{PRODUCT REVIEW} store bought macarons

{PRODUCT REVIEW}

COSTCO AND TRADER JOE'S 

MACARONS

something i hear more than ever lately is:

"you know what mindy? i have never even had a macaron before!"

{obviously these people do not live near me or i would fix this right away!}

well first - i'm sorry.

but i guess you don't know what you are missing so its ok.

second - they are becoming more acessable so pretty soon you won't be saying this.

recently i have found 

MACARONS AT COSTCO AND TRADER JOES.

they have probably been around a while but just not on my radar.

i have taken today to officially taste test these all side by side.

a hard task but i'm up to it ;)

so when you have your first bite of a macaron 

and its NOT from a bakery

but from one of these boxes

you will know how close {or far} 

you are from eating the REAL THING.

ps.

NOTHING

BEATS 

THE REAL THING. 

so lets start.

one of the BEST things about a macaron is the texture.

crisp outer shell, with a soft and slightly chewey center. 

unlike anything else.

the MAIN thing these are ALL lacking is the texture element.

and in some cases, the flavor too.

lets start with trader joe's.

they offer the vanilla and chocolate year round and carry the pumpkin in season.

these are found in the FREEZER section. 

i'll evaluate these separately.

PUMPKIN

DEFROST time 20 min - i actually prefer them slightly frozen to get a better texture

FLAVOR: decent. nothing amazing but not bad either.

TEXTURE - all wrong. super super soft. the softest of ALL the macarons

i tasted and am comparing. if you let it completely defrost they are total mush.

{combo pack - 6 vanilla and 6 chocolate}

VANILLA

DEFROST time 30-40 min - make sure they are ROOM TEMP 

FLAVOR: tastes exactly like melted ice cream. 

TEXTURE: it has more of a crisp shell than some others, but is still lacking.

the ratio of filling to shell is pretty good but it is mushy overall.

CHOCOLATE

DEFROST time 40 minutes - LONGEST but be sure it is ROOM TEMP

{note: they taste BAD and DRY if not room temp}

FLAVOR: my favorite overall {inc. costco's} pretty decent chocolate flavor

TEXTURE: best overall - keeping in mind still not great next to the real thing.

slightly crisp shell and slightly chewey center.

overall a little dry, but in my opinion the closest texture and flavor to a real macaron.

ok costco time.

found in the FRIDGE section.

pretty colors and a variety of flavors... if only they all tasted good.

DEFROST TIME: just let them come to room temp - about 20 min

FLAVORS

yellow - mango/passion fruit

{dull. needed more punch.}

pink - raspberry

{decent filling. had a good flavor. just needed about 2x more}

green - pistacio

{they use real pistachio paste which is good, but i can't

seem to put my finger on why i don't like this much...}

tan - coffee

{strong flavor. i'm not a coffee drinker so it seemed fine to me}

brown- chocolate

{GROSS. i couldn't eat more than a bite.} 

TEXTURE

ALL needed MORE filling.

ALL had more of a "cake" like textured shell than they should have... 

and they were too thick/tall.

all this combined to make them really dry.

maybe more filling would have made up for these issues... not sure. 

OVERALL

INGREDIENTS: overall i was impressed at the lack of artificial ingredients

they really are made with real and natural ingredients for the most part. 

FLAVOR: overall they were decent but needed SO much more of a punch!

TEXTURE: trader joe's were too soft and mushy and costco's was too dry and chewy.

OVERALL.......

WORST: costco chocolate

BEST: trader joes chocolate

i would LOVE to hear your opinion. 

if you have NEVER had a macaron before

go and get these! try it out! 

just remember

NOTHING COMPARES TO THE REAL THING.

so do NOT pass up a chance to try the real thing-

meaning FRESH from a BAKERY or a HOMEMADE one!

happy entertaining

mindy starr

{see my diy guide to macarons here}

{see all my macaron adventures here}

{see MY BOOK adventures here}