When it comes to spring at Trader Joe’s, there’s one constant: pastel snacks that look better than they taste. From cookies loaded with colored sprinkles to overly sweet chocolate mixes, this lineup leans hard into the spring aesthetic, but not so much flavor.
Cheery Lemon Animal Crackers ($0.99)
In terms of first impressions, the Cheery Lemon Animal Crackers are promising. They come packed with a generous serving of crackers coated in subtle yellow, lemon-flavored yogurt candy sprinkles in spring colors. The classic animal shapes resemble the iconic name-brand Animal Crackers — a nostalgic snack with a seasonal glow-up.
While the crunch is pleasant, the cracker itself has no distinct flavor. However, the lemon from the yogurt coating has a tangy, artificial citrus that punches hard. Alongside tiny sprinkles, every bite turns into a sandy situation in your mouth and a messy condition on the table. The cookie crumbles easily, the sprinkles go everywhere and suddenly, you’re wearing more of the snack than you ate.
RATING: 3.5/5
Rolled Corn Tortilla Chips – Ranch Flavored ($2.99)
The Rolled Corn Tortilla Chips is Trader Joe’s Midwest version of their viral Chili & Lime flavor. These are incredibly strong in taste: the Buttermilk Ranch comes through clearly and the crunch satisfies without breaking your teeth, similar to their spicy counterpart. If you’re anti-spice, but craving a savory snack with intense flavor, this snack is for you.
Before you even get fully into the crunch, you’re hit with a full layer of seasoning that dries out the mouth immediately. The onion flavor is slightly overdone, leaving a lingering, somewhat sour aftertaste. It’s the kind of snack where you will want a drink onhand.
RATING: 3.5/5
Easter Joe-Joe’s ($3.99)
These look like they belong front and center in an Easter basket. Each Oreo cookie is fully coated in thick chocolate and uniquely decorated, from pastel egg-shaped sprinkles scattered across the surface to bright sanding sugar rims with printed bunny and egg designs. The varied designs makes them feel almost too cute to eat.
Unfortunately, they taste as if they belong in an Easter basket, too: inedible. The crunch of the cookie and sanding sugar alongside the snap of the chocolate makes the texture too overwhelming to eat. The chocolate layer is thick, almost overpowering the cookie entirely, and the cream filling adds another layer of heaviness. Altogether, the sweetness builds way too fast, and the cookies feel more like eating straight frosting.
RATING: 2/5
Spring Gummies ($3.49)
These Spring Gummies might be the cutest disappointment of the season. Coming in shapes such as flowers, birds and bumblebees, these gummies feature three main flavors: green apple, pineapple and strawberry. The coloring among the pinks and greens appear natural, and the resealable bag holds a generous portion.
However, the pink (strawberry) tastes like cough syrup, and the yellow (pineapple) is aggressively artificial. The green (apple) is the only gummy that is remotely tolerable, with a faint flavor that doesn’t offend. On a brighter note, these are the exact soft chews that you desire in a gummy, and on an empty stomach — once you get accustomed to the flavor — these gummies grow on you in an addicting, but concerning way.
RATING: 1/5
Spring Jangle ($4.49)
The Spring Jangle is Trader Joe’s classic “throw all the leftovers together in a bag and call it a mix” approach. These snacks offer a variety of Dark Chocolate Joe-Joe’s Cookie Bark, candy yogurt-covered micro pretzels, milk and dark chocolate peanut butter cups, butter toffee peanuts, spring candy gems and nonpareils.
The pretzels are easily the standout. Swirled with white, yellow and magenta colored chocolate, they are crunchy with a hint of saltiness that provides a much-needed break from the overload of chocolate. The dark chocolate from the cookie bark is rich and sweet, but incredibly hard to bite into, making it grainy and brittle. The rest of the mix mostly tastes as expected as per the name, with nothing particularly memorable. The only point to note would be how it all blends together into one overwhelmingly sweet experience. For something marketed as a mix, the flavors aren’t varied enough, and it doesn’t feel very balanced.
RATING: 3.5/5
