As the colder weather seeps in, nothing beats enjoying a warm, cozy dessert. When it comes to a sweet treat, Trader Joe’s has plenty of options, from convenient boxed chocolates to prepackaged apple pies—but nothing beats a freshly baked dessert. However, baking can be an arduous process, so we decided to test various box mixes from Trader Joe’s for quick and delicious desserts. 

Brownie

SA: I LOVE a good brownie mix. From my experience, baking brownies from scratch doesn’t guarantee that crinkly chocolate layer, so I loved that the Trader Joe’s brownies were the perfect chocolatey, decadent dessert. The edges were crispy, while the middle retained a fluffy, melt-in-the-mouth center. Comparing this mix to my all-time favorite, the Ghirardelli double chocolate brownie mix, I would say that the Trader Joe’s one is a close second! It has a great balance between a fudgy and chewy texture and took just minutes to make. I personally enjoy the Ghirardelli one more due to its intense chocolate flavor, but that’s not for everyone, so I would still recommend the Trader Joe’s mix. They promised a good batch of brownies, and they delivered! (9.2/10)

SV: This brownie baking mix reminds me of summer afternoons with my mom. When I was younger, we used to bake with this mix all the time—an experience that definitely contributed to my love for brownies today. Packed with rich chocolate chips, these brownies are easy to make and hard to stop eating. They are the perfect amount of gooey, melting in my mouth but not to the point where I’m worried about salmonella. I would also suggest pairing these brownies with vanilla ice cream, which perfectly complements the chocolate. While these brownies were delicious, there isn’t anything unique about the mix that warrants a trip to Trader Joe’s. Overall, this is a really good brownie baking mix that I will be making again! (9/10)

Our friends shared some of our same opinions. Tanisha Goel (’25) artistically described the brownies as “if heaven and Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory had a baby.” Anay Shah (’25) confessed, “These brownies made me forget about my two-year-long diet.”

Cinnamon Roll Blondie

SA: If you haven’t heard about my love for fall, please read the last issue’s article for this column. Cinnamon puts me in the best mood, and I was happy to make the Cinnamon Roll Blondie. I had the privilege of being a taste tester this year when some of my friends made this mix, so I was excited to try baking it and return the favor. However, I did not realize how complex it would be to assemble this blondie, as we had to make three separate components. Granted, the end result was as delicious as I expected and not too sweet, a quality I especially appreciated. It’s an exciting take on the classic cinnamon roll and overall was a joy to indulge in. (10/10)

SV: The Cinnamon Roll Blondie Bar Baking Mix was definitely more complex to make than the brownies and banana bread. The instructions state to make the blondie base, cinnamon filling, and glaze separately, but the extra effort was definitely worth the results. The cinnamon aroma was fragrant and it tasted exactly as marketed—a cinnamon roll in blondie form. I would even pick these over cinnamon rolls because they had the trademark cinnamon flavor without the stickiness of cinnamon rolls. All in all, these cinnamon roll blondie bars were delicious while also having the distinctiveness I was looking for—it’s hard to find a similar baking mix outside of Trader Joe’s! (10/10)

The general consensus among our community was that this dessert was, simply put, fabulous. Krithi Sagayaraj (’25) shared a fall weather perspective similar to mine and added that the cinnamon blondie bars “cured [her] seasonal depression.” However, Aanya Mittu (’25) truly encapsulates the blondie experience and articulates it best: “I thought as a 17-year-old girl, that in my life, I have tasted good food. After tasting this, I can’t believe I’ve lived before this.”

Banana Bread

SA: I was a little skeptical about the Banana Bread mix, especially because all I saw was a dull grey powdery mixture which we just needed to add the wet ingredients into—there was no additional topping or step to add a natural banana taste and texture. I personally thought the bread ended up becoming very fluffy and was glad it followed the written baking time. However, the banana flavor just seemed too subtle, and the bread as a whole didn’t feel like a dessert. I thought it was a bit bland and overall did not enjoy it. (4/10)

SV: The Banana Bread Mix was full of surprises. It was very quick and easy to make—it needed only eggs, oil, and water, and mixed to a desired consistency in less than five minutes. However, as it was a baking mix, it didn’t include fresh bananas, instead boasting dehydrated banana flakes. While Trader Joe’s insists that these flakes provide a rich, ripe banana flavor, I have to disagree. It was hard to discern the banana save for a slight aroma and the flakes made the banana bread dry and crumbly rather than moist. I think it would be much easier to make banana bread from fresh bananas than this mix. (5/10)

Opinions differed on the banana bread. Anya Nandiwada (’25) mentioned that the bread “tastes like Starbucks but worse, 4/10.” However, Kaashvi Mittal (’26) texted us a day later, asking, “so could I pls have the banana bread recipe,” clearly having enjoyed it! The Trader Joe’s Banana Bread Mix may be up to personal preference after all.