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Holiday Treats From Trader Joe’s That You Don’t Want to Miss

Published November 19, 2021•Updated May 25, 2023

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Trader Joe's Dark Chocolate Orange — Cheapism

Trader Joe’s devotees will find the aisles of their favorite store suddenly packed with limited-time holiday treats (to go along with year-round favorites) for both Thanksgiving and Christmas celebrations. From turkey gingerbread cookies to Camembert and cranberry cups, here are some of the best Thanksgiving items at TJ’s, plus lots of the festive Christmas products that we can’t wait to find on the shelves come December.

Prices and availability are subject to change. Lacey Muszynski contributed to this story.

Cranberry Chevre Fresh Goat Cheese

Set some of this creamy cheese out with crackers at any holiday gathering and listen to the compliments roll in. The sweet cranberry is a perfect counterpoint to the tangy goat cheese.

Mashed Sweet Potatoes with Pecans

Voilà: The perfect holiday side without any of the holiday stress. This heat-and-eat refrigerated dish fuses sweet potatoes, butter, cinnamon, and maple-roasted pecans for the ultimate in seasonal comfort food.

Gingerbread Turkey Trot Cookie Decorating Kit

Gingerbread decorating isn’t just for Christmas anymore because there’s a new turkey in town. This kit comes with enough baked and cut gingerbread to make four standup turkeys, plus all the frosting, sprinkles, and other fun stuff the kids need to decorate them.

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Spiced Cider

$3.29

Perhaps the granddaddy of the chain’s seasonal splendor, Trader Joe’s Spiced Cider is a longtime customer favorite that devotees say is great straight from the fridge or gussied up with cinnamon sticks, cranberries, and maybe even a shot of bourbon.

Maple and Sea Salt Kettle Corn

$2.49

Maple is one of those classic fall flavors that never goes out of style. Try it in a new way with this sweet and salty kettle corn.

Brined Bone-In Half Turkey Breast

Plenty of us are looking at a smaller-than-normal holiday crowd this year, so why not take TJ’s up on its offer to make your meal a whole lot easier? This juicy turkey breast is marinated in salt, sugar, black pepper, and garlic butter. It also heats up in under an hour.

Chocolate Pecan Pie Bar

We know it’s the holidays, but that doesn’t mean you have to bake. TJ’s is ready to help if you decide to outsource, offering temptations like this buttery shell filled with rich chocolate-and-pecan goodness. Serve it with ice cream or whipped cream, or just dig in with a fork. Plates are optional.

Petite Pumpkin Spice Cookies

The ultimate little snacking cookies that you can eat by the handful, these petite treats are reminiscent of frosted animal crackers. They’re a shortbread base with pumpkin spice, a yogurt coating, and fun sprinkles.

Camembert Cheese and Cranberry Sauce Fillo Bites

They’re savory, they’re sweet, and The Kitchn says they’re bound to be a hit as a starter during your next shindig — even if this year that means you’re just devouring them with your immediate family. And these appetizers are party-ready after just 12 minutes in the oven.

Organic Maple Butter

Billed as “spreadable, creamy maple syrup,” this rich spread would be a great topper for toast or bagels or as a dip for apple slices.

Thanksgiving Pie Chocolate Truffles

$4.49

This wheel of pie slices is actually Belgian chocolate truffles, perfect for an after-dinner treat. There are four pie-inspired flavors in each box, including caramel apple cinnamon, cranberry cinnamon ginger, salted caramel pecan, and chocolate silk mousse.

12 Days of Beauty Advent Calendar

$20

Who says treats have to be edible? Pamper yourself or a loved one with this beauty product Advent calendar. It’s full of hand creams, face masks, body butters, and lip butters, mostly in holiday scents. Plus, it includes some products that aren’t otherwise available at Trader Joe’s.

Brie en Croute

Here’s an appetizer for someone who harbors a secret love of mozzarella sticks but wants something a little fancier for a holiday meal. The brie is stuffed into a light, flaky pastry crust, and it’s perfect for dipping. Serve it with crackers, fruit, veggies, or anything else that tastes yummy doused in cheese (that’s pretty much everything, if you ask us).

