Trader Joe's OH Danish Kringle - Pecan Kringle

On one of my last trips through Trader Joe's I saw they had kringles available and I nearly clicked my heels together with delight. Wondering what flavor it was ... I was awed when I saw it was the Trader Joe's OH Danish Kringle - Pecan Kringle. This was the third kringle I've tried (pumpkin caramel and almond being the other two) so I knew this one could swing either way ... either straight out of the park or it'd be third strike you're out.

The kringle is your classic Danish dessert which is a large round ring of flaky pastry crust which has a filling in the middle. The top layer of pasty crust is then covered in a moderately thick layer of icing - giving it the "icing on the cake" vibe. This particular kringles filling is a thick brown sugar cinnamon filling, which isn't very sweet, which is then riddled with pieces of pecans all throughout the filling. It definitely isn't shy of pecans, which is appreciated.

Flavor wise, this reminds me of homemade pecan danish rings. There used to be a bakery in my area that made them fresh every morning and the flavor of this brought me back in time for a moment. Ideally they're two different desserts, but they're similar and the flavor is there. This in a way throws a nod towards pecan pie, but only if you cut the sweetness of pecan pie by two-thirds. The kringle is sweet, but certainly not sickeningly so ... but I do find the 1 serving is more than enough to satisfy my sweet tooth.

A serving, 1/12th of the danish, is 230 calories or 5 points plus values.

Trader Joe's OH Almond Kringle

After a trip to Trader Joe's one afternoon I was hoping to pick up another pumpkin caramel kringle but to my surprise they were all sold out. But they did have the Trader Joe's OH Almond Kringle available ... so I decided to pick it up to give it a try. I mean, after all, I do tend to enjoy almond desserts.

The kringle was shaped exactly as the pumpkin caramel, in an oval shape which had a thin layer of icing over the top of the kringle. The dessert was that classic, flaky crust and the inside was smeared with an almond flavoring. It wasn't truly along the lines of a filling, but it looked like almond paste may have been included with the flaky layers and layered together. It was along the lines of a dense, packed consistency which had a little bit of moisture to it.

Flavor wise I wasn't truly that impressed. The pumpkin caramel kringle was phenomenal and I found the almond kringle to be overly sweet and rather lackluster. It wasn't "wowing" and it wasn't utterly delicious. I found it to be too sweet to truly enjoy.

Like they say, you win some ... lose some ... and this was a loss.

A serving, 1/12th of the dessert, is 190 calories or 5 points plus values.

Trader Joe's OH Pumpkin Caramel Kringle

The last few times I've gone to Trader Joe's I've noticed the new dessert they had on their dessert table. At first, I didn't quite know what it was ... and since it's in a wax paper bag I couldn't see it ... so I wasn't quite tempted (that is aside from it listing "Pumpkin Caramel" on the label (which made me want it site unseen). Then one afternoon on a trip to Trader Joe's the OH Pumpkin Caramel Kringle was the sample of the day. And after that sample ... I was hooked and picked up 2 frozen Kringle's to take home (I purchased 2 because the crew member advised they'd be good until Thanksgiving with it being frozen). Having dinner guests over, I left one out overnight to defrost and cut it up into serving sizes prior to dinner.

 

The dessert is sold as a round ring, which is made of a flaky pastry crust which has a caramel "frosting" along the top of it with a sprinkle of chopped pecans throughout. It's a danish dessert - very similar to a danish but the filling is completely encased in the flaky pastry dough. It's filled with a thin layer of pumpkin which tastes like the inside of pumpkin pie. The frosting on the top of it gives it added sweetness and the pecans give it that subtle crunch that's needed to balance it all out. The texture of the kringle is soft but not so soft it'll fall apart.

 

Overall it's quite delicious ... sweet, but not sickeningly so. It's perfect with a cup of coffee, as an after dinner dessert ... or if you're like me, your dessert before dinner. It's satisfying enough that a serving size is more than enough.

 

A serving, 1/12th of the kringle is 190 calories or 5 points plus values.