Trader Joe’s is well known (and well-loved) for its frozen finds and seasonal releases, but the baking selection is where I think the retailer deserves more shine. Unlike with most grocery stores these days, TJ’s prices don’t give me sticker shock.
As a pastry chef and owner of a small wedding cake business in New York City, high-quality ingredients are paramount to my baking. If they’re affordable, too — well, then you’ll certainly find me going back time and again. So many of Trader Joe’s baking finds check both boxes. These are the six that I exclusively buy at the popular retailer.
1. Trader Joe’s Unsalted Butter Quarters, $3.99 for 16 ounces
When it comes to baking, good butter matters. I go through pounds of unsalted butter every week for layered cakes and cookies, and Trader Joe’s has it for at least 50% cheaper than the other grocery stores in my area. Whether I use it to laminate dough or blend into pie crust, it delivers the same high-quality results. The best part is that it’s only about 20 cents more per pound than the large wholesale butter bricks used in professional kitchens.
2. Trader Joe’s Triple Ginger Snaps, $4.79 for 14 ounces
This is a not-so-well kept secret: the Trader Joe’s Triple Ginger Snaps are a wonderful find for the casual ginger snap lover. But rather than just straight-up snacking, I use them to make cookie crumb crusts for no-bake pies, cheesecakes, and bars. They’re crunchy, heavily spiced cookies with tiny, chewy crystallized ginger bits. Simply process or crush these into a dust, combine the crumbs with melted butter, and pat the mixture into a crust.
3. Trader Joe’s Pumpkin Butter, $2.99 for 10 ounces
Trader Joe’s Pumpkin Butter is another one of my absolute favorites. These jars are a seasonal item for fall and winter, so I try to grab three or four as soon as I see them. You wouldn’t be wrong to spread it on pancakes or muffins, but why add it to the batter instead?
This pumpkin butter has a versatile consistency that actually mixes well into batters and frostings so you can subtly infuse your baked goods with the warm and cozy flavors of pumpkin spice. It’s also a great sandwich cookie filling and makes a heck of a thumbprint cookie center.
4. Trader Joe’s Amarena Cherries, $4.49 for 10 ounces
Forget the fluorescent-red maraschino cherries. Amarena cherries are the best way to add intense cherry flavor to your desserts and cocktails. The flavor is strong without being artificial, and the color is a wonderfully dramatic maroon bordering on black.
They’re packed into the jar with the stem on, so I also like to blot off the excess syrup and use them to decorate cakes or big holiday trifles. Alternatively, I’ll destem them, finely chop the fruit, and stir the pieces into batters, frostings, or fillings.
5. Trader Joe’s Pound Plus 72% Dark Chocolate Bar, $8.99 for 17.9 ounces
Chocolate is another item I use often in my baking, and can quickly become costly, especially if you need several different types. To reduce cost and make my life less confusing, I gravitate toward versatile chocolates that can fill many roles in different recipes. This is where the Trader Joe’s Pound Plus 72% chocolate bar steps in.
It’s a flexible dark chocolate that I’ve used for melting into ganache or straight into chocolate cake batters. I’ll chip off chunks of it for cookies, or shave curls off to decorate cakes or pies. I rarely leave the store without a hefty bar.
6. Trader Joe’s Plain Greek Nonfat Yogurt, $5.49 for 32 ounces
While this Greek yogurt is good as a stand-alone product, I primarily use it as a buttermilk “concentrate.” Sure, I could buy actual buttermilk, but I find the consistency of yogurt to be far more versatile and, honestly, I get more bang for my buck this way. Of course, yogurt is not the same as buttermilk, but when used in cake and biscuit recipes, it does have the same effect when it comes to tenderizing the final texture and activating baking soda.
Trader Joe’s Plain Greek is my yogurt of choice. To make faux buttermilk, simply whisk a tablespoon or two of TJ’s Plain Greek Yogurt with milk in a measuring cup to get a buttermilk-like consistency and carry on.
What are your favorite Trader Joe’s baking item? Tell us about it in the comments below.
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