This New England-Inspired Trader Joe's Dessert Is Back – And It's Perfect For Your Holiday Dinner Table

You may feel the pressure to fill your holiday table with homemade desserts, but that's why we have Trader Joe's. The popular grocery chain is known year-round for its popular seasonal items, but there is no time of year more special than the holiday season. Trader Joe's holiday items are particularly heavy on desserts, with pumpkin, apple, and peppermint chocolate abounding. And when you need to focus on getting your turkey or ham on the table for dinner, nobody is going to complain when you serve them a Trader Joe's cake instead. And now one of the most beloved TJ's holiday desserts is back on the shelves, a unique New England favorite called Nantucket Cranberry Pie.

A Nantucket Cranberry Pie isn't one of the unique items Trader Joe's dreamed up. It's a real New England specialty, and it brings a bracingly tart flavor you don't often get in overly sweet holiday pies. It's not even what you might normally think of as a pie, being almost a hybrid between pastry and cake. It features a mixture of cranberries and walnuts, cooked in a cake-like batter. It ends up with a gooey, fruity base, much like a fruit pie filling, but with a tender, cakey top that's also flavored with almond and vanilla. Flip it over and you have a bright red holiday dessert that's perfect for adorning a holiday table, and Trader Joe's fans will tell you it's one of the best things the store sells.

Head over to the chain's Reddit page, and the reviews for the Nantucket-Style Cranberry Pie make it sound like one of Trader Joe's best desserts. One commenter who just tried it says, "OMG what was I waiting for? It's just the right balance of tart & sweet. Anybody who likes cranberries would have to love this." Another suggests it's even better with a topping, adding "It's so good, esp with vanilla ice cream. My husband and I can take one down in a single night if we're feeling feral." Another commenter on a different thread calls the cranberry pie, "one of the best things I've ever eaten in my life," with someone else agreeing, "yes, it is soooooo good. I have one in my freezer right now." We could go on, because there are quite a few threads praising this pie, but you get the point.

However, there is one word of warning. One fan notes the pie is available, "unfortunately, only for a little while around Thanksgiving and then gone again for a year." Popular Trader Joe's seasonal items sell out infamously fast, and this isn't one to wait for. Thankfully, it's frozen, so you can grab one early and have it ready for either a Trader Joe's Thanksgiving or for the holiday season afterwards. And all it takes to prepare is defrosting in a low oven for 20 minutes. No wonder fans go wild for this.