This Trader Joe’s Gelato Tastes Like Swirly Soft Serve

Vanilla Bean and Chocolate Swirl Gelato
I’ve been craving a swirl cone of soft serve from Mister Softee for months, tortured here in the ice-cream-truck-deprived streets of Ann Arbor. But this soft, creamy gelato was a near ringer, especially after I let it sit on the counter for 17 minutes. The container is packaged so that when you open the lid there are whimiscal dollops of ice cream and swirls of chocolate syrup, which I ruined after two scoops. It’s still no horchata ice cream, but no one ever will be.

Gluten-Free Madeleines
These individually packed madeleines would offend Proust, but he’s dead so who cares? The main players are eggs, sunflower oil, sugar, rice flour, and potato starch, which create a sponge that reminds me of an old-fashioned doughnut, begging to be dunked in coffee. Does it have the weightless crumb of a traditional madeline, bound by the whispers of romance poets? No. Does it have the golden exterior of a daydream struck by the sun? No. But it is a tasty little yellow cake. Sliced in half, these would be a great GF substitute in icebox cakes, trifles, or tiramisu.