I Tried 7 Popular Fast-Food Desserts & The Best Was Crisp and Tart

In general, fast-food chains are best known for serving up savory fare such as burgers, fries, chicken tenders, and tacos. However, that doesn't mean that these establishments neglect their dessert-loving customers—far from it, in fact! Scores of fast-food chains have created signature desserts that are not only wildly convenient but known to be extremely tasty as well. Think cookies, pies, ice cream, milkshakes, and unique items you won't find anywhere else.

But when someone with a sweet tooth finds themself craving a beloved fast-food dessert, is there one offering that's superior to all the rest? I recently set out to answer that question by trying the most popular or signature desserts at seven major fast-food chains: McDonald's Oreo McFlurry, Burger King's Hershey's Sundae Pie, Wendy's Chocolate Frosty, Taco Bell's Cinnamon Twists, Subway's Footlong Cookie, Popeyes' Cinnamon Apple Pie, and Chick-fil-A's Chocolate Fudge Brownie.

I judged each option on appearance, taste, texture, and overall craveability and then compiled them into a comprehensive ranking. Read on for my reviews of each sweet treat, starting with my least favorite and ending with the option that blew me away the most!

Subway's Footlong Cookie

Just as its name implies, Subway's Footlong Cookie is a soft, chewy cookie loaded with chocolate chips and served warm. Though Subway has developed an intense fan following for its classic, reasonably-sized cookies over the years, this footlong variety was runaway success when it debuted in early 2024. In fact, it was so popular that Subway began facing shortages just a couple of weeks after it launched and had to beef up its cookie supplies to meet the fierce demand. The cookie cost me $5.99.

The look: This was my first time seeing one of Subway's Footlong Cookies in person, and I was blown away by the sheer size of the thing. Not only is it ridiculously long, but it was also much thicker than a typical cookie and heavily loaded with melty chocolate chips.

The taste: I absolutely adore chocolate chip cookies, and after all of the fanfare surrounding these massive Subway desserts, I was super excited to finally get my hands on one. But although I appreciated the soft, chewy texture of this cookie and the generous portion of chocolate chips, the flavor was bizarrely bad. It had a slightly bitter aroma and taste that completely overwhelmed every good aspect of the cookie. A fellow taster I had with me remarked that it reminded her of "coffee grounds," but I found it to be more on the chemically side.

For the sake of other customers, I hope this was just a rare bad batch of cookies. But as for the one I received, I could hardly get through one of its 12 inches.

 I Taste-Tested Every Subway Breakfast & the Best Was Rich and Hearty

Chick-fil-A's Chocolate Fudge Brownie

Chick-fil-A offers several popular sweet treats, such as milkshakes, cookies, Frosted Coffee, and vanilla-flavored Icedream dessert. However, I opted to try its Chocolate Fudge Brownie for this taste test because the item has garnered serious acclaim online and one customer has even declared it the best they've ever had. The brownie cost me $2.61.

The look: Though the outside of this brownie appeared slightly dry and crumbly, breaking it open revealed a moist and fudgy interior and a deep chocolaty hue. The top was also studded with big chocolate chunks, though I didn't encounter any inside the brownie when I dug into it.

The taste: Despite all the rave reviews for Chick-fil-A's take on this classic dessert, I had some major complaints about this offering. For one, the brownie was overwhelmingly sweet and the chocolate flavor—while detectable—wasn't nearly strong enough to balance out the sugar overload. I could have easily mistaken it for a conventional boxed-mix brownie, and a pretty average one to boot. The one thing the brownie has going for itself is the texture, which is delectably moist, dense, and slightly chewy. But the taste was so cloying and lacking in chocolate flavor that I don't see myself ordering this brownie again.

 Every Single Chick-fil-A Side, Tasted & Ranked

Burger King's Hershey's Sundae Pie

Burger King's Hershey's Sundae Pie features a chocolate crust filled with chocolate crème and garnished with Hershey's chocolate chips. A slice cost me $2.76.

The look: Between the dollops of white cream and artful drizzle of chocolate, this was certainly one of the prettiest desserts I tried for this experiment. The pie filling had a super mousse-y texture and a light milk chocolate hue.

The taste: Ultra sweet and super heavy on the Hershey's flavor. Like Chick-fil-A's brownie, this pie was pretty cloying thanks to the milk chocolate and decadent chocolate drizzle. As a result, it was far from my favorite dessert in the taste test. However, I enjoyed it slightly more than Chick-fil-A's brownie because the light, creamy texture of the filling helped balance those cloying, rich flavors slightly.

