You Can Still Get McDonald's Original Fried Apple Pies, But Only In 2 States

McDonald's burgers and fries are easily the chain's most iconic menu items. But there's a lot to be said for the fast food giant's signature apple pies, which have been around since 1968. Nowadays, the dessert features a sweet apple filling wrapped in a baked lattice crust, finished with crunchy sugar. Originally though, the pies were fried until McDonald's went the baked route in 1992 — which most say was an attempt to make the dessert healthier. Luckily for purists, you can still find the O.G. version in two U.S. states.

McDonald's locations in Hawaii still serve the pies as they were originally made, extra-crispy from being fried in hot oil. The baked pies are doughier and less crunchy. When stores switched from baked to fried pies in 1992, Hawaii initially followed suit. But due to this McDonald's change completely falling flat with customers and competitive sales that showed high demand for fried pies, Hawaii was permitted to sell them in their original form. That said, Hawaii-based franchisees are even considering selling both baked and fried pies, as the baked pies have improved over the years. The other state where you can currently find fried McDonald's apple pies is California, but only at one specific location in Downey, which happens to be the world's oldest McDonald's still standing. The store has operated since 1953, so it's no surprise that it's home to a small McDonald's museum for curious diners.

Some feel the apple pie is the best popular McDonald's menu item. The Oklahoma-based company that produces them prepares more than 2 million pies every day for more than 13,000 McDonald's locations. While the company still sells plenty of baked pies, many customers still miss the fried pies of yore.

"The fried [pie] was the bomb. The baked one, I literally spit it out and tossed it away," one Redditor confesses. "I wish McDonald's would stop ... trying to be 'healthy' ... Lean in! Give us the deep fried apple and cherry goodness again!" raved another Reddit user. A Hawaii native and Instagram reviewer visited Maui and found the fried pies as delicious as she remembered. "This is amazing ... I used to eat this all the time as a kid ... get yourself a sundae and pair it," she suggests.

If you don't live near a McDonald's location that sells fried apple pies, there are a few hacks for making the baked version more similar. "... if you toss the baked ones in an air fryer for a couple minutes, it makes it 1,000 times better," one Redditor advises. Food writer J. Kenji López-Alt took the direct route in an experiment for Serious Eats by frying the baked pie at home. The key was frying it at a low temperature for about three minutes to keep the sugar and cinnamon from burning.