If you’ve never tried any of Trader Joe’s macarons, you might be wondering why some people make a habit of picking them up whenever they happen to be at a Trader Joe’s store. We wondered this as well, until we picked up a pack and tried them for ourselves. Having done that, we can now say that the macarons at Trader Joe’s are worth going out of your way for.
So when we spotted another variety in the freezer aisle, we jumped on the chance to test them out. It’s now time to do that! So today we’re reviewing the Trader Joe’s A Dozen Macarons Variés.
When you open the box, you’ll find a tray that holds six different flavors of macaron. There are two of each flavor inside, for a total of twelve macarons. From left to right, the flavors shown below are lemon, coconut, fig, apricot, pistachio, and salted caramel.
You’ll definitely want to eat these directly out of the freezer. They have a lovely consistency that sort of condenses as you bite into them, and the frozen coldness really enhances this property. So don’t thaw these before you eat them!
The lemon macarons are tart, but not overwhelmingly so, and they have an appealing citrus flavor. We’d describe them as refreshing, and we think they’d be a great thing to eat after a spicy meal.
The coconut macarons have a lovely coconut flavor (as you might expect), though they lack the stringiness of real coconut. Some might find that to be a downside, but we actually really appreciate it.
The fig macarons kick off the fruity section of this assortment. These remind us just a little of Fig Newtons, though these are much richer and sweeter. This does make us want to run a little experiment and toss some Fig Newtons into the freezer to see how they taste when frozen.
The bright orange cookies in the bunch are apricot flavored. These are actually a bit more subtle than the fig ones, though the fruity flavor sort of sneaks up on you. These might be our least favorite in the bunch, though that by no means makes them bad — they’re still pretty amazing.
Pistachio is representing the green side of the color wheel. These ones are a lot better than we were expecting them to be, with a flavor that reminds us a bit of Christmas cookies. You could sneak a few of these into the chocolate and vanilla macaron assortment, and they’d probably feel right at home.
The salted caramel macarons are our favorite of the bunch. The caramel flavor is the perfect complement to the light, slightly crunchy consistency of this dessert. They’re sweet, but not overwhelmingly so. We could easily polish off an entire box of these treats.
Three macarons is considered a single serving, which means you’ll be up to two whole servings if you decide to try all six flavors. If you stick to just three, you’ll be consuming 110 calories and 10 mg of sodium. If you try all six flavors those numbers jump to 220 calories and 20 mg of sodium. All things considered, that’s really not too bad for a dessert that’s this exquisitely craveable.
The Trader Joe’s Macarons Variés are one of those frozen treats that, on their own, are worth a trip out to Trader Joe’s for. They’re a delight to eat, with a consistency that makes them fun to bite into, and every flavor is rich and sweet. With a relatively low calorie count, these might even be a decent dessert for dieters, though probably not a daily treat.
To learn more about the nutrition content or ingredients in these Trader Joe’s macarons, check out our package scans below.
