About a week ago, Jeff Meyerson mentioned the delight of Trader Joe’s Brownie Crisp Coffee Ice Cream Sandwiches. Jeff made them sound so good I had to do some research. Here’s what I found:
“When you eat ice cream, it’s best to put it in a bowl. When you drink coffee, it’s best to put it in a cup. What if we told you it was possible to enjoy both ice cream and coffee without a bowl or a cup-and also with some brownies added into the mix? It seems like something only achievable in dreams, but Trader Joe’s Brownie Crisp Coffee Ice Cream Sandwiches make those dreams a reality.
We first take two TJ’s Brownie Crisps. Then, we take coffee ice cream-made with coffee syrup, Colombian coffee extract, and espresso grounds-and put a scoop between the brownies. The best part? The ice cream softens up the crisps just enough to give them a deliciously fudgy texture.
The chocolaty chunks in the brownie crisps and the espresso grounds in the ice cream make for some sophisticated flavors you might not expect in an ice cream sandwich–but ones you’ll be overjoyed to encounter. And though these lil’ Sandwiches are bursting with coffee flavor, we don’t blame you if you want to pair it with even more coffee. What could be better than an ice cream sandwich and a glass of Trader Joe’s Cold Brew Coffee Concentrate?”
Well, that description sold me. I drove over to Trader Joe’s and bought a box of Brownie Crisp Coffee Ice Cream Sandwiches. I love coffee and I love brownies so this was a perfect blend of tastes I enjoy. Excellent! You should try Brownie Crisp Coffee Ice Cream Sandwiches, too! GRADE: A
Wish I lived closer to Trader Joe’s.
Patti, I think Trader Joe’s has a delivery service and online ordering. Diane and I don’t shop there often–Diane prefers Wegman’s and Whole Foods–but we occasional buy some of Trader Joe’s exotic stuff like these delicious Brownie Crisp Coffee Ice Cream Sandwiches!
I knew you’d love it! Our only problem is, Trader Joe’s is downtown so at least 15-20 ,minutes away. What we’ve been doing is, buy a box and eat one each in the car, and put the rest in a freezer bag until we get home and can stick them in the freezer. In Florida, Trader Joe’s is closer so we have no trouble getting them home. The first time we had them was when we were staying at a hotel on Long Island when we were seeing a concert, so that time we had no choice but to … eat two each! They are only 180 calories each.
Jeff, our Trader Joe’s is about 10 minutes away, but parking is a pain. I have to park near Barnes & Noble (which I almost always end up going in to shop) and then around the corner to Trader Joe’s. Like you said, getting frozen treats home in the heat is a challenge. But Diane has multiple freezer bags so I can get ice cream and ice cream sandwiches home before they start to melt. Thanks for the recommendation!
Wegman’s and Trader Joe’s are across two large parking lots from each other, about a ten-minute drive away, and I have a certain list of things I get at either…sadly, full-sugar ice cream sandwiches are not among them…they Just Aren’t Good for Type 2 me nor similarly sweet-toothed (but happily not diabetic) Alice (and, unlike the no sugar added apple or cherry turnovers I’ll pick up at Acme, which these days is part of the same conglomerate which owns Safeway and a number of others, I can’t share the postage-stamp-sized layers of paper-thin phyllo dough that Ninja the cat loves…no more than two at a sitting)(there are Certain Things I get at Acme, too…and a much shorter list at either Target or ShopRite, and single Boston Cream donuts only for Alice at Wawa, unless we want to spring for a pricy mocha or chai tea shake–mine with no-sugar ingredients, thanks).
But I can certainly imagine, as I love a mocha anything, unless one has striven to make it Wrong. So, you folks enjoy, while I seethe with envy!
Todd, ask your doctor to put you on the weekly Trulicity injection and you’ll be able to eat ice cream sandwiches, too! I’ve lost 10 pounds on Trulicity with few side effects.
Sounds and looks really good.
Isn’t Trader Joe a part of Aldi?
We don’t have it in Europe, but Aldi and Lidl are our favourite shopping stops.
Wolf, here’s the information on Trader Joe’s: “Trader Joe’s is an American chain of grocery stores headquartered in Monrovia, California. The chain has 560 stores across the United States.
The first Trader Joe’s store was opened in 1967 by founder Joe Coulombe in Pasadena, California. The chain was owned by German entrepreneur Theo Albrecht from 1979 until his death in 2010, when ownership passed to his heirs. The company has offices in Monrovia, California, and Boston, Massachusetts.”
