Cinnamon Sugar Muffin and Baking Mix

Happy Valentine’s Day!  I am writing and posting this review on February 14^th, but the product being reviewed has nothing to do with the holiday.  Even so, may your day be full of love, hugs, and chocolate (if you are into those kinds of things).

Now for the review.  I found this box of Cinnamon Sugar Muffin and Baking Mix on a Trader Joe’s “end cap” (that’s the big display at the end of an aisle for those of you who have never worked retail 😊 ).  The picture on the package looked like a tasty muffin, so I grabbed a box and made them on a recent Sunday morning.  (I say “morning”, but on days that my partner and I both have off of work, “morning” can be any time we are still in our robes and sitting down to coffee and breakfast.  On lazy days it is usually past noon.  😊 ). 

THIS is an end cap.  Lovely!

Good signage, too

The box has two versions – muffins or coffee cake.  I made them as muffins.  Here is what we thought of them:

David:  “I am gonna give these a 5.  The taste is great!  I would recommend slicing them in half and then re-dipping them in the melted butter and cinnamon sugar (editor’s note: that muffin eating style may not be the healthiest of choices but it is a delicious and creative option).  The taste is good.  The texture is good.  The amount of butter, cinnamon, and sugar is delightful!  Plus, they are very easy to make – you just get up in the morning and your girlfriend has already made them for you!!”

Muffins, espresso, grapefruit, fresh squeezed OJ, and the Sunday morning Washington Post. 
David in his "happy place". 

My take:  Even though I was the one who actually made them, I agree with David that they were easy to prepare.  All you need is water, one egg, and butter.  They are easy to mix, too.  You know how some muffin mixes are all lumpy when you mix them up?  This one was not like that.  One baking note though:  the box says to melt 6 tablespoons of butter (which is used to dip the baked muffin tops in before rolling them in the cinnamon sugar).  I had 5 tablespoons of butter handy, so used that, and it was more than enough.  I would say start with 4 or 5 tablespoons then melt a bit more if you need it.

These muffins and PRETTY and TASTY, a good combination

I will buy these again.  They would be good to make if you are having people over for breakfast or brunch.  I like that they are not toooooo sweet as some box muffin mixes are. That might be because these, being from Trader Joe’s, have more natural, “hippy” ingredients.  The box says these, “…make a light and fluffy muffin with the flavor of a donut,” which we agree with.  The texture of the muffins is terrific – they have a fluffy quality and are not as dense as some muffins are.  TJs also says these are, “A perfect combination to a cup of joe or alongside a scoop of vanilla ice cream”.  We paired ours with cups of joe (and I drank mine our of my new espresso cup!).

My new espresso cup was the perfect compliment to these muffins

The box says it makes 12 muffins, I got 10 (which I guess only proves that I put more batter in the muffin cups than they expected me to).  I am going to agree with my Valentine and give these muffins a 5 star rating, too.  I am not sure if they are a seasonal item or if TJs will continue to carry them, but I recommend picking up a box soon.  They are tasty!

Bonus cheesy kissing photo for Valentine's (which was actually TAKEN on Christmas,
making the whole thing a bit confusing really...)

Price:  $2.99

Rating:  5 stars