Hardee's Just Dropped A Sweet Southern-Inspired Dessert

It's pretty easy to think of fast food chain desserts that have become iconic. The Frosty, for instance, was among the five original menu items introduced by Wendy's co-founder Dave Thomas with the opening of his first restaurant in 1969. Decades later, the company says it sells more than 300 million of them each year (per Reader's Digest). Subway's cookies became so popular that the sandwich chain introduced a pop-up restaurant last year that exclusively sells the restaurant's signature dessert (via QSR Magazine).

There are a variety of desserts and sweet snacks offered by Hardee's, per the restaurant's menu, including ice cream shakes, chocolate chip cookies, apple turnovers, and cinnamon rolls. Some of these desserts did make the Mashed list of popular Hardee's menu items. So far, however, none seem to have muscled their way into the field of elite fast food desserts and sweet snacks, at least according to rankings by Thrillist and Eater.

Now, it seems Hardee's hopes to change that with the introduction of a new menu item that will be available for a limited time.

According to Brand Eating, Hardee's has added a Peaches and Cream Fried Pie as a new dessert option, available for a limited time. The treat, which is described as "a warm, turnover-style pie that includes peaches and cream cheese inside of a crispy pastry crust," sounds appetizing enough. But how might we expect it to fare as it joins the crowded and competitive field of fast food desserts? 

The stakes are high and one possible sign that Hardee's Peaches and Cream Fried Pie may win over customers? It's similar to items offered by competing fast food chains that have attained astronomical critical and commercial success. Popeyes hand pies, for instance, ranked fourth on Eater's list of the best American fast food desserts. And while the restaurant's Cinnamon Apple Pie has long been a fan favorite, Eater reserved special praise for its limited-time Raspberry N'Cream Cheese Pie — which, like Hardee's newest entre, combines dairy and fruit inside a crunchy crust.