McDonald's Just Quietly Brought Back a Fan-Favorite Dessert

It debuted 25 years ago.

There’s been a huge shift in the past two weeks in the restaurant world: Fall menus are turning to holiday menus. Cracker Barrel, Starbucks, and Dunkin' have all switched from autumn offerings to festive goodies, each menu item promising to bring you good cheer and holiday spirit.

And now, McDonald’s has brought back a menu item that fans wait all year for—the holiday treat that’s been around long enough to become a tradition for many, with one generation passing it down to the next.

McDonald’s Holiday Pie Is Back

We’re, of course, talking about McDonald’s Holiday Pie. The seasonal fan favorite is made with creamy, smooth custard piped into the flaky, buttery crust of McDonald’s handheld pies, glazed with sugar, and topped with rainbow sprinkles. It’s a limited-time offer, available at participating McDonald’s while supplies last.

We all have our family holiday traditions and so many of them revolve around food. McDonald’s is apparently no different. The Golden Arches’ Holiday Pie debuted almost a quarter of a century ago, in 1999, and it’s truly become an all-time favorite for many McDonald’s customers.

Last year, when the pie returned for the season, Instagram’s @markie_devo posted on his page, telling his followers, “Gather your belongings and head over to @mcdonalds, the Holiday Pie is back!" The comments section got a little sentimental.

“My mom and I used to get these and then go look at Christmas lights when I was a kid. This is my second Christmas without my mom but my daughters and I still love the tradition,” remarked one commenter.

Another commenter whose birthday is December said when they turned 21 last year, they got 21 holiday pies. “Best gift I've ever received,” they said, and left us wondering if they got 20 pies on their 20th birthday, 19 pies on their 19th birthday, and so on.

The raves just kept on coming.

“The only item I run to McDonald’s for!” exclaimed one Instagrammer. Another said, “Heck yeah, def the best of the year!”

One of markie_devo’s followers summed all the excitement up nicely, saying, “It’s the most wonderful time of the yearrrrrr.”

And speaking of tradition, @markie_devo had the honor of posting about the pie’s return again this year. “IT’S BACK!! That crispy, custard goodness, the McDonald’s Holiday Pie,“ he wrote.

Does this mean McDonald’s Pumpkin and Cream Pie is off the menu? It probably does, but if you hit that sweet spot when a local McDonald’s is finishing their inventory of fall pies and is also starting to sell the Holiday Pie, you may just hit the jackpot. Throw in the OG McDonalds’s treat—the Apple Pie that’s always on the menu—and you’ve got a fast food pie trifecta. Or should we say, pie-fecta.