Trader Joe’s Satisfies the Macaron Fiends

Published on Wednesday, May 4, 2011, by James Norton / Edit Post

Trader Joe's Macarons à la Parisienne

Trader Joe's Macarons à la Parisienne

I Paid: $4.99 for a box of 12 cookies (prices may vary by region)

Taste: 4 stars

Marketing: 5 stars

French macarons: the cupcakes of tomorrow of yesterday. (Depending upon whom you talk to, the cupcakes of tomorrow of today are whoopie pies, plain old pies, or cake lollipops.)

So Trader Joe's may have been a little behind the curve with its macarons (which are just rolling out in some regions after first showing up about a year ago), but the effort is easy to appreciate: The picture on the box looks just like real, bakery-made French macarons in chocolate and vanilla varieties. And, in fact, the macarons themselves look like real, bakery-made items (they come frozen but thaw out in about half an hour). And, well, sure, they even taste like it.

The ganache is a bit too thick and a bit too sweet, but the macarons themselves have a nice balance of crisp and chew. All things considered, if you're fiending for a decent macaron, Trader Joe's has really come through for you. If you're fiending for a great macaron, you'll have to go to an actual bakery—but that's a pretty reasonable thing to ask.

James Norton edits the Upper Midwestern food journal Heavy Table. He's also the coauthor of a book on Wisconsin's master cheesemakers. For his Supertaster Daily videos, he samples offerings from supermarket aisles and fast-food menus. (Click here to see all of James's previous Supertaster work.) You can follow him on Twitter and fan him on Facebook.

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POST A COMMENT |8 Comments

COMMENT

  • if you have time making your own macarons will be much better, it has that feeling of home made but if you are busy then this would suffice ;)

  • well, if anybody wants something better than store-bought they can make their own. but...that kinda misses the point. we're talking about store-bought.

  • I've tried them. The are awful. If I want a decent macaron, I make my own. The Joe's taste too fake.

  • You have to try the macarons at a newly opened store "macaron Sweeterie" on Lexington before settling on any of Trader Joe's stuff.

  • I gotta say, I really, really love Trader Joe's macaroons. They're pretty darned good. Yup. And by the way, they have dark mini peanut butter cups in a pint size bucket. Yes, I said bucket.

  • The almond horns do have a great texture and tste of almond..but for me they are mind numbingly sweet.....perhaps with a cup of tea or coffee......!

  • So excited! We are getting a Trader Joe's in Texas!

  • Their almond horns, in the fresh bakery section, are dipped partway in dark chocolate and have toasted almonds sprinkled on top. They have a strong almond flavor and are chewy. If you don't finish them in a few days, they get hard, but they don't last too long if I have a box. These are almond macaroons with more heft than the Parisienne type.