This New Trader Joe’s Freezer Find Is Here After 11 Months of Waiting — And It’s “Everything I’ve Been Hoping For”

Mara Weinraub
Mara WeinraubLifestyle Editor, Groceries
Mara is the Senior Groceries Editor at Kitchn. She nerds out over every inch detail of the grocery store, from building a shopping list to unpacking those (reusable) totes. She lives in New York City where she stocks a minimum of three peanut butter jars in her apartment at all times.
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published Sep 25, 2023
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New frozen food rice meals and microwave dishes at Trader Joe's, an American supermarket grocery store owned by German Aldi Nord discount chain
Credit: Corinna Haselmayer / Shutterstock

There I was, lying in bed on a rainy Sunday morning scrolling through Instagram, when this post announcing (read: screaming) the arrival of Trader Joe’s “NEW DOUBLE CHOCOLATE CROISSANTS!” popped up in my feed — a full 10 days after it was originally posted, no less. As someone who has been waiting for these breakfast pastries to launch since last October and also follows five TJ’s-related IG accounts, I was surprised this news had previously escaped me.

So, I did the only logical thing: I immediately turned to my partner and asked, “Can we go to Trader Joe’s today?” (in a way that wasn’t really a question), and off we went.

Credit: Mara Weinraub

What You Should Know About Trader Joe’s Double Chocolate Croissants

Much like the beloved chocolate croissants, these double chocolate versions are made with a laminated dough that is rolled with sticks of semi-sweet chocolate. The extra chocolate comes from cocoa powder that is added to the dough. They come packed in a dark-hued box containing four frozen pastries that require nine hours of proofing before they’re ready to bake. 

Credit: Mara Weinraub

Straight from the box, these frozen double chocolate croissants are darker in color than their predecessors (due to the cocoa powder) and roughly the size and thickness of a stuffed blintz. 

Credit: Mara Weinraub

I set two out on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper overnight, as instructed, and by morning they had ballooned in size — picture something between a generous russet potato and a mini nerf-football. I’m no stranger to TJ’s croissants and still I find this thrilling every time. (I was also a complete chemistry nerd in high school.)

Credit: Mara Weinraub

I baked the pastries for the full 25 minutes, then let them cool for 10 minutes (also, as instructed). The croissants turn ever so slightly darker brown once fully baked, so I judged the doneness by the crispness of the texture. Then it was time to taste…

Credit: Mara Weinraub

My Honest Review of Trader Joe’s Double Chocolate Croissants

The croissant is buttery, yet airy and incredibly flaky — with one bite, thin shards of crust littered my plate. Just thinking about now, I can still hear the delicate crisp-ity crunch in my head. The cocoa powder adds a subtle layer of chocolate flavor to the pastry that complements the rich, melted chocolate inside. Both are also delightfully ever present in every bite. Surprisingly, that’s not always a given. I’ve had many a  (double) chocolate croissants that devolved into a disappointing game of Where’s Waldo? — this is NOT that. It is, however, everything I’ve been hoping for over the last 11 months.

Find it in stores: Trader Joe’s Double Chocolate Croissants, $5.49 for 4 croissants 

Have you spotted anything new and exciting at Trader Joe’s? Tell us about it in the comments.

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