When you think of fast food you typically think of fries, burgers, chicken, and other little snacks but there's a whole side of the menu you could be missing out on, the desserts! I would consider myself extremely qualified to rank fast food desserts as my roommates have deemed me the official “queen of the sweet treat,” as I am always down to get a goodie. I want to preface that when choosing a dessert I often opt for something extra chocolatey rather than fruity, but I am open to try anything.
I tasted seven different fast food desserts covering a variety of flavors and foods. I stopped by McDonald’s, Wendy’s, Auntie Anne’s, Domino’s, Taco Bell and Burger King. My ranking is based on six-part criteria: price, speediness of the item, uniqueness, appearance, and overall taste/rating, and if I order the treat again. Here is my ranking and reasoning from worst to absolutely delectable.
7. Wendy’s Cinnabon Pull-Apart
Starting off with the last place item is the Cinnabon Pull-Apart treat from Wendy’s. While this goodie is one of the cheapest on the list, $3.89, it unfortunately looks and tastes like it is. The simplest way to describe this dessert is as a mediocre cinnamon roll. The appearance was off as all of the cream cheese frosting was on one side rather than evenly distributed. This imbalance also affected the taste. The frosting being on one side made parts of the Cinnabon overly sweet and others tasted more dry and bland. The cinnamon roll was very warm and gooey which I did appreciate and made it taste much better. I also believe this was a fairly unique item for a fast food store to offer. The order was completed fairly quickly, but nothing astonishing.
The overall score of the Wendy’s Cinnabon Pull-Apart is a 4/10, meaning I would not order this again.
6. Wendy’s Chocolate Frosty
Unfortunately for Wendy’s, the fast food chain is taking the bottom two spots on my list. This one was a bit of a shocker, as I have really enjoyed the frozen desserts I have had in the past. Still sitting as one of the lowest-priced items, the medium was $2.89, the chocolate Frosty was fairly bland. There was a slight chocolatey flavor and the texture was good, but overall nothing was very memorable. Once again, I am a chocolate connoisseur, meaning I like it when my chocolate treats have a lot of chocolate flavoring and this did not. The speed in which the item was given was as expected, the presentation was not spectacular and the item was not unique.
Overall, I would rank this sweet treat a 5/10. I would order this item again, but I would likely choose any other fast food milkshake type of treat, such as a McDonald’s McFlurry, Potbelly milkshake, or a Dairy Queen Blizzard.
5. McDonald’s Medium Orange Fanta and Vanilla Ice Cream Cone
For my number five ranking, this is more of a hack than a true menu item, but I felt it was necessary to include it. For this sweet treat, I took the former of putting a McDonald's vanilla ice cream cone into an orange Fanta drink.
The vanilla ice cream on its own was great, it was a true vanilla soft serve, which is my favorite type of ice cream to get. The mix of the vanilla with the orange Fanta is truly what made the dessert special. As mentioned, I do not often go for fruity or vanilla desserts, but this one really surprised me. I thought this treat was very refreshing and perfect for a hot July night. For both items, the price was $3.88, and as a bonus, you can refill the Fanta cup as many times as you want, you can really get a lot of bang for your buck! The speed at which I got the treats was similar to Wendy’s, nothing to rave about, but you do have to worry about the ice cream machine sometimes being broken at McDonald’s. The two items on their own are not unique, but when you put them together, you get a DIY creamsicle which is pretty unique and interesting. I really enjoyed this treat, especially as someone who does not typically like non-chocolate desserts.
I would rank it 7/10. I would reorder this item definitely on a hot summer night, but I doubt I would once we move into the cooler fall and winter nights.
4. Domino’s Chocolate Lava Cake
I thought this treat would be at the top of my list when I ordered it — it's everything I could want in a dessert, chocolate and melting chocolate! This was the most expensive item on the list with a price of $7.99 for three cakes as well as the slowest in terms of us receiving our order. For a fast food dessert, this is extremely unique and complex. The appearance was nothing very special; it was three cakes with a dusting of powdered sugar. Even though the wait was longer than any other items, the chocolate was still melty and gooey when I cut into the middle. The cakes were very warm and tasted like the cookie part of an Oreo. I loved the different textures of the harder outside with the soft, gooey inside. As a whole, the treat was very one-dimensional, there was no variety of flavors like there were textures.
I would definitely still order this treat again and rank it 8/10.
3. Auntie Anne’s Cinnamon Sugar Pretzel Nuggets
These pretzel nuggs were $6.79 with a glowing appearance. The cinnamon sugar covered the bites and made the perfectly puffy bites glisten. The texture of the nuggets was perfect. They were not too soft or squishy and they were not too hard either. Where this treat really shined was in the speed of which they were ready. Two seconds after I placed my order, the cup of nuggets was in my hand, lightning speed. While not the most unique item, the bites were the perfect balance of flavors and textures and they did not need any sauce to accompany them. Not to mention, they were all the perfect warmth.
I would definitely order the Auntie Anne’s Cinnamon Sugar Pretzel Nuggets again and give them a 9/10 overall rating.
2. Taco Bell Cinnabon Delights
When determining the top two sweet treats, I went back and forth a multitude of times. Ultimately, I landed on the Taco Bell Cinnabon Delights as my number two. Taco Bell was almost as speedy as Auntie Anne’s and the delights were just as nice and warm. This item was a very unique spin on traditional doughnut holes as the inside had a warm, creamy filling that was a great surprise. The appearance was wonderful, the delights were a nice golden brown and coated in the glimmering cinnamon sugar. The texture was wonderful, the outside was a perfect crisp with the inside being soft and warm. I never imagined a non-chocolate item would be giving me such a tough battle for my top spot on this list, but with all things considered, the price is really what takes the Taco Bell Cinnabon Delights out of the number one spot. For 12 delights the price comes to $7.19.
However, I still give this goodie a 10/10 and I will absolutely order again.
1. Burger King Hershey’s Sundae Pie
Taking the top spot on my fast food dessert list is the Burger King Hershey’s Sundae Pie. When I tell you the Cheesecake Factory better watch out, I am not kidding! For only $2.63, the cheapest item on the list, you can get layers of yummy goodness. There is a crunchy cookie bottom, a layer of chocolate creme, a dollop of whipped cream, and a drizzle of chocolate sauce. This item is unique for fast food to begin with, but the level of detail in the treat takes it to another level. This pie did not taste or look as though it was from a fast food restaurant. I would absolutely order again, in fact, I wanted to leave with 10 more.
This sweet treat deserves a whopping 10/10 from a harsh chocolate critic.