A to Z Food Challenge: J

I don't know about you guys, but I freaking LOVE sweets. Cookies, chocolate, cake, you name it. Now, I don't want my food challenges to become all about sweets - I do love me some good meat - but I will be tackling another "guilty pleasure" item today. Mostly because I feel like I would be doing an injustice to you all if I didn't share in detail on something I briefly discussed last week. 

If you haven't seen last week's food challenge, I did an ice cream pie using Trader Joe's "Joe Joe's" as the crust. I lightly reviewed these cookies as to be fabulous, but I decided perhaps it wasn't necessarily fair to judge these cookies without having it's opponent next to it. So I decided to pull out the big guns and try them all!

No I didn't go out and buy every single Oreo to date (I would literally make myself sick), but I did do a simple comparison between Oreo's and Joe Joe's. For this particular debate, I chose to specifically compare Vanilla Joe Joe's to Vanilla Oreo's and Chocolate Joe Joe's to Original Oreo's Double Stuff. So without further ado, here's what I've discovered.

Vanilla Joe Joe's VS Vanilla Oreo's:
Vanilla Joe Joe's quantity is bigger at 20 oz. ($2.99), while Oreo's are 16.6 oz. ($3.13). Also, Vanilla Joe Joe's cookies are bigger as well, giving you more "cream filling" than the Oreo's. Flavor wise, Vanilla Oreo's cookies are a bit too "fake vanilla" for my liking. The outer cookie is a tad bit crunchier than the Vanilla Joe Joe's, but the cream is no where near the comparison. Oreo's have this very distinct flavor in the middle that tastes nothing like cream, more like whipped cream with plastic. Vanilla Joe Joe's on the other hand, have a very refreshing vanilla bean flavored cream, that makes for an EXCELLENT pairing with vanilla ice cream. It isn't overbearing vanilla, more like a subtle hint with soft cookie. 

Chocolate Joe Joe's VS Original Oreo's Double Stuffed:
Joe Joe's quantity are still bigger than the Oreo's package. The cookies - again - are also bigger, regardless of me having purchased the double stuffed. Joe Joe's cookies ACTUALLY taste like chocolate wafers. The cream in the middle is still vanilla bean, giving this almost that "authentic" taste. As if you'd gone into a bakers store and they handed you these little goodies as "appetizers". Oreo's don't have much of a chocolate taste - which I learned solely from this test - and the cream is still that "off" taste. 

With milk, Joe Joe's stand up a little longer to the "soaked" test. They didn't crumble and fall into my glass quite as quickly as the Oreo's did. The Oreo wafers were also a smidgen thinner than the Joe Joe's wafers, which could account for the sogginess. In Ice Cream the Oreo's broke apart easier, spreading evenly through the ice cream. Joe Joe's were a bit harder to crunch, giving you a chunky ice-cream - which isn't necessarily a bad thing. In smoothies, I found that the Joe Joe's left an abundance of vanilla flavoring, whereas the Oreo's just added a crunch. I have used Oreo's in the past for pies and I can honestly say that while the Oreo's did spread easier with a very fine crumble, I felt as if the Joe Joe's crust was WAY more tasty. 

Overall the winner in both categories are Joe Joe's. My personal favorite are the Vanilla Joe Joe's. While the chocolate one's are delicious, I felt a bit overwhelmed by the chocolate and vanilla combination. I tend to only want one or the other - which could be why for so long I chose Oreo's. That problem was non-existent. 

While Oreo's are addicting, I do think that the moment you pop a Joe Joe into your mouth with milk, coffee, or ice-cream, you'll be more than willing to deter from Oreo's altogether. However, you may grow a new addiction for the Trader Joe's cookies. Sorry, but not really. 

So go out there and buy yourself a box of this deliciousness for the 3 day weekend! Your guests for the 4th of July are going to be SO glad you decided to have these around for a snack. They're great for "after dinner" dessert with an ice-cream bar. 

Have fun this weekend everyone and remember to stay safe! Don't forget to enter my giveaway going on right now as well! Simply check out yesterday's post (6/3/2016 - click HERE) for all the rules and details! Enjoy and good luck!!!