This month I picked up the phone and called my local Trader Joe’s to see if they had something I knew I had to try: the new Brown Sugar Non-Dairy Oat Creamer. And unlike nearly every other grocery store, a human answered and physically went to check the shelf, and the whole call was over in under one happy minute. People always wonder why Trader Joe’s is so culty—and it’s mostly the Mandarin Orange Chicken—but it’s also the small details like the wild idea to have a person answer the phone, not an automated recording. And good news: They had the creamer, and it’s delicious.
What else is new in May? Plenty of baked goods, snacks, and some frozen pancake puffs. Let’s taste and see.
A Bakery Bonanza
Gluten-Free Double Chocolate Muffins
The gluten-free muffins at Trader Joe’s are consistently amazing. They go hard on the sour cream and buttermilk to keep the muffins so moist you could see the condensation in my plastic container. The tops were elevating from the muffins like a soufflé. I prefer the cinnamon coffee cake ones to these chocolate-cake-flavored ones, but that’s personal. My cashier said, “Pro tip: Microwave them for like 20 seconds and the chocolate chips inside will melt, so you have a chocolate lava cake.” Genius. I did just that and so should you.
