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8 Fast-Food Desserts You’ll Regret and 5 Chain Shakes That Aren’t Worth the Calories

Fast-food desserts and shakes promise sweet satisfaction, but not every sugar-laden treat is worth the splurge. Behind those drizzles of caramel and swirls of whipped cream hide calorie counts that could rival a full meal, leaving you with regret instead of joy. From cookies that crumble under expectations to shakes so sugar-heavy they’ll sink your energy, some fast-food sweets simply don’t deliver. Before you reach for that drive-thru dessert, see which popular picks leave more to be desired than devoured. Here’s what to skip if you want your calories—and your taste buds—to truly be worth it.

1. Taco Bell Cinnamon Twists: All Crunch, No Substance

Taco Bell Cinnamon Twists: All Crunch, No Substance
© Taco Bell

Remember those packing peanuts that explode in your mouth? Taco Bell’s Cinnamon Twists aren’t far off. These airy snacks might seem innocