"The theme of this winter at Trader Joe's is shrinkage. Everything new is mini. Shrink-flation, or just adorable? Is this a grocery store for ants? The script really writes itself. We have a little cookies 'n cream cake. We have a personal-sized blooming onion in the freezer department. We have itty-bitty PB&J bites and (terrible) mini chocolate biscuit cookies. We have all that and more, reviewed here today."
"Single-serve Bloomin' Onions! This is a dupe of the trademarked appetizer made famous by Outback Steakhouse, but shrunk-a big theme this winter. These sculptural snacks are a moment of brief brilliance. Brief because you'll eat them fast. The frilly fried petals begin to brown before the center is unfrozen, so air-fry or bake them at a lower temp and for a longer time than the box suggests."
"How'd they mess this up?! This typically perfect baby sheet cake (the flavors change seasonally) is too spongy and dry in this iteration. The slather of cookie-crumbly frosting helps mask it, to a point. But we can only fool ourselves for so many forkfuls, standing on the anti-fatigue mat in the kitchen, waiting for something better that will never come."
"Presumably, to keep costs and labor low, this pizza relies on dried onion powder for flavor, which gives it a funky onion breath note. On Reddit, TJ superfans report all the toppings they add to this blank-slate pizza, like pepperonis, arugula, and a drizzle of the balsamic glaze. But even unadorned, it's one of the best frozen pizzas at the store."
Winter offerings at Trader Joe's emphasize smaller, budget-friendly versions of familiar items alongside new convenience products. Single-serve blooming onions deliver crisp, sculptural petals but require lower, longer cooking and no included dipping sauce. A cookies 'n cream mini sheet cake suffers from a spongy, dry crumb that the frosting only partially masks. A white-style frozen pizza uses dried onion powder that can create an odd breathy onion note, though the crust puffs well and the cheese-rosemary blend resembles a New York white pie. Additional tiny snacks include PB&J bites and mini chocolate biscuits; smoked fish and pre-peeled ginger appear as affordable convenience options.
Read at Bon Appetit
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