Jingle Jangle

Pop open this tin of goodness to satisfy your sweet tooth, and keep a few packages in reserve as easy gifts for holiday hosts. Jingle Jangle mixes milk chocolate-covered mini pretzels with dark chocolate-covered caramel popcorn, dark chocolate-covered Joe Joe’s cookie bits, candy-coated milk chocolate gems, and mini peanut butter cups. Yes, please.

Peppermint Hot Chocolate

If you ask us, mint and chocolate should be a flavor combo we embrace every month of the year. Sadly, this hot cocoa is only on the shelves at TJ’s while it’s cold out, so go slurp a big mug of this liquified candy while you can.

Triple Ginger Brew

Not to be confused with the Brewed Ginger Beer available at Trader Joe’s year-round, Triple Ginger Brew is a seasonal ginger ale with a more intense kick. Though it’s non-alcoholic, TJ’s suggests “a squeeze of fresh lime and a few ounces of gin.” Well, if you twist our arm.

Related: 20 Cold Weather Cocktails

Mini Dark Chocolate Mint Stars

This staple of the TJ’s holiday lineup is a classic for a reason, layering dark chocolate onto minty shortbread stars sprinkled with nonpareils. It’s the type of snack that looks lovely sitting in a bowl next to other holiday treats. It’s also the type of snack that you might scarf down in its entirety at 2 a.m. in your pantry. You’ve been warned.

Nog Protein Beverage Smoothie

Eggnog lovers, rejoice: Your favorite flavor has gotten a waistline-friendly makeover. This smoothie packing 10 grams of protein is Christmas in a cup. If you’re still stuck on fall flavors, you can also grab a pumpkin-spice smoothie with 11 grams of protein.

Truffle Dip

This blend of cream cheese, ricotta, parmesan, black truffle paste, and white truffle oil is as luscious on a steak as it is on a cracker or a sandwich made with leftover turkey.

Candy Cane Joe-Joe’s

Candy Cane Joe-Joe’s may give Spiced Cider a run for its money when it comes to Trader Joe’s most iconic holiday treats. For the uninitiated, Joe-Joe’s are TJ’s answer to Oreos — with real bits of candy cane mixed into the cream. Some come coated in dark chocolate. Just try not to eat the whole box in one sitting.

Lebkuchen

$2.69

Lebkuchen, a favorite in Germany, are gingerbread cookies flavored with nuts and spices, including almonds, hazelnuts, walnuts, candied orange peel, coriander, cardamom, and cinnamon. Available either iced or covered in chocolate, they’re perfect with a steaming cup of tea.

Sugar Plum Sparkling Beverage

Bring the kids in on your holiday toasts with this nonalcoholic sparkling blend of plum and white grape juice, or treat yourself to something a little fizzy even if you’re forgoing the bubbly this year.

Chocolate Lava Gnocchi

Trader Joe’s knows its gnocchi: After all, the cauliflower gnocchi has often made the list of customers’ all-time favorites, and the gorgonzola gnocchi is on our list of best buys. So this decadent holiday dessert with a cocoa-hazelnut center seems like a no-brainer, especially if you dress it up with whipped cream and berries.

Gingerbread Coffee

This medium-dark Vienna roast is made with ginger, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, and allspice. A longtime TJ’s holiday staple, it will make a house smell like Christmas morning any old day of the year.

Dark Chocolate Minty Mallows

Chewy peppermint-flavored marshmallows coated in dark chocolate — what’s not to like? Put a plate out for a festive after-dinner treat, but don’t be surprised when they disappear quickly.

Double Chocolate Hot Cocoa Stirring Spoons

Talk about an adorable and indulgent stocking stuffer. These individually wrapped plastic spoons come with a generous cube of dark and milk chocolate stuck on the end, topped off with marshmallows. Stir the deliciousness into a warm cup of milk, then enjoy.

Mini Cheesecake Cones

Don’t get us started on how criminal it is that these are a seasonal item. The cones are made of thin almond-caramel Florentine cookies and stuffed with cheesecake filling, and yes, you need to go get these right now. (For the record, The Kitchn agrees.)

Panettone

This buttery Italian cake made with candied fruit is one of the most versatile sweet treats of the holiday season. Eat it with a steaming mug of coffee in the morning, as dessert later in the day, or as a snack with a cup of tea. Use it to make French toast for an extra-special holiday breakfast. TJ’s even carries a gluten-free version.

