Popeyes’ new pumpkin dessert is the only fast food dessert you’ll hate to love

You’ve probably had pumpkin pie plenty of times before — but never quite like this. And that might be a good thing, even as fans of Popeyes.

Popeyes may be known for their chicken — especially their fried chicken. But their dessert menu is actually packed full of delicious hidden gems … or horrors, depending on how you feel about deep-fried sweets.

Though they didn’t launch their newest dessert with quite the same fanfare as their now almost infamous chicken sandwich, it’s officially on the fall menu. And we’re not quite sure how we feel about it (yet).

Behold — the Pumpkin Cream Cheese Pie. That’s right: It’s not just your average fast-food pumpkin pie. Because everyone knows that adding cream cheese to anything almost automatically makes it a must-order.

But what makes this dessert different than all the other slices of pumpkin pie you’ve ever tasted? It’s warm and it’s deep-fried because hey, why not.

There was apparently only one way to make an already appealing dessert even more so. People walk casually into a restaurant for pumpkin pie with cream cheese. They sprint and stampede for any dessert breaded and dipped in hot oil.

Because of the way it’s packaged, you don’t actually eat this pumpkin pie with a fork. You hold it in your hand and bite into it. It’s a crispy outer crust with cream cheese and pumpkin pie filling inside, which doesn’t sound terrible, but also, can you technically even call it a pie?

This dessert sounds so horrifying and wrong that I might actually have to drive to my nearest Popeyes (I haven’t done this in at least a decade — not even for a fried chicken sandwich) just to see if it’s the “so bad it’s good” variety of baked monstrosity.

It’s apparently been five years since Popeyes sold this dessert, which means there are surely customers out there who will be thrilled to have their favorite fast food pie back in their lives.

I personally like my pumpkin pie soft and cold and consumed with a fork, but hey, to each their own. I’ll give it a try, but skeptical doesn’t even begin to convey my hesitation.

Don’t ruin pumpkin pie for me, Popeyes. You can do better than that.

It’s not clear if this dessert is available everywhere — it’s not on the online menu, and you have to ask for it. But if it’s available near you, give it a taste and let us know what you think.

Are you a pumpkin pie fan? Will you be trying Popeyes’ version of the best fall dessert to have ever been created (sorry, apple pie enthusiasts)?