I Tried 6 Fast Food Desserts and This One Was the Surprising Winner

I love desserts when they're decadent, delicious, and taste homemade. That’s why when I was challenged to test desserts from fast food chains to find out if there was a tasty option in the bunch, I didn’t have high expectations. Not that there’s anything wrong with fast food restaurants. It’s simply that they’re not known for their desserts—unless it’s a shake or ice cream treat. 

I typically hit my favorite fast food joint when I’m on the road and in a hurry for a quick meal. But I’ll admit, there are times when I place my order at the drive-thru and think, “It would be nice to have a little something sweet to finish this meal.” If you’re a dessert-lover like me, I know this happens to you too.

That’s why I went to six fast food chains and sampled their treats to let you know which ones are worth trying and which ones aren’t.

Oh, and you’ll notice there aren’t any ice cream treats or milkshakes on this list. Allrecipes has other taste tests on that. Instead, this is a taste test about the other goodies on the fast food menu, specifically, the pies, cookies, brownies, and other sweet confections.

How I Tested

The selected desserts were judged primarily on how they tasted. They needed to be delicious, but also fresh, void of any signs of staleness or lingering packaging flavor (because cardboard-flavored dessert isn’t very good). Finally, appearance was factored in but wasn’t as important. After all, my belly was judging, not my eyes.

Fast Food Dessert Taste Test Results

6th Place: Burger King Hershey’s Sundae Pie

With a name like Hershey’s behind this dessert, I felt relatively certain that it was going to be my winner. Obviously, since this pie ranked last, my assumptions were incorrect. What happened? When I opened my little box of pie I was happy. It looked just like I thought it would. Lovely chocolate poufs on top and a little drizzle of fudge, it screamed, “I’m delicious!” Looks can be deceiving.

Unfortunately, it lied. It was the least delicious of all of the desserts I tried. I know! I was torn apart by this too. It lacked flavor and it tasted like a cardboard box. Even after several bites of trying really hard to like this pie, I just couldn’t. Maybe I just got a bad slice, but the only way I’d try this pie again was if it was free. 

5th Place: Wendy’s Chocolate Chunk Cookie

Cookies are a classic dessert and chocolate anything is always a winner in my book. That’s why I was excited to try Wendy’s Chocolate Chunk Cookie. When I pulled it out of the bag I was impressed. It looked good—like a cookie you’d find at an expensive bakery. I could barely wait to take a bite. But then I did. And my mind couldn’t compute why what I had envisioned flavor-wise didn’t match the cookie I was seeing.

It was soft and had big chocolate chunks, but it was flavorless. I had to open and shut my eyes (an exaggeration, of course) a few times just to make sure it was a cookie I was eating. Once I confirmed that yes, it was a cookie, I hurriedly jotted down my notes before I forgot. Here’s what I wrote, “meh flavor,” “needs some salt,” “bland,” “why can’t I taste the chocolate?”

Bottom line, skip this CCC and order the Frosty instead.

4th Place: Popeyes Strawberry Biscuit

There’s nothing wrong with a biscuit, so when I saw that Popeyes had a strawberry dessert version on their menu (for a limited time only!), I knew I had to try it. A quick peek at the website revealed a delicious-looking biscuit with pops of pink strawberries inside and a pretty drizzle of glaze over the top. It looked tasty.

What I got looked a bit different from that perfectly food-styled version. My glaze was smashed against the lid of the paper cup it was housed in and the flecks of strawberries looked more reddish-brown than pink. No problem, this test wasn’t focused on appearances anyway. 

I gave it a taste. My first impression was that the biscuit was dry, but not anything that a glass of iced tea couldn’t fix. I took a few more bites and I started to realize why everyone was so excited about it. The biscuit had just the right amount of sweetness, a fantastic punch of salt, and a nice smattering of bits of strawberry. 

Overall, I enjoyed the biscuit. However, Popeyes, if you’re listening, how about a version you could heat up yourself at home? That way you get a moist, tasty biscuit every time.

3rd Place: Taco Bell Cinnamon Twists

Fried dough is always a good idea. Especially when it’s tossed in cinnamon and sugar. My cinnamon twists from Taco Bell weren’t warm, but they were crispy and definitely flavorful. They were a bit on the greasy side, but I suppose that’s just part of the fun of eating fried foods, right?

I ate about three before I got bored. Something about the flavor and texture just didn’t keep me interested. While I appreciate their light and airy vibe, they just don’t satisfy. While I don’t think I’d get these regularly, I’d consider adding them to my order on occasion for a fun treat. 

2nd Place: McDonald's Baked Apple Pie

Call me nostalgic, but this pie, even though it tastes nothing like homemade pie, gave me all the feels. It tastes the exact same as when I was a kid, and I appreciated that. It’s simple, it’s overly sweet, but it tastes like childhood. 

The crust was surprisingly crisp but unfortunately didn’t have much flavor. The apples were firm and distinguishable, but the gloop around them was a bit too thick. Perhaps that’s by design, considering there are likely plenty of people trying to enjoy this thing while driving. Which would explain why it comes in that little handy, slide-out box. 

I’d order it again, if just for the memories. Especially the ones of my brother and me sitting in the backseat of my mom’s Buick Riveria. We’d rip open our Happy Meals and grab a few fries before reaching in again to unearth the cool toy. Because back then, the toys were cool. Ahhh, nostalgia.

The Winner: Chick-fil-A Chocolate Fudge Brownie

I hold a special place in my heart for a really delicious fudgy brownie. It’s my favorite dessert and I ask for it specifically in place of cake for my birthday. That’s how much I like brownies. For me to say that a brownie topped the list of fast food desserts is a pretty big deal. 

At first glance, this brownie didn’t look like anything special. In fact, it looked a bit crumbly and dried out. But I know enough now about appearances, that they aren’t a good judge of character, I mean taste. I took a bite and was pleasantly surprised. It was perfectly fudgy and moist.  This brownie was rich and decadent, with plenty of robust chocolate flavor that you expect with a good brownie. It wasn’t overly sweet and the portion size seemed just right. 

Bottom line, I loved it so much that I’ll never go to Chick-fil-A without ordering it!