Scallops Wrapped in Uncured Bacon with Brown Sugar Glaze

It’s a shame bacon-wrapped scallops are a seasonal item, because bacon anything is a winner in our book. If you need an easy but impressive appetizer for your next get-together, look no further than TJ’s always-impressive frozen-food section.

Danish Kringle

Voted a runner-up bakery item in the chain’s 12th Annual Customer Choice Awards, Wisconsin-made Danish Kringle is a ring of sweet, almond-flavored pastry with layers upon layers of flaky goodness, all topped with a drizzle of icing. They’re delicious warm, but if you can’t wait, a cold slice will do just fine.

Winter Wassail

Winter Wassail punch, made with spices including cinnamon, clove, nutmeg, and ginger, may leave you “spontaneously bursting into carols of the season with every sip,” Trader Joe’s warns. We’d say the chances of that are even higher if you mix it with red wine, bourbon, or another libation.

Pistachio Pomegranate Crisps

Here’s a snack that may just keep you from diving into all that leftover Halloween candy (okay, maybe not). Still, these crackers are a crowd-pleaser because they’re both sweet and savory. They’re also the perfect canvas for any number of dips or TJ’s decadent Brie en Croute.

Mini Peppermint Meringues

This holiday sibling of TJ’s tasty, cult-favorite chocolate-chip meringues are crunchy, soft, sweet, and festive all at once. Consider them a lighter, more diet-friendly alternative to cookies, but be careful you don’t eat the whole package at once, Redditors warn.

Candy Cane Green Tea

Another warm drink flavored with peppermint? Hey, we won’t argue, and it gets near-perfect reviews on Amazon, where buyers pay three times what it costs in the store. It may even save you from splurging on that pricey peppermint latte.

Dark Chocolate Orange

Tired of peppermint and gingerbread? This foil-wrapped TJ’s staple is a luscious alternative, with orange-flavored chocolate pieces that easily break away. It’s also so beautifully packaged that it’s definitely gift-worthy (if you don’t eat if first yourself, of course).

Salty Honey Toffee Milk Chocolate Covered Crackers

It’s a long name for a classic blend of salty and sweet. A crispy cracker is an unassuming base for layers of creamy chocolate, salted honey toffee, almond bits, and — surprise! — a hint of ground coffee.

Scandinavian Tidings

Scandinavian Tidings are the perfect little gummies to set out in a candy dish — with red ornaments, green trees, and white stars, they look just as good as they taste. Beware: Reviewers report scarfing down the whole bag in one sitting.

Mini Gingerbread Men

$3.49

It’s hard to go wrong with a classic gingerbread man, especially one covered in a layer of white fudge icing. But these are small enough that you’ll want to eat way more than one in a sitting. (TJ’s says three cookies equals one serving, but we all know serving sizes and holidays don’t mix.)

Peppermint Foaming Hand Soap

Who says a holiday treat needs to be edible? This this coconut- and olive-oil-based hand soap is scented with real peppermint oil that makes it smell good enough to eat (but please don’t).

Cauliflower Tater Tot Casserole

It’s been a long year, and we can’t blame you if all you really want is some comfort food for the holidays. Enter Trader Joe’s Cauliflower Tater Tot Casserole, which is every bit as decadent as it sounds. The cauliflower tots are bathed in a ranch-seasoned béchamel and topped with shredded cheddar, making this a dish that will definitely warm you up on a cold winter’s night.

Meet the Writer

Saundra Latham

Saundra Latham regularly exploits her grocery’s fuel-points program for free tanks of gas and skips the salon in favor of the $5.99 sales at Great Clips. She has made her home in areas with a low cost of living, such as Dayton, Ohio, and Knoxville, Tenn.

Before joining Cheapism as the site’s first staff writer, Saundra freelanced for websites including Business Insider, ConsumerSearch, The Simple Dollar, The Motley Fool, and About.com. She was previously an editor at The Columbus Dispatch, one of Ohio’s largest daily newspapers. She holds a master’s in communication from Ohio State University and a bachelor’s in journalism from American University.