Reviewing Trader Joe’s Gingerbread House Kit, Entenmann’s Crumb Donuts, & More

Look at all that filling on the tin… wait, these aren’t anything like that! Unfortunately, these aren’t nearly as filled as shown but overall, these still come out very tasty. The little filling they do have is creamy and almost moist, though, the outside chocolate shell is on the drier side. This shell is semi-sweet dark while the filling is a sweeter milky taste. Overall, a pretty good cookies & cream rolled wafer.

I’m not able to find much about this product’s release or company online.

One of the cheaper gingerbread house kits I’ve found and it even looks less fake and more premium! I especially love how to comes with little edible figures too. HOWEVER! This requires an egg white and lemon juice or white vinegar for the piping icing.

Unlike other gingerbread house kits, these are actually chewy, semi-sweet, and have a subtle ginger flavor. The made icing has too liquidy of a consistency to decorate or build with, and frankly, it tastes odd. It’s like powdered sugar and water mixed together, it just isn’t good. The candies it comes with look nice but also lack any sweetness or flavor. Overall, this kit looks nice but is bland and impossible to construct.

I’m not sure when this was released but reviews date back to many years ago.

One of the sweeter popcorns I’ve had. On top of that, it has a pretty strong pumpkin spice taste. The lightly crunchy texture is between that of caramelized popcorn and regular popcorn. I might kind of miss not being able to buy these during the fall holidays.

Not sure when these released this flavor although it likely only comes around during the fall months. Reviews date back to several years ago.

There’s something about these that are just magical. Is it the variety at such a cheap price? Almost certainly. It’s clearly not the highest quality of chocolate but the diversity of flavors, even if a lot of it tastes similar, is wonderful. I especially love how sweet every single piece is, it’s like they used way too much sugar, it’s great! If you’re looking to rapidly increase your glucose levels and fulfill your insane chocolate cravings, this is absolutely it.

Released 1912.

One of the best donuts I’ve had. They are moist, thick, and perfectly sweet without being too much. The glaze, slight cinnamon taste, and the texture from the crumbs all comes together so wonderfully. One of the best prepacked donuts I’ve had.

Given Entenmann’s long history (debuting 1898), they’ve made donuts for quite some time, although I’m not sure about the details regarding this flavor.

This is thick! The taste is an artificial, semi-sweet vanilla, not so much birthday cake per sae. Despite being very artificial tasting, it did get rid of any vanilla cravings I had and frankly, it’s one of the better tasting candy canes out there.

Cold Stone Creamery has made a variety of flavored candy canes for several years now. Found at Dollar Tree.

Creamsicle: Right on the mark, these taste exactly like a creamy orange Creamsicle in candy cane form. They also taste less “cheap” than the other candy canes here.
Score: 6.5 / 10

Hot Cocoa: They took the cheapest chocolate and made hot cocoa with it. It does taste like hot cocoa, marshmallows and all, but that cheap artificial chocolate really brings down the quality and flavor.
Score: 4 / 10

Marshmallow: Sweet vanilla with a hint of marshmallow. If you like vanilla, you’ll love these.
Score: 5.5 / 10

Fruity Pebbles: Exactly like Fruity Pebbles! Though, them being in candy cane form just isn’t for me, they’re so much better if they’re cereal or a candy bar.
Score: 6 / 10

There have been a variety of differently flavored candy canes throughout the years. Some of these are new, some are ones that are returning. All of these were found at Dollar Tree.

Hilco Hot Cocoa: Not sure, although I haven’t seen these before.
Good Humor Creamsicle: November 2023.
Jet-Puffed Marshmallow & Fruity Pebbles: October 2023.

These were all found at Dollar Tree.

Reminds me of typical peppermint candies. These have a nicely sweet white chocolate taste with a peppermint alongside it that doesn’t come across as “toothpasty” or weird. Great snack if you’re into sweet peppermint flavored snacks!

These have been around for a while, not sure of the exact release date.

Wow, these are sweet, just like a cherry cordial! The cherry flavor isn’t as strong in these though but it’s definitely there, and the gooey whitesh red filling is a nice touch in terms of texture and cherry cordial vibes.

These have been around for a while, perhaps released for a limited time around 2005. Now, you can routinely find these around the Christmas season.

Overall, these taste cheap and artificial but there’s a lot of good things going on here. First, these are the first Brach’s Mellowcremes I’ve ever seen this large–seriously, they’re two-three bites for each piece! Secondly, the flavors advertised are fairly accurate (minus how artificial and cheap they taste), and none of them are overpowering nor too sweet either. Overall, a pretty good set of Brach’s variety candies that will likely satisfy even the most picky.

Released early November 2023 along with other Elf related snacks including candy canes and gum drops for the winter season.