Thursday, December 17, 2009

Disappearing Candy Cane Joe-Joe's

From the serious side of life, we've had some worrisome few days here since my elderly father-in-law (who lives with us since my husband and I are his full time caregivers) has been in the hospital since Monday evening for stroke-like symptoms. He has been conscious and stable the whole time, and curiously all the extensive tests that he's undergone do not indicate a stroke. He is, however, very weak and confused. He told me yesterday he could run right now, yet in truth he didn't even have the strength to feed himself. We're hoping he recovers quickly and regains his strength and his awareness of his physical limitations so that he asks for help instead of trying to do things himself that he can't and then risking serious injury.

From the light hearted side of life, I have a true story to share with you about a seasonal cookie you can get at Trader Joe's this time of year if you're lucky and if you're quick!

I ran into my local Trader Joe's for milk the other day. It was one of those rare occasions that I needed nothing else but milk.

So I grabbed a gallon of milk from the refrigerator case. 1% RBST Free Milk for $2.99, which by the way, has got to be the absolute cheapest price you can pay for any kind of milk around here and the fact that it's RBST free? Awesome deal.

With nothing but the milk in hand and blinders on to avoid any wayward purchases, I headed for the check out.

Even with the blinders on, however, there was no way to miss the towering display of what is probably Trader Joe's most popular and most coveted holiday cookie item: The Candy Cane Joe-Joe's.




Candy Cane Joe-Joe's are these chocolate sandwich cookies with crushed candy canes mixed into a vanilla cream center. So yummy. So addictive.

And then I did the most amazing thing.

I kept walking straight for the check out. Can you believe it? I walked past the mile high tower of Candy Cane Joe-Joe's without pause and headed straight for the cash registers.

Amazing, right?

Thankfully, I realized the err of my ways a moment later, turned right around toward that tower and grabbed a box.

Good thing, too, because you know when I go back for more milk in a couple of days, the Candy Cane Joe Joe's will have completely disappeared.

I should have bought two boxes.

They disappear awfully fast at home, too.

In 36 hours or less, as a matter of fact.


I bet Santa would have loved Candy Cane Joe-Joe's, too. Oh well. ;)

Have you tried Candy Cane Joe-Joe's?

Do you have a favorite store bought holiday treat?


18 comments:

  1. Christine, I wish that your FIL will feel better very soon and able to celebrate Christmas at home. :)

    Never heard of Candy Cane Joe-Joe's. Very cute name and looks delicious too - almost like Oreos? :) Yup, you should've bought more. :)

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  2. Christine - I'm thinking of you all and hoping that your father-in-law will be feeling better soon and home for Christmas.

    Jace - you read my mind. They look exactly like what we call Oreos :)

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  3. Never heard of those cookies. They sound kinda good though. If it had been me, I would have kept walking, then came home and told my husband about the cookies and then he would have done a little pout saying I never get any good junk food...:).

    Oh and Christine, I do hope your Father in Law gets better soon. It must be awfully stressful this time of year. Hugs :).

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  4. Christine, I'm hoping that your father-in-law will be better soon and home for Christmas. I'm thinking of you and your family.

    I've never heard of Candy Cane Joe-Joe's either but they do look like Oreos.

    "Thankfully, I realized the err of my ways a moment later, turned right around toward that tower and grabbed a box." - LOL! Good for you although yes, you should have gotten two.

    PS: What is RBST Free Milk?

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  5. Christine, hope your FIL gets well & can be at home for the holidays.

    So, everyone agrees they look like Oreos. Except for the filling, right? The filling tastes like candy canes? Is that it? I've never heard of these. ^-^

    No real fav holiday stuff (except for Godiva truffles which I avoid year round, but it's harder to do so at Christmas time, lol!)

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  6. Thanks for all the well wishes for my FIL. They may be discharging him today, which I know he'll be thrilled about. He fought our judgement to go to the hospital in the first place, and all he's been doing is asking why he's there, insisting he's fine and wants to go home. It's unnerving though, to not know what happened to him and see obvious changes in his faculties.

    As for the cookies, yes, they are just like Oreos but with crushed candy canes in the filling. They're exclusive to Trader Joe's, though, so if you don't have a store near you, I guess you wouldn't know them. The filling is creamier and tastier than Oreos. Good stuff. :)

    Taja, rBST is an artificially manufactured growth hormone that is given to milk cows to increase their milk production. There are arguments that it is not harmful to humans, but there are others that report that it is. I say I don't want to take my chances, so I buy almost all of my dairy products that are labeled "made from milk that is rBST free". Trader Joe's sells a lot of these products. Here's a link if you're interested in more information: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bovine_somatotropin

    I see that rBST is not approved for use in Japan, Australia, New Zealand, and Canada. Interesting.

    Hilcia, I say Godiva chocolates are for any time of the year!!! ;)

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  7. I just want to add my good wishes for your FIL's recovery too. I'm glad he's coming home today and I hope that will make you all feel better.

    Our favorite Trader Joe's Christmas cookie is the dark chocolate covered shortbread stars. They're in the blue box. Yum!

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  8. Hey Christine! So sorry to hear about this... I hope your father in law gets better soon! That must be so scary for all of you!!

    The joe-joes. OMG. YUM.

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  9. Phyl, thanks for the thoughts on my FIL. Also, I will be looking for those chocolate covered shortbreads in the blue box on my next visit. Have you seen them in the store this season already?

