There’s so much to love about Halloween: the candy, the decorations, the candy, the costumes—did we mention the candy? But there’s more than just Halloween candy at Trader Joe’s this time of year. You can stock up on succulent skulls, cinnamon brooms, seasonal scented candles, and gourd upon gourd upon gourd. And, of course, a delicious selection of sweets, whether we’re looking for a Halloween party spread, a snack to eat while we’re completing the required viewing of Hocus Pocus, or some of that good ol’ Halloween candy to throw to the trick-or-treaters. Here are our six picks for the best returning and new Trader Joe’s Halloween foods to buy this spooky season.
- Wicked Good Mini Chocolate Bars
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Whether you interpret the “wicked good” descriptor as fun Halloween wordplay or a year-round compliment in Boston, this bag is still a great get. It includes 24 mini milk chocolate bars of four different varieties: nougat, nougat and caramel, peanut and caramel, and caramel and wafer. It’s the best Trader Joe’s chocolate candy to buy for trick-or-treaters (and maybe get an extra bag for yourself, because you deserve a treat, too).
- Halloween Sprinkles
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The day after Halloween, the shelves will inevitably be stuffed to the brim with Thanksgiving and Christmas. The skeletons decorations and fun-sized candies will be strewn carelessly into a clearance section. So, we must capitalize on Halloween while we can. One of the fastest, tastiest, crunchiest ways to do this is with—say it with us—shattered femurs! Whoops, we mean sprinkles! TJ’s bag of Halloween sprinkles is made up of brown bats, yellow jack-o-lanterns, and white ghosts that will look right at home as a topper to festive cookies, spooky sundaes, or honestly just a crunchy snack to satisfy your sweet tooth.
- Halloween Joe-Joe’s
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Yes, these are pretty much normal Joe-Joe’s. They’ve just got dyed cream and a different shaped cookie, so are they really worth the hype? Of course they are, and how dare you question the power of marketing! TJ’s took the tried-and-true Joe Joe and gave it a little Halloween tweak. The pumpkin spice Joe-Joe’s are there, as well, but Halloween Joe-Joe’s will always be welcome in our home.
- Haunted House Chocolate Cookie Kit
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Carving pumpkins is far too much work—and you can’t even eat them. Thank goodness for this haunted house chocolate cookie kit! It swaps out the warm and spicy gingerbread for a sweet chocolate option, and the jolly gumdrops for some Halloween classics like black cats and bats. To launch you right into the fun, it comes with prepared cookies, decorations, and icings that are ready to assemble and eat. Or just eat.
- Halloween Gummies
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We’ve all avoided the house that gave out vegetables to trick-or-treaters…until now. TJ’s Halloween gummies (some of the best Halloween candy to buy this year, per our ranking) are naturally colored with concentrates from previous trick-or-treat no-nos like carrots and apples, and come in pouches perfectly portioned to give away to the kiddos or pack in your own lunch. Because why should those costumed free-loaders be the only ones to reap the rewards of your hard-earned money and fought-for parking spot? The packs come with shapes like skulls, skeletons, bats, pumpkins, and spiders, so feel free to save the money of going to a horror movie by looking in the bag and imagining a world where all of those things are life-sized.
- Spooky Bats & Cats Sour Gummy Candies
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Halloween is fraught with so much sweetness that a sour bite is especially welcome. These bat and cat gummies are still sweet at their core, but, like Trader Joe’s celebrated Sour Scandinavian Swimmers, they’re covered in a sour sugar. With their zippy outer coating and sweet, chewy gummy interior, Sour Patch Kids better watch themselves because there’s a new sweet and sour Halloween treat in town. And these ones have an advantage because cats are so much more likable than people from the start.