It's also important to note that I don't enjoy Hershey's milk chocolate all that much to begin with because of how sweet it is. However, I can see someone who already loves the classic candy really adoring this pie.

 I Tried Every Burger King Chicken Sandwich & There Was One Clear Winner

Taco Bell's Cinnamon Twists

Taco Bell's Cinnamon Twists are crunchy snacks dusted in cinnamon sugar. An order cost me just $1.54, making it the cheapest fast-food dessert that I tried for this experiment.

The look: Perfectly spiral-shaped and dusted heavily in cinnamon sugar—so much, in fact, that my fingers were coated in a layer of the stuff after sampling them.

The taste: These sweet treats are not only one of the more unique fast-food desserts I sampled for this experiment, they're also pretty darn tasty. They're delightfully crunchy and packed with sweet, comforting cinnamon flavor. And unlike some of the lower-ranking desserts, they're thankfully not too sweet. That's because—beneath all that cinnamon sugar—the twist itself actually has a pretty well balanced and neutral flavor.

Truthfully, I don't have any complaints about these treats and got plenty of enjoyment out of snacking on them. However, they're too light and airy to be a truly satisfying dessert, which is why I ranked them in the middle of the pile.

 8 Healthiest Taco Bell Menu Items, According to Dietitians

Wendy's Chocolate Frosty

Wendy's Chocolate Frosty, the original Frosty flavor and the only one available year-round at the chain, is a unique, chocolate-flavored dessert with a spoonable consistency. A regular-sized Frosty (as opposed to Wendy's junior, medium, and large Frosty sizes) cost me $2.62.

The look: The best way that I can describe the appearance of Wendy's signature dessert is the middle point between soft serve and a milkshake. It's not quite as luxuriously smooth as soft serve ice cream, but still super thick, rich, soft, and creamy.

The taste: There's a reason that the Chocolate Frosty was one of the original Wendy's menu items and is still around today—it's pretty darn good. The taste is both chocolaty and vanilla-y at the same time, a combination that I found tasty, well balanced, and not-too-rich. Coupled with the cool, creamy consistency, Wendy's has managed to create a really solid signature dessert offering. However, I didn't find it quite as exciting, craveable, or big on flavor as the first- and second-place winners.

 I Tried Wendy's Entire Breakfast Menu & the Best Item Was Sweet and Savory

McDonald's Oreo McFlurry

McDonald's Oreo McFlurry features creamy vanilla soft serve blended with crunchy Oreo pieces. A regular-sized McFlurry cost me $4.88.6254a4d1642c605c54bf1cab17d50f1e

The look: This classic McDonald's dessert item looks just as straightforward as its description at first glance—vanilla soft serve speckled with Oreo bits. However, upon digging further into the cup, I saw that all of my Oreo pieces had been blended into the top half of the cup. The bottom layer was still pure vanilla soft serve.

The taste: There's something about McDonald's soft serve that I've always found so delectable. It's super creamy, luxuriously smooth, and has a sweet and strong vanilla flavor. But when combined with Oreo pieces, McDonald's soft serve becomes something else altogether. Don't get me wrong, you still get the enticing flavor and texture of the soft serve. However, it's enhanced by the crunch, chocolate flavor, and slight saltiness of those Oreo cookie bits. It's a classic cookie and cream flavor in a blended frozen dessert—and it was so yummy that I kept stealing more spoonfuls even after I was done tasting it. There was just one option that blew me away more for its balanced flavor and excellent execution.

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Popeyes' Cinnamon Apple Pie

Popeyes' Cinnamon Apple Pie features warm cinnamon apples encased inside a crispy crust. The treat cost me $2.10.

The look: This pie was coated in a generous layer of cinnamon sugar and filled with decently big apple chunks—something I haven't always been able to count on with fast-food pies. I could tell just from holding the dessert that it would be delectably crispy.

The taste: I went into this portion of the taste test with almost zero expectations because I've never tried Popeyes' Cinnamon Apple Pie before. However, I was delighted to find that this convenient treat was not only delicious, but my favorite option of the bunch. The crust was crispy, tender, coated in sweet cinnamon, not too sweet, and had an almost buttery flavor that I associate more with homemade desserts. Though I could have gone for more cinnamon flavor in the actual apple filling, the interior was sweet, slightly tart, and really balanced overall. I found myself fantasizing about enjoying it with a big scoop of vanilla ice cream, a move that would have sent it over the top.

Overall, this pie boasted a level of quality that I genuinely didn't expect to experience during this taste test. For those times when you're need a slice of good apple pie ASAP, I have a feeling this will cure your cravings.

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