I first heard about the elusive Trader Joe's Macarons in a Serious Eats and totally wanted to try them as soon as I could get my hands on them. Which, as it turns out, was harder than I expected. I couldn't find them at either of the two Trader Joe's by me, and had pretty much given up after a few sporadic visits.
Just as I had pretty much given up on them, I stopped into a Trader Joe's in NJ with my mom one weekend- and there they were!!! I quickly snagged a box, and brought it back in a cooler with me to Maryland at the end of the weekend. The box recommends taking out however many you want and thawing them at room temperature before eating. However, I (along with my friend A) have found that the Vanilla macarons taste really good frozen/not thawed out, sort of like a custard-y sweet ice cream-ish treat. I personally like the Vanilla macaron more, because it's a v. specific Vanilla taste that is similar to a vanilla custard they use in Japanese ice cream, snacks, and pastries. Loves it!
Both flavors are good though, surprisingly so for being a frozen macaron, haha. I'm no way near a macaron expert- I've only had them a few times, including Bouchon Bakery in NYC, but I don't really know enough about different brands/types at all. Just saying that these (if you can find them) are a great snack/dessert item to keep around for a quick sweets fix, and/or bring to a dinner party to share. I just hope they eventually start carrying them at the Trader Joe's stores that are actually close to me!
Mmm LOVE the slightly frozen vanilla ones! Great quick fix...I also need to broaden my macaron tasting ha
ReplyDelete*puts on TJ's shopping list*
ReplyDeleteI'll have to try those! I haven't caught on to the macaron crazy yet!
ReplyDeleteThey look so pretty and perfect. I've tried to bake macarons once and it wasn't an entirely a success.
ReplyDelete@Ashley: Thanks for the tip about keeping the vanilla ones frozen!
ReplyDelete@KandS: Hope you get to try them on your next trip to the US!
@SNC: Haha, woohoo!
@Shannon: Yeah def check if the one by you has them!
@Olga: Wow, I'm impressed you even tried to make them- I heard getting the perfect "feet" (is that what it's called?) is hard!
They're definitely not bad at all. Macarons do freeze pretty well (I typically keep a small box of LaDuree in my freezer for rainy days)
ReplyDelete@FrenchTwistDC: Oh yummm, so jealous you have a fancy macaron stash!
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