    Carolyn, thanks for the concern for my father-in-law.

    He just came home from the hospital about an hour ago and is sleeping now. He's so weak, though. He can barely stand and can't walk without at least one strong person holding him up. He's also going to be on a "mechanical" diet for a while, which means we'll be pureeing all his food to a thick soupy consistency... no liquids and no solids. Hopefully he'll progress in the next few days and weeks and go back to regular food and be able to at least get to the toilet that's four feet from his bedside on his own.

    Thank you all for your concern. It helps me to know you guys are here to listen to my woes.

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  10. Oh my yes. We've gone through 3 boxes of them since Thanksgiving. My store doesn't have them on display, but they are in the cookie aisle.

    It sounds like you'll be doing quite a bit of extra work caring for your FIL. But it's clear he'll eat right living in your home! All those good fresh foods will help.

    Take care and I hope you have time to read a book or two (while devouring those Joe Joes).

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  11. Good to hear your FIL will be coming home soon. I hope he continues to get better.

    The Joe-Joe's look yummy. :)

    We might have a new favorite this year - Peppermint Chocolate Chip Milkshake from Chick-fil-A. Pure decadence. :D

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  12. i bought some and brought them to work. my boss calls them cr*ck cookies! She couldn't stop eating them. I have another box at home all for me.

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  13. My best to you and your family... hope your FIL is feeling better soon too =)

    My cookie du jour is the Lemon butter cookies from Pepperidge Farms.... love those! However, orannia has inspired to be healthier (and my doc calling me fat), so I've been holding out.

    Now you tempt me with these

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  14. Ack! I'm late to comment, but very glad to hear your FIL was able to go home. I hope he continues to gain strength and health with you.
    We don't have a Trader Joe's near us.... We do have Whole Foods and my favorite thing to treat myself to from them is maple butter. SO good on toast in the winter when I crave maple. *G*
    Prayers and hugs for y'all!

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  15. Christine, thank you for your explanation and the link. I've never heard of rBST (at least, I can't remember). Thankfully, it's banned here, too.

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  16. I hope your father in law recovers and that they figure out what happened!

    We do not have Trader Joe's, but I've heard about these cookies. I am not a huge Oreo fan, but I think the candy cane part would push me over.

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  17. I'm glad to hear that you FIL is home Christine. I hope he is feeling better soon!

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  18. Again, sorry for the delay in responding to your comments. I read them all as I saw them come in my email, usually when taking a few quick moments to check my email via my phone, but I just haven't had much time to sit down with my laptop in the last few days.

    Taking care of my FIL since he came home Thursday has been overwhelming and worrisome. He's not too disoriented any more, but he's extremely weak. He's also still on a soft food diet (no liquids and no regular solid food-pureed and thickened liquids) because of swallowing issues. He has needed assistance to get to the toilet--which is typically every 1-2 hours around the clock. My poor husband has barely had any sleep. The good news is that today, he finally got the hang of using the walker to pull himself up to standing from the bed and using it for support as he shuffles to the toilet that's about 4 feet from his bed. I'm so glad we planned his bedroom and bathroom layout in our recent home addition so that his bed was as close as possible to the bathroom door that is as close as possible to the toilet. I mean, we wanted that ease of use for him even before this recent decline in his health, but now it seems even more crucial than ever before. Anyway, the last few days have been tough. But we're hanging in there. :)

    Phyl, I am reading a very sweet Christmas romance anthology... The Heart of Christmas and I am enjoying it very much. Reading a chapter or two every night helps me relax and get my mind off of worries for a while.

    Leslie, Thanks for the well wishes for my FIL. :)

    That milkshake sounds mm mm good! I bet I could make that at home with vanilla ice cream and crushed Candy Cane Joe-Joe's! ;P

    Linda, They are terribly addictive and I'm not a huge Oreo fan.

    Mariana, Thanks for the well wishes. I love lemon!! We tried the Pepperidge Farm Linzer cookies and they were very good. I think they're relatively low in fat and calories, too, which is always a plus!

    Brandy, no worries! There's no such thing as late on my blog. ;) Thanks for the well wishes for my FIL.

    I love Whole Foods. I used to shop there regularly every 2-3 weeks, but now I go once every 6 months or so. I love Pumpkin Butter and Apple Butter, but have never tried Maple Butter. I should look for that. Especially since I'm a 100% pure maple kind of girl, and quite elitist about it, too. LOL I can't stand the fake stuff like Aunt Jemima's. *gag*

    Taja, I'm not surprised rBST is banned there, too. I think Japan, Europe, Canada, and Australia & New Zealand are more progressive with food standards than the USA.

    Lisa, Thanks for the well wishes. I don't think we're going to get much explanation for what happened to my FIL. The doctor only says there was some evidence of vascular shrinkage in his brain, but not indicative of a stroke and no explanation of how it happened so suddenly. Essentially that's the same as less blood flow and hence less oxygen to the brain and there's nothing they can do about it.

    As far as the Joe-Joe's, I'm not a huge Oreo fan either, but these are quite yummy. Their regular Joe-Joe's are good, too. Lots of vanilla bean flecks in the cream.

    orannia, Thank you. I'm glad he's home, too, even if it does mean a lot of extra work for my husband and me. Mostly my husband right now.

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