Trader Joe's Dark Chocolate Covered Peppermint Cremes

Peppermint is seasonally appropriate this time of year, and I must admit it pairs up pretty well with chocolate. Still, it's never been my personal favorite. I'm usually underwhelmed by peppermint and chocolate combos, with a few notable exceptions, namely: Bittersweet Mint ice cream from the Berkey Creamery, and Trader Joe's Peppermint Hot Chocolate in the big green tin that's been available around the holidays for quite some time now.

Here's the part where I tell you I like milk chocolate more than dark chocolate and you look down on me and think about clicking over to another review. But you can't say I don't give it chance after chance after chance. I mean half of Trader Joe's offerings are slathered in dark chocolate. Sometimes it works. Sometimes it doesn't. Maybe even occasionally I'll admit dark chocolate works better than milk chocolate for certain applications.

I think I'd still like to try a milk chocolate version of these, but dark chocolate gets the job done. They're more minty than chocolatey by my estimation, thanks to not only a generous glob of peppermint creme in their centers but also the little candy bits all over their outsides. Certain specimens seemed fatter than others, and those seemed to have a tad more minty creme in their middles than the flatter ones.

I was wondering what exactly "peppermint creme" would look and taste like. It's pretty much a dead ringer for the stuff that's in the middle of a York Peppermint Patty. I might even go out on a limb and say that if you like Peppermint Patties and dark chocolate, you'll enjoy these most definitely. The creamy center is our favorite part of the candy by far. Still, I'll tire of them after two or three pieces, but they were fun to try and would be something I'd keep in the back of my mind as a stocking stuffer or a contribution to an under $5 white elephant party or something like that.

$3.99 for 15 peppermint cremes. Kosher. Put me down for seven out of ten stars for Trader Joe's Dark Chocolate Covered Peppermint Cremes. I might have gone with something higher if it had been milk chocolate. Sonia will go with seven out of ten as well, stating that they would have gotten an eight but that the candy cane bits hurt her teeth.

Bottom line: 7 out of 10.