If there is one thing that Trader Joe’s knows how to do and that is making chocolate goodies. All you have to do is walk through the store and see the myriad of excellent choices of chocolate products to choose from. Just in time for Halloween this year, Trader Joe’s has released a large bag of individually wrapped mini chocolate bars.
I really loves me some chocolate. I do have to say that I am partial to dark chocolate and Trader Joe’s has a literal ton of it in every store. But, honestly, I will eat almost any chocolate if you put it in front of me.
Trader Joe’s got into the Halloween trick-or-treat candy for kids a couple of years ago and has gone big time this year with these mini chocolate bars that are individually wrapped to hand out to the kids.
Trader Joe’s didn’t do anything groundbreaking here, just four solid candy bars that are basically copycats of candy bars made by the big candy companies. So, in this bag there are four different bars. Nougat and Caramel Chocolate, Peanut and Caramel Chocolate Bar, Carmel and Wafer Chocolate Bar and Nougat Chocolate Bar.
Let’s see how these line up with the big name chocolate bars:
The first is the Nougat and Caramel Chocolate Bar and the closest I could come up with is a Milky Way bar.
The Second is the Peanut and Caramel Chocolate bar and this one is very similar to a Snickers Bar.
The third chocolate bar from Trader Joe’s is the Caramel Wafer Chocolate bar and it is very similar to a 100 Grand Bar
The last bar is the Nougat Chocolate Bar and it’s almost the same as a Three Musketeers bar.
Each bar comes in its own color foil pouch, easier to hand out for Halloween, in a different color!
How did each Trader Joe’s Chocolate Bar Taste?
Let me compare each one:
- Nougat and Caramel Chocolate Bar (Milky Way clone): First let me say, that I have never been a Milky Way bar fan. I just don’t find them all that interesting. But I will say this, and this goes for all the bars, these are more interesting than the commercial comparison. The chocolate has more flavor. All the ingredients have more flavor. I really liked this but they weren’t my favorite.
- Peanut and Caramel Chocolate Bar (Snickers clone) – One of my favorite mainstream candy bars of all time is a Snickers bar which this is supposed to emulate. There is something about peanuts and caramel wrapped in chocolate that is special. Probably why I love Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups so much. Trader Joe’s did an honorable job here and I really like this bar the best out of the four. But I will say, I like a real Snickers bar slightly better, but kudos to Trader Joe’s for even trying to make these.
- Caramel and Wafter Chocolate Bar (100 Grand Bar) Just like the peanut and caramel bar, having a crunch element in the bar gives it something special. I also love the caramel. Similar to the fake Snickers bar, this was my 2nd favorite of the bunch. Again, I thought Trader Joe’s did a good job simulating the 100 Grand Bar.
- Nougat Chocolate Bar (Three Musketeers Bar) I’ll admit that I rarely bought Three Musketeers bars when I was eating a lot of candy bars. They just were that interesting. It’s just Nougat and Chocolate. I will say that I liked these more than the real Three Musketeers bars. It just had more flavor. Probably because Trader Joe’s uses higher quality ingredients than the mainstream candy bar companies.
Final Verdict on Trader Joe’s Mini Chocolate Bars
These are just the perfect size for snacking. I hope these stick around for a while but based on the Halloween motive on the bag, I kinda doubt they will be around in November. That’s a shame because as cool as these bars are for the kids at Halloween, adults really love these too.
Two things that I wish they would do, but these are never going to happen. First, make them in dark chocolate and then I would by tons of them. Secondly, break them up into four different bags but I know they wouldn’t sell the fake Three Musketeers bars because nobody would by them!
All in All, I really like these and the whole concept. I wish they would stay around all year. I am going to give Trader Joe’s 8 Bells for these!
Ingredients
- NOUGAT & CARAMEL CHOCOLATE BAR (SUGAR, GLUCOSE SYRUP [WHEAT, CORN], PALM OIL, COCOA BUTTER, SKIM MILK, MILK, UNSWEETENED CHOCOLATE, INVERT SUGAR, LACTOSE, WHEY, BARLEY MALT EXTRACT, COCOA PROCESSED WITH ALKALI, CARAMELIZED SUGAR SYRUP, SALT, DRIED EGG WHITES, SOY LECITHIN [EMULSIFIER], NATURAL FLAVOR).
- PEANUT & CARAMEL CHOCOLATE BAR (SUGAR, PEANUTS, GLUCOSE SYRUP [WHEAT, CORN], COCOA BUTTER, PALM OIL, MILK, SKIM MILK, UNSWEETENED CHOCOLATE, INVERT SUGAR, BARLEY MALT EXTRACT, LACTOSE, WHEY, SALT, NATURAL FLAVORS, SOY LECITHIN [EMULSIFIER], DRIED EGG WHITES, HYDROLYZED CASEIN PROTEIN).
- CARAMEL & WAFER CHOCOLATE BAR (SUGAR, GLUCOSE SYRUP [WHEAT, CORN], WHEAT FLOUR, PALM OIL, COCOA BUTTER, MILK, INVERT SUGAR, UNSWEETENED CHOCOLATE, DEXTROSE, WHEY, LACTOSE, SKIM MILK, CORNSTARCH, SOY LECITHIN [EMULSIFIER], SALT, CANOLA LECITHIN [EMULSIFIER], CARAMELIZED SUGAR SYRUP, COCONUT OIL, EGG YOLK, CARAMEL COLOR, BARLEY MALT EXTRACT, NATURAL FLAVORS, CARRAGEENAN).
- NOUGAT CHOCOLATE BAR (SUGAR, GLUCOSE SYRUP [WHEAT, CORN], COCOA BUTTER, MILK, PALM OIL, UNSWEETENED CHOCOLATE, COCOA, BARLEY MALT EXTRACT, SKIM MILK, LACTOSE, WHEY, CARAMELIZED SUGAR SYRUP, DRIED EGG WHITES, SALT, SOY LECITHIN [EMULSIFIER], HYDROLYZED CASEIN PROTEIN, NATURAL FLAVOR).
- CONTAINS MILK, EGG, SOY, WHEAT, PEANUT.
- MAY CONTAIN ALMOND, CASHEW, COCONUT, HAZELNUT, MACADAMIA NUT, PECAN, PISTACHIO, SHEANUT, WALNUT.