Though, yup, TJs is the “upscale”-ish/earthy-crunchyish chain, Aldi and Lidl the more demotic and conventional chains belonging to the same corporate overlords.
Todd, our TRADER JOE’S moves stuff around so each time I go there I have to wander the aisles until I find what I’m looking for. It’s never in the same place!
Ours, for whatever reason, doesn’t move stuff so much as Doesn’t Have stuff I go there for, too often…and then it’s back. Wegman’s, too, cries Supply Train…even (particularly?) for their store brand items…
Todd, I think most retail stores move merchandise around on the theory that consumers somehow enjoy searching for the items they want to buy.
I’ve known several people who have worked for Trader Joe’s for years and according to them they are owned by the same parent company. Their distinguishing feature seems to be a deliberately awful layout that, I’m told by an architect who used to design their stores, mandated by corporate. They think this makes the stores more “quirky” in a way that only a big corporation with no regard for its customers would ever think is quirky.
Byron, thanks for that explanation of TRADER JOE’S layout nightmare. Everything I want to buy is always in an inconvenient area and height on the shelves!
I hate mocha/coffee desserts! I’ve only started drinking coffee after my hospital stay two years ago and only one cup a day with Coffee Mate to modify the taste! I’ll chalk this entry up to you having to squeeze out some kind of content every day!
Bob, I drink 10 cups of coffee every morning so when the Meyersons suggested these TRADER JOE’S BROWNIE CRISP COFFEE ICE CREAM SANDWICHES I had to try them. I did and decided to share my reaction with the commentators on this blog. And, yes, posting every day does make for a logistical problem sometimes…
Logical and logistical! That sounds like my former coffee habit when I was on staff at TV GUIDE…59-60 hour weeks on the reg. Unfortunately, the current diabetes cocktail (I’m really Not Good with needles) demands a massive cutback on caffeine, so coffee (which is Pricy if you buy if for yourself!) has become an Occasional indulgence (such as my “egg cream” variant–almond milk, vanilla seltzer, and a relatively small dash of coffee).
Todd, Novo Nordisk’s pill called Rybelsus does the same thing that TRULICITY does in lowering glucose levels. I know plenty of people who avoid needles.
I’ll check with my endocrinologist to see if that is recommende, and available on my insurance…
Todd, there’s a whole new pharmacolagical change going on with the treatment of Type 2 diabetes. A number of recent drugs have been FDA approved that will bring down your A1C…and you many lose weight, too. Many more are in the pipeline.
Lord knows I love coffee but I’ve never been a mocha fan, especially when it comes to ice cream. I’m one of those weirdos who actually loves vanilla ice cream (with cashews) although I will usual opt for some variety of chocolate if I go out for a cone. I have had a thing for ice cream sandwiches since childhood. I usually go with Nestle but Alden’s makes an especially fine variety. So glad to hear you are able to indulge in ice cream, George. I’m not much for self-indulgence but life without ice cream would be hell.
Byron, like all high-carb delights, I have to be careful with my choices and portion sizes. But drugs like TRULICITY (with more in the pharmaceutical pipeline) make delicious desserts like TRADER JOE’S BROWNIE CRISP COFFEE ICE CREAM SANDWICHES a monthly option.
Thanks for the info on Aldi and TJs.
I always assumed the awful setup was just to make sure that you walk all the aisles since you can never be sure where anything is.
Jeff, I think you’re right about the logic of forcing consumers to walk the aisles to find stuff so they’ll end up buying more stuff. Marketing studies show the longer you keep shoppers in the store, the more they will buy.
A bit OT but funny in illlustrating the problems of capitalism:
Aldi was founded by the Aldi brothers in 1946 but in the 60s they no longer could work together, big problems.
So one of their lawyers had a great idea:
Let’s split the company into two region and Aldi Nord and Aldi Süd were founded and don’t overlap geographically – except in the USA where Aldi Süd expanded under the name Aldi so Aldi Nord had to do something else – buy Trade Joe’s!
I’ve only been to Aldi near Nashville.
When we visited my wife’s nephew he got us at the airport in Nashville (he’s a prof at Vanderbilt …) and on the way home he said: Gotta do some late shopping! So we followedhim into his favourite Aldi where he knew exactly the places of the different stuff he wanted to buy.
We only did one more stop at a wine shop …
Fond memories!
That was our last trip to the USA, 12 years ago – from Nashville via Savannah down to Orlando, the Space Center and back.
Wolf, many of our friends are loyal ALDI shoppers. We have several ALDI stores in Western NY. The parking lots are always full!