Not Brownies, Cookies, Or Cake: Our Favorite Trader Joe's Boxed Mix Is A Step Above The Rest

Trader Joe's sells quite a few desserts that are absolute bangers. When the sweet cravings hit, you'll definitely find a good selection of those ready-made treats at the store, but what if your stomach is rumbling for something home-baked? Trader Joe's has a nice lineup of boxed mixes, although not all of them hit the mark. Our taste tester took up the fun task of baking and sampling the mixes, trying to find the very best. Surprisingly, the outstanding winner was the Blondie Bar Mix.

This baking mix took the top spot over brownies, muffins, cookies, and even cake. It only calls for one egg and a stick of butter, and the blondies are ready in under an hour. While most home bakers would admit that boxed desserts rarely resemble the professionally styled photograph on the package, Trader Joe's blondies actually come out picture-perfect. Our tester noted their buttery, sweet, and caramel-like taste, with a nice top crust and a soft, delectable middle. While the bars include chocolate chips sprinkled throughout, the chocolate takes a backseat among the flavor notes — great for anyone who likes the texture of brownies but otherwise finds them too chocolate-forward. For $3.99, one box makes about 14 blondie squares, making it a good budget deal when you need a decadent dessert for a party of friends or coworkers.

Trader Joe's Blondie baking mix is not a novelty; it has been beloved among customers for several years. It's delicious on its own and doesn't really need any extra additions to make it shine, but it can act as a canvas for your baking experimentation. Many customers have found that it's surprisingly easy to customize. For example, you can swap out the regular stick of butter for vegan butter, or brown the butter first before adding it to the dried mix. If you're worried about the dessert turning out too sweet, use salted butter for perfectly balanced blondies. Some Trader Joe's shoppers have also successfully used two eggs instead of one or replaced the butter with mashed bananas.

Even sticking to the original recipe offers room for a few tweaks, as you can play with different additions that elevate the flavor and add textural variety. A splash of bourbon or rum goes great if you're baking for adults. Swap out the regular chocolate chips for white chocolate chips, peanut butter cups, or java chips. Chopped nuts are another fun idea for enhanced texture, as is adding dried fruit. Finally, if experimenting with the baking mix has given you a boost of confidence to attempt the blondies from scratch, Tasting Table's recipe for the best blondies comes together in just 45 minutes.