Cracker Barrel's 5 Holiday Pies, Ranked Worst To Best

Fall is pie season. Sure, March 14 is Pi Day, a date on which mathematics and baking walk hand-in-hand into our minds and stomachs, but the leaves turning and that crisp, cool breeze are as sure a sign as any that a pie will be placed on the table at any minute. To celebrate the season, one restaurant known for its home cooking and cozy recipes is going all out to make sure you get a slice of the good stuff.

Cracker Barrel has introduced five seasonal pies, and there's one for every set of taste buds. Pumpkin, Cinnamon Roll, Pecan, Apple Streusel, and Chocolate Pecan are the latest holiday desserts you'll find on the menu. Guests can order a single slice or a whole pie, which means picking the right one is crucial. I tried all five of Cracker Barrel's seasonal pies to find out which one you absolutely need to try, and which one can be left steaming on the windowsill.

I'll start out by saying I love pretty much all pie, but apple is absolutely one of my favorites. The combination of sweet apples and the spiced notes of cinnamon and nutmeg, all resting in a buttery, flaky crust, is as close to pie perfection as you'll get. Toss some streusel on top, and I'm in heaven. Unfortunately, Cracker Barrel comes up short in a few areas with the Apple Streusel Pie.

Anyone who's ordered Cracker Barrel's Fried Cinnamon Apples will quickly realize they're the filling for this pie. I'm not against repurposing another menu item as a pie filling, but the Fried Cinnamon Apples are already underwhelming. They lack the spice needed to balance the dish, resulting in a sweet, syrupy apple mix with no real depth.

The pie crust is good; flaky and a little buttery, it's probably the best part of the pie. The streusel is a letdown. I ordered my pies to go, and by the time I made the short drive home, the streusel had soaked up a ton of moisture from the filling, leaving a soggy, sugary paste on top of the slice.

Fundamentally, this is a serviceable apple pie, but it's definitely the least impressive of the Cracker Barrel offerings, and there are definitely better restaurant apple pies to choose from.

Cinnamon Roll Pie is a perfect example of something that sounds great in theory, but is less fantastic in reality. Cinnamon rolls: good. Pie: good. Cinnamon Roll Pie: a lesser version of both dishes.

The concept is simple: bake a pan of cinnamon rolls in a pie filling. It's not complex and unfortunately, it's also not a great representation of either food. I found the cinnamon rolls rather dry, in part because instead of enjoying a full, closed-circuit roll, you have to cut across multiple rolls to get a slice of pie. The outer edges dry quickly and, unless you warm the pie up (which I did at home), you end up with a dry cinnamon roll in an underwhelming pie crust.

That's the other issue; the pie crust doesn't add anything to the dish. If anything, it soaks up some of the sticky cinnamon filling without contributing to the overall experience. It's still a cinnamon roll, though, so it edges out the Apple Streusel, but only barely. If you're really in the mood for a cinnamon roll, try the Cinnamon Roll Skillet. It's everything a cinnamon roll should be without the confusing pie crust.

If I were sitting down with the Cracker Barrel menu and told to order a single slice of pie — a real challenge for someone in my profession — I would go with the Chocolate Pecan Pie. It's a combination of two great things: sweet, sticky pecan pie and chocolate. There's no way this could be bad, right? Well, as the Cinnamon Roll Pie proved, not all combinations are a perfect fit, and while this one is certainly better executed than the former, it still isn't a perfect pie.

Semisweet chocolate chips are baked into a traditional pecan pie, and the result is a very rich, very sweet pie. I love both of the flavors, but honestly, this is a lot. I'm not sure how you could make this work better without significantly dialing back the chocolate, at which point maybe you're really just looking for a standard pecan pie. It's a lot of chocolate mixed with the distinct pecan flavor, and it's a bit overwhelming. It's not all too much, though, as hidden among that flavor is a pie with excellent texture from a thick layer of pecans and a buttery, flaky crust. This pie's close, but not quite what I'd order in the end. Thankfully, there's a better pecan pie alternative yet to come ...

I recently taste-tested store-bought pumpkin pies, so I'm familiar with the good and bad of the pumpkin pie world. The best pies are creamy and thick with a good balance of pumpkin sweetness and cinnamon and clove spices. Of course, a quality crust is also a bonus, but filling is key, and that's where this pie shines.

Cracker Barrel makes a very good pumpkin pie. I would consider ordering a full-sized pie for a holiday gathering rather than rolling the dice with a store-bought option. The filling is thick and has a great custardy texture without the sliminess that some pumpkin pies fall victim to. The spiced elements are a perfect foil to the sweeter ingredients, creating a flavor profile that screams fall. The only real underwhelming element is the crust, which is by far the weakest of the Cracker Barrel pies. At best, the crust is flavorless; at worst, perhaps a bit bitter. Thankfully, the filling is more than good enough to cover for any deficiencies in the secondary element, making this a pie that's definitely worth ordering.

When it comes to pies, you can't go wrong with the classics. After a very good pumpkin, I dove into Cracker Barrel's Pecan Pie and enjoyed every single bite. The key to a good pecan pie is striking the right balance between the nuts and the gooey, sticky-sweet filling. Too much filling, and you're stuck eating a corn syrup pie. Too many nuts and a delicious dessert turns into a healthy snack stuffed into a pie crust. Balance is important, and Cracker Barrel achieves it masterfully with a generous layer of chopped pecans atop a thick layer of custard, all packed inside a flaky, buttery crust.

With all five pies priced at $5.19 per slice and $14.59 for a full pie at my local Cracker Barrel, I would strongly recommend getting at least a slice of the Pecan Pie. It's not overwhelming in the way the chocolate-infused version is, and would make a great end to a homestyle meal. If pecans aren't your favorite, the pumpkin pie won't let you down. From there, the options aren't bad, but each has its flaws or a better menu alternative. The Pecan Pie, though, stands alone as the best pie Cracker Barrel has to offer this season.

I ordered all five of Cracker Barrel's seasonal pies for curbside pickup and brought them home to photograph and taste. I evaluated them based on flavor, texture, and overall cohesiveness.