Tuesday's Tasting - Trader Joe's Mini Croissants

Better late than never seems to have become my motto here at One Food Guy, and if you forget to take these tasty mini croissants from Trader Joe's out of the freezer the night before you want to eat them, you'll be having croissants for dinner instead of breakfast. That is of course assuming you want to eat them for breakfast in the first place. In any case, just like the chocolate croissants I reviewed a few weeks ago, these mini croissants from Trader Joe's require 7-9 hours at room temperature to defrost and proof prior to baking. When ready, 15-20 minutes at 350F and you'll have light, delicious, fresh baked croissants. The box of 8 costs $3.99 and is well worth the money. I ate mine sliced in half and filled with a fried egg covered in melted manchego cheese but they are simply delicious all on their own.

When you can't fly to Paris for breakfast, or even make it to that little French bakery on the other side of town, be prepared and keep a box or two of these mini croissants in your freezer. They do take a little forethought since you need to set them out the night before, or in the morning for an evening snack, but trust me, they are worth it. Bon Appétit!

Next time on Tuesday's Tasting, a fantastic flatbread pizza: Trader Joe's Wild Mushroom & Black Truffle Flatbread

Tuesday's Tasting - Trader Joe's Chocolate Croissants

Trader Joe has outdone himself. While at my local Trader Joe's last week I saw a box of Trader Joe's Chocolate Croissants in the freezer case, a relatively new product. Recently back from a trip into Paris where I did enjoy an amazing pain au chocolat (known as a chocolate croissant in the US,) I thought I would give them a try. So, wow! You need to stop into your local Trader Joe's as soon as you can to pick up some of these amazing, bakery-fresh good chocolate croissants; one box of four croissants is $3.99

J and I decided to try them this past Sunday morning so as the directions indicate on the box, I took the frozen croissants from the box on Saturday night and placed them on a parchment lined baking sheet. I left them out on the counter to proof overnight and in the morning they had nearly quadrupled in size! I preheated the oven to 350F, baked 22 minutes (the box says 20-25,) then let them rest out of the oven for another 10 minutes. These chocolate croissants were light, airy, soft, chocolaty, and oh so delicious! There are four in a single package so J and I each had one Sunday morning, and then ate the rest yesterday. They were still delicious yesterday morning, exhibiting the slightly toothsome texture that a good French pastry should have. I strongly advise you to go out and buy a few boxes as soon as you get the chance, in fact I bought five more boxes on my way home from work last night! Once the word gets out about these, TJ's is going to have a hard time keeping them in stock!

Enjoy my Trader Joe's Chocolate Croissant experience in the following series of photographs -

So there you have it, Trader Joe's Chocolate Croissants, go get some and enjoy. Tune in next week for my review of the chocolate croissant's little big cousin, Trader Joe's Mini Croissants!