A Snack Society Field Report
Some trips feel like errands. Others feel like expeditions.
For me, a visit to Trader Joe’s in Western New York always falls into the second category. We don’t have an easily accessible Trader Joe’s near our home in Maryland, so whenever we’re in Western NY, stopping there feels a bit like a field trip. List in hand, expectations high, curiosity fully engaged.
This time, I went in with a very specific plan: holiday mint snacks. I even did my research ahead of time, scrolling the Trader Joe’s website and building my list the way a birdwatcher prepares for a day in the field, hopeful, organized, and convinced I’d spot everything I was looking for.
One elusive item escaped me (minty Hold the Cone Tips… next year), but I still came home with a solid lineup of festive treats — plus one surprise that definitely wasn’t mint, but insisted on joining the expedition anyway.
Here’s how the tasting went.
Snack Society Field Notes
Mini Peppermint Meringues
I wanted to start with something minty without chocolate, which is surprisingly hard to find during the holidays. These peppermint meringues fit the bill.
They were a little divisive in our house. I enjoy meringues, so I liked them more than the rest of the family did. To me, they’d be a great addition to a cookie board or dessert spread, especially as a lighter, non-chocolate option when everything else is rich and heavy.
Average Rating: 3 out of 5
Jingly Jangly: Holiday Edition
This one wasn’t on my list, and despite my assumptions, it’s definitely not minty. But it earned its place anyway.
Jingly Jangly is a festive mix of fan-favorite treats: chocolate-covered caramel popcorn, milk chocolate candies, mini peanut butter cups, chocolate pretzels, and Joe-Joe’s cookie bark. We opted for the smaller bag rather than the big tin.
Overall, it was fun and solid, though not my personal favorite. Pro tip: give the bag a good shake before digging in because the candy-coated chocolates tend to settle at the bottom. I also would’ve loved more caramel popcorn, but it’s still a crowd-pleasing holiday mix.
Average Rating: 4 out of 5
Dark Chocolate Dipped Candy Cane Marshmallows
If festive names alone decided rankings, these would’ve been a top contender.
Trader Joe’s packaging describes them as “a wonderfully wintry confection” and suggests they work as both a dessert garnish and an anytime treat. I agree in theory, but in practice, they didn’t quite live up to the promise.
The mint flavor mostly comes from the candy cane pieces on top, and the dark chocolate tends to overpower everything else. A touch of mint extract in the marshmallow itself would’ve made a big difference here.
Average Rating: 3 out of 5
Dark Chocolate Covered Peppermint Joe-Joe’s
These are Trader Joe’s take on mint Oreos, dipped in dark chocolate. The packaging promises “chocolatey, minty sensations that have to be tasted to be believed.”
They were good, a solid cookie with a clear mint flavor, but surprisingly, I think I would’ve liked them better without the chocolate coating. It’s hard not to compare them to Wegmans’ Candy Cane W-O’s, which still win this category for me.
Average Rating: 3 ½ out of 5
Sleigh Ride Cookies
This was the surprise standout of the entire tasting.
Sleigh Ride Cookies have a chocolate chip cookie base with bits of candy cane and pieces of peppermint-flavored chocolate sandwich cookies mixed in. They reminded me of those Italian-style chocolate chip cookies you buy in a bag at the grocery store — not overly sweet, but really well balanced.
The chocolate and mint worked beautifully together, and I genuinely didn’t expect to like these as much as I did.
Average Rating: 4.5 out of 5
Final Verdict
All of these snacks helped us get into the holiday spirit, but the clear MVP of the haul was the Sleigh Ride Cookies, the item I had the lowest expectations for and ended up loving the most.
I’m now seriously considering adding crushed candy canes to my own chocolate chip cookies this year.
I’d also award a Most Unexpected Discovery badge to the Peppermint Meringues. They’re a great dessert-table option, and let’s be honest — meringues aren’t easy to make, so I’m happy to let Trader Joe’s handle that part.
Did this Trader Joe’s field trip live up to my expectations?
Absolutely. And next year, I’ll be back — hopefully with minty Hold the Cone Tips in hand.
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