A rich cocoa cookie sandwiching an intense peppermint filling and crushed candy canes. Move over Thin Mints, your cousin visiting for the holidays is way hotter than you, and with her pink and brown colors of the season, a much snazzier dresser as well. Fans of Trader Joe Joe’s cookies already know that this stand-in for an Oreo has the unique ability to be both better tasting and less expensive than its Nabisco inspiration. The filling is lighter and fluffier, and in the case of the creamy vanilla flavor, has obvious flecks of vanilla in the filling. Candy Cane Joe Joe’s are a seasonal offering — same great, dark cocoa wafers as the existing Chocolate Joe Joe’s, but filled with a very bracing peppermint vanilla filling, which has crushed candy canes throughout. The crushed canes are finely crushed enough not to shred your gumline, but gritty enough to still stand up and be noticed. This is one “minty” taste combo; very strongly mint flavored, but very much candy cane at the same time. This means it doesn’t taste or remind me of toothpaste — my litmus taste for all mint flavored foods. It is strong enough you won’t likely eat an entire handful or a box (a good thing), but not so strong it will create a hip rumor, like Altoids. Set two out for Santa with a cup of Hot Cocoa, or give them to carolers this season. Two Candy Cane Trader Joe Joe’s are 140 calories, 6g fat, 19g carb, 1g protein.
