- Popeyes disappointed the world when it ran out of its wildly popular chicken sandwich in August.
- But recently, the chain quietly released a new menu item that hasn’t been sold in five years: the Pumpkin Cream Cheese Pie.
- Pumpkin and cream cheese is an often overlooked flavor combination, so I decided to give the pie a try.
- Crispy outside, gooey inside, tart and buttery, this pie was absolutely perfect. Put down your apple pie and make haste to your nearest Popeyes!
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Do you still think about Popeyes’ chicken sandwich?
I often do. But this isn’t a story about a chicken sandwich. It’s the story of a deep-fried pie that made its way onto the national menu of a national chain without so much as a tweet.
I found out about Popeyes’ new Pumpkin Cream Cheese Pie when I stopped by my local restaurant. This pie was last sold in 2014, and now it’s finally back after five long, pumpkin-free years. (Let’s hope the chicken sandwich doesn’t take that long to come back.)
Pumpkin with cream cheese? I was skeptical, but the guy behind the counter assured me it was amazing. And Popeyes has surprised me before.
So I took my trusty camera to a Popeyes near me in Manhattan, grabbed a couple of pies, and sat down to see if Popeyes could successfully bring together this unlikely couple.
I ordered three pies for the price of $1.89 each.
They were packaged like any other fast-food pie: in small, convenient cardboard boxes with holes that allow hot air to escape and keep the pies crispy.
Popeyes made no announcement when the pumpkin pie returned in late September. The pie is not even on the Popeyes website menu.
Its return was practically a secret, similar to the way Popeyes' chicken sandwich had surreptitiously slid onto test menus back in early August.
The pumpkin pie had a deep-fried crust dusted with cinnamon sugar, just like the chain's apple pie. From the outside, it was impossible to tell what lay inside.
Read more: I ate apple pies from 5 fast-food chains, and the winning pie blew me away
It was piping hot, almost too hot to bite. Cinnamon sugar spilled everywhere. I realized too late that I probably should have kept the pie in the handy provided container.
But one bite of the pie made me forget all my mortal troubles. My lips were greeted by a gentle layer of sweet cinnamon powder and my teeth were met by a flaky, crispy crust that oozed buttery filling when bitten.
This was no muddled pastry. The line between pumpkin and cream cheese was clearer than the sky on a sunny day. And both fillings had distinct flavors.
The cream cheese was sour, creamy, and slightly savory. The pumpkin filling was sweet and tasted strongly of clove. Both fillings were gooier than traditional pumpkin pies are, but I didn't quite mind. I did crave just a touch more cinnamon, but the pastry tasted so good that I just didn't mind.
There wasn't a single stale bite of this pie. Every single bite burst with flavor. My only complaint was that there weren't enough bites. The pie quickly disappeared...
... leaving nothing but a warm fullness in my stomach and a coating of cinnamon sugar on my fingertips.
But the chicken sandwich had taught me an important lesson: never buy just one. And keep your eyes on the prize —or in this case, on the pies.
