For this Pennsylvania boy, it's a bit disorienting. I'm used to autumns that creep up on you week over week, month over month. Usually by this time in mid-September, there's a crispness to the air that signals that it's time for warm cinnamony apple flavors and pumpkin spice desserts. Don't get me wrong, I like it here. The climate is just a little different than what I'm used to. And don't even get me started on the weather in Los Angeles. If there are only three seasons here in the Midwest, there's only one and a half in Southern California.
First thoughts? The box is a lot smaller than I thought it would be. It was $3.49 for less than five ounces. These better be some darn good cookies...
...and they're just okay. In our humble opinions, these cookies don't hold a candle to last year's all butter shortbread cookies with raspberry filling. These cookies are harder, crunchier by comparison—not nearly as buttery. Instead of a gelatinous, syrupy fruit filling, they have actual pieces of dried apple baked into them. While I like the idea of flavoring these morsels with real apple bits, there's just not enough apple flavor to make these cookies super memorable.
I can't imagine anybody disliking these cookies to the point of not being able to finish the box, but there have been many more interesting shortbread confections at Trader Joe's throughout the years. We probably would not buy Trader Joe's All Butter Apple Shortbread Cookies again. Seven out of ten stars from Sonia. Six out of ten stars from me.
Bottom line: 6.5 out of 10.
those raspberry sandwich cookies are amazing but i like these too for different reasons.
ReplyDeleteNeeds MOAR APPLE :-p
DeleteAs a shortbread fanatic, I bought these with great hopes and those hopes were dash. These were dull and without much flavor, but it was the texture I disliked. None of that tender, crumbly, melty texture I'm after. These just tasted hard and stale (although I know they are not stale). These would be okay ground up in a blender to use with butter and other ingredients in a very firm crust. But as a repeat purchase -- nope.
ReplyDeleteNot even worth the calories in eating, let alone the money in buying.
I ate one cookie, sealed them up, and brought them to work. I work in one of those environments where it doesn't matter WHAT you bring -- people just love breaking up the monotony with a free snack, even its leftovers or stale dated "or some terrible spiced cola I hated" -- and they love my TJ's donations most of all.
"We love how picky you are, Kate, because it means there's always something on the table for us!"
2 out of 10 stars for me. Not awful, but just not interesting.
"Not awful but just not interesting" is a good summary, though we were a bit more lenient with our rating. I took flack on social media for not scoring them highly enough. Glad to know we're not the only ones who weren't super impressed.
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