Most people can agree that you just can’t beat a homemade pie, but homemade pies are a lot of work. Store-bought pies are nice (and we even have a tip to help cut the sweetness in a store-bought pie), but sometimes we want an even easier blast of sugar. Here’s where the reliable fast food pies come into play. You can buy pies at many fast food eateries and they’re usually a pretty good deal for your dollar. But when we ranked eight fast food chain pies, one thing was clear: KFC’s Cherry Pie Poppers were at the bottom of the running for us. This kinda mushy and overly-saccharine set of little pie bites just doesn’t stack up to the competition.
When we’re talking pies specifically, we think they should have some crunch and crisp to the crust, a decent crust to filling ratio, and a filling that actually tastes a little nuanced, rather than just being sweet, sweet, and more sweet. Other pies, like our number two pick, Popeye’s Cinnamon Apple Pie, really nail it. The crusts have good crunch, the insides are nice and gooey, and you can actually pick up on flavors that aren’t generic sweetness, like the cinnamon. Because KFC’s Cherry Pie Poppers fail to hit each and every one of these marks, we put them down at the bottom of our tier list. They aren’t the worst things to eat, but they’re forgettable at best, especially considering how much those little poppers cost.
Where KFC’s Cherry Pie Poppers fall short
There are a couple other areas where KFC’s Cherry Pie Poppers really left us wanting. First: portion size. You’re only getting a small handful of these bites in each bag and for a hefty price tag, too — four little pies for almost $3. As far as fast food goes, this definitely feels like you aren’t getting your money’s worth. There are plenty of other fast food pies out there that give you more (and tastier) pie for less or equivalent amount of money, so we’d definitely suggest you head that way instead.
Second: the ratios are way off. Biting into one of these poppers is like eating 90 percent crust with just a tiny whiff of cherry inside. Sure, it might save your hands from getting sticky if you’re eating while driving, but can you really call a pie popper a pie popper if it barely has any pie filling? Honestly, even this depression era water pie has more going for it than the KFC Cherry Pie Poppers. If you’re just hankering for pie while on the road, skip KFC and hit up one of the other fast food chains that don’t do pie so dirty.
