The Truth About The Original Recipe For McDonald's Hot Apple Pie

Come for the burgers and fries, stay for the dessert. That should be the motto for McDonald's, at least if the "dessert" we're talking about is the chain's famous apple pie. There's just something about the buttery, flaky crust oozing with hot, spiced apples drenched in cinnamon syrup that has us all clamoring for more. And when it comes in such an easy-to-eat Hot Pocket-style package and costs just $0.99, how can you say no when you're at the drive-thru?

The popular McDonald's apple pie has been on the fast food restaurant's menu since 1968. While it's become a fan favorite, the delicious dessert actually wasn't ever part of McDonald's' plans. It was started by one small-town franchise owner in Knoxville, Tennessee, who had a hankering for all things sweet and fruity and who had an idea for something that would eventually rise to fast food fame. Here's the story of how the McDonald's Hot Apple Pie came to be.

If you've ever bitten into one of McDonald's Hot Apple Pies and thought to yourself, "Hmm, tastes like it's straight out of Mom's kitchen," that's because it is (kind of). The idea to add pie to the fast food chain's repertoire started with Litton Cochran, who owned the first McDonald's in Knoxville (via Knoxify). Growing up, Cochran had always loved his mom's fried apple hand pies, so when he opened his franchise, he asked his mother and sister to come and make the pies for customers. They were such a hit that eventually, a commercial supplier took over the pie-making, and soon, the hot apple pies were seen on menus across the country.

Psst: The apple pie you get from McDonald's isn't the original recipe from the 1960s. In an attempt to make the popular dessert a little bit healthier, McDonald's has since changed how they make the pie, now serving it baked instead of deep-fried, Eat This, Not That reports. No worries, though: Fans rave it's just as delicious as ever.