Trader Joe's Chocolate Croissants

Four bucks gets you two pre-baked croissants in a cellophane wrapper. I emphasize "pre-baked" because most of the other croissants we've seen from Trader Joe's not only require you to bake the pastry yourself, but they also need to be proofed for up to 12 hours prior to going in the oven. See:

Trader Joe's Double Chocolate Croissants

Trader Joe's 4 Almond Croissants

Trader Joe's 4 Pumpkin Croissants

That's a plus. You don't have to wait a ridiculously long time to eat Trader Joe's Chocolate Croissants. You can have them straight from the package or you can heat them up a bit. But I mean, those previous croissant products were all delicious. I'm telling you they might be the best croissants I've ever had in my life. So these pre-packaged traditional all-butter croissants have their work cut out for them.

And unfortunately, they simply don't hold up to the high standard we've come to expect from Trader Joe's croissants. The bread is good. Flaky, buttery, and airy, the bread tastes fine. But by that same token, it's nowhere near as good as the bread on those other croissants. It might not be fair to compare something that's fresh from the oven to something that's been sitting on a shelf for a few days. But even heated up for a spell, the texture simply can't compete with the croissants you proof and bake yourself.

And the filling? The filling is even worse. Look at that picture. There's barely any chocolate in there. At four bucks, these two croissants didn't exactly break the bank, but I feel totally ripped off. You can barely call these "chocolate" croissants. The aforementioned Double Chocolate Croissants were absolutely bursting at the seams with chocolate flavor.

In true Sonia fashion, she'll be extremely merciful with her scoring, focusing on the convenience and decent buttery bread. The lack of chocolate is really her only complaint. And I must admit I grumbled and moaned about the excessively lengthy proofing and baking process involved with those previous croissant products, but now I see why it's necessary. Good things come to those who wait. So much quality is sacrificed on the altar of convenience with Trader Joe's Chocolate Croissants, and the lack of chocolate filling is just a slap in the face. Would not buy these again.

Sonia's score: 7 out of 10 stars.

Nathan's score: 5 out of 10 stars.

Trader Joe's Hot Honey Popcorn

Hot honey. So hot right now. Sometimes Trader Joe calls it Spicy Honey. Whatever butters your biscuit—or in this case, popcorn.

And this popcorn is indeed buttery. It's almost reminiscent of movie theater popcorn. It's bright yellow like butter. Yet it's sweet like kettle corn. Plus, there's a whisper of spicy heat.

Those of you who know Sonia and me probably know we're looking for more than a whisper when it comes to spice. We don't want masochistic mouth-searing heat just for heat's sake. We want a flavorful peppery punch. There is some cayenne listed in the ingredients, but it's pretty low. Too low by our standards. If the name of your product puts "hot" in the headline, then you gotta at least clear our sinuses a bit. Them's the rules.

We thought about adding some of the aforementioned Trader Joe's Spicy Honey but decided against it due to the obvious mess it would create. We could always sprinkle the popcorn with sriracha powder or extra cayenne pepper, but we just decided to enjoy it as is despite us pining for more picante piquancy.

If you're looking for sweet, buttery kettle corn with a hint of heat, look no further. Although, I must say I wish the popcorn tasted a bit more like actual honey. It does contain some "honey powder" but sugar is much higher on the list. Again, maybe actual honey might have rendered such a sticky snack that no amount of Wet Ones could ever sate the sappy syrup from your skin. Maybe if honey powder were higher on the list..?

In the end it's a decent snack even if it doesn't taste just like spicy honey. We've already polished off the majority of the bag. Three bucks. Kosher. Kind of addictive but could be more so if it truly lived up to its name. Eight out of ten stars from the beautiful wifey. Seven and a half stars from me. Would buy again.

Bottom line: 7.75 out of 10.