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

There’s been a significant shift in the restaurant and fast food industry over the past month: fall menus are being replaced with 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.

The Beloved 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. And McDonald’s is no different. The Golden Arches’ Holiday Pie debuted more than a quarter of a century ago, in 1999, and it’s truly become an all-time favorite for many McDonald’s customers.

Instagram’s @mnmtwinz announced in a post, “The seasonal pie that McDonald’s loves to gatekeep is back for 2025, and it’s available now for a limited time only!” One excited fan responded in the comments, “MY GOAT IS BACK!!!!!”

A couple of years ago, 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 became 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 in December said that when they turned 21, 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 follower summed up all the excitement nicely, saying, “It’s the most wonderful time of the yearrrrrr.” And we believe this Redditor would agree: “It’s the most wonderful pie, it’s the most wonderful pie, it’s the most wonderful pie of the year!”

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 McDonald’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?