in the back of the fridge and remembered it just in the nick of time. We rediscovered the package on its best by date and quickly downed the entire thing so we didn't risk spoilage. So...no video review on this one, but here are a couple pics and our thoughts:
$5.49 gets you 4 oz of kosher Norwegian steelhead trout. It's a thick slab of smoked fish fillet, very rosy, resembling salmon. There is "color added" according to the ingredients. TJ usually throws us a bone and lets us in on the secret—they're pretty good at not using weird chemicals or dyes and you'll note something along the lines of "turmeric for color" but alas, no such luck with this product. Your guess is as good as mine as to where that pink-orange hue comes from.
Although I've only had legitimate sashimi a couple times in my life, I can confirm the claim on traderjoes.com that the texture of this product is indeed sashimi-esque. It's very much like a slab of raw fish in terms of firmness and mouthfeel, although this one has been smoked. In that sense, it's not unlike smoked salmon lox. In fact, our favorite way to enjoy it was served on toasted sourdough with some cream cheese and Trader Joe's Everything But the Bagel Seasoning.
Flavor-wise, it's a much milder taste than salmon. Sonia and I both love salmon because we like fish that tastes like fish, but every once in a while something a tad more delicate is in order. This is perfect if you don't like fishy fish. The smoke flavor is very apparent, though I wouldn't call it overpowering. It's savory, salty, and satisfying.
Although we wish it were packed in olive oil, Sonia and I both love Trader Joe's canned smoked trout product at least as much as this one. Still, this kosher fish fillet is a great buy if you're looking for a lunchy alternative to lox or salmon. We'll both throw out eight and a half stars for Trader Joe's Smoked Steelhead Trout.
