The Classic '80s McDonald's Dessert You Can Recreate At Home With 3 Ingredients

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The 1980s delivered such unforgettable treats as Queen and "The Goonies." And when folks weren't watching "The Breakfast Club," they could hit the McDonald's drive-thru (they launched in 1975) for one gone-but-not-forgotten breakfast sweet we're still craving decades later: The caramel pecan roll. A 1982 print ad for the caramel pecan roll entices with the words: "Light and flaky with a hit of cinnamon... and a crunchy-sweet topping of caramel and chopped pecans!" Commenters on an Instagram post dedicated to the dessert yearn, "I wish I knew where we could still get these." Luckily, with the help of just three grocery store products, foodies can recreate this cozy breakfast treat of times past.

To assemble this '80s treat at home, start with a tray of premade cinnamon rolls from your local grocery store's bakery section. A 22.9-ounce tray of six cinnamon rolls from Walmart's Marketside Fresh brand runs for just over $1 per roll at $7.12. Simply top those ready-to-eat rolls with jarred caramel sauce and pecans to capture Mickey D's caramel-pecan flavor of yore. Mrs. Richardson's caramel topping ($4.88 per 16.6-ounce jar) can be spooned over the top for a rich, luscious bite and a satiny texture. But this dessert isn't complete without a little crunch factor. Great Value brand roasted and salted pecans would lend a salty counterbalance. To really let the caramel-pecan topping shine, see if your grocery store carries cinnamon rolls without icing drizzle. In a pinch, a tube of refrigerated cinnamon roll dough would allow foodies to omit the icing, but admittedly would also tack on a little extra prep time. 

An article printed in Missouri-based newspaper the St. Louis Post-Dispatch in 1983 shows a photo of Rene Arend, McDonald's executive chef. Per the article, Arend joined the Mickey D's team in 1976, and in the short time since had already developed such iconic menu items as the McChicken sandwich, Chicken McNuggets, and the cult-favorite McRib. In the 1983 article, Arend shares that he was currently in the process of testing the caramel pecan roll as a breakfast item at select McDonald's locations. Alas, it wasn't to last.

Fans lamented again in 2023 when McDonald's got rid of its McCafé Bakery menu items. The Cinnamon Roll, Apple Fritter, and Blueberry Muffin all got the chop. As one customer Tweeted at the time of the news, "[S]omeone please wake me up from this nightmare!!!! I've done nothing to deserve this." These days, only the Baked Apple Pie and chocolate chip cookie McDonald's desserts remain. We still miss that long-gone strawberry sundae from the '80s, too (but, thankfully, there's an easy way to order it at restaurants today).

In times of yore, foodies could swing through McDonald's for a caramel-pecan roll, toting their promotional milk glass mugs by Anchor Hocking. This iconic drinkware was distributed in the 1970s as a freebie with breakfast orders. Today, the mugs are all over eBay. Still, to recreate that retro brekky experience at home, contemporary fans can brew a hot pot of coffee, sip it from their favorite vintage mug, and dig into a tender DIY caramel pecan roll. And if this easy-to-make dessert has you inspired, try out some more treats that take just three ingredients to make.