Ever take a bite of something and wonder how much butter is in it? It'd be easy to gauge if that something were an actual butterstick (which i may or may not have done in my youth), but, like, anything else?
That was my very first thought with Trader Joe's Strawberry Shortcake Sandwich Cookies.
Holy moly. There's enough butter in there to make Paula Deen blush. And it's not even that the cookies taste all that buttery - they do, but no overly so - but in that each like crook and nanny of the shortbread cookies exude so much rich crumbliness or creaminess that there's only one possible culprit: butter.
But then there's the filling. It's...very vibrantly pink. And super berryful. the frosting is rich and thick and creamy...and sweet. Very, very sweet, almost too much. It'd be pretty great by itself - it's a great buttercream. Super tasty.
But there's the rub. Together, the cookies and buttercream go just a little too far when combined. It's a bit overkill. Personally, I would have preferred keeping the filling as is but using a more subdued version of a shortbread cookie. Something a little more reserved and toned down - the same texture, of course, but less rich and fancy and delectable. Sometimes taking off a little adds more, and that, in my one only vaguely qualified opinion, would be the case here.
That being said, my kids loved them as we went for an evening stroll the other night. On a nice night, going on a walk to the local creek with a super sugary treat can't be beat, at least not with my crew. They're the perfect sized treat for a small hand, as long as it's attached to someone who ate a good dinner. And the richness strikes deep enough that truly one seems enough for a grownup too.
And apropos of nothing, a key lime pie version of these cookies would be ABSOLUTELY KILLER.
When all said it done, it won't take much buttering up to make these cookies a repeat buy.
Bottom line: Trader Joe's Strawberry Shortcake Sandwich Cookies: 8 out of 10 Golden Spoons
I'm impressed it actually uses butter (in both cookie and filling!) rather than some laboratory concocted butter-flavored substance. As I'm getting older I've noticed dessert items being too rich and it sounds like that would be the case here. And maybe getting used to lower quality store-bought stuff makes the real thing too potent in comparison. I should probably prefer one high quality cookie to multiple junky ones, but sometimes the junk calls to me.
ReplyDeleteI would like a key lime pie version of everything! But we take what we can get. Last time I was at TJ's I saw they had the pie out. So good. Trying to resist buying, but I stop to look at it longingly. Sigh.
ReplyDeleteI find these perfect. They have just the right amount of bite to them that you know it won't fall apart while you're trying to eat it.
ReplyDeleteHave you tried the vanilla ones? They're pretty great. Not too sweet. I heard these strawberry ones are tad too sweet and artificial tasting so I chose the vanilla. I'm curious what you think of them.
ReplyDeleteI actually think these would be better without any filling. The cookies were delicious on their own with the chewy bits of strawberry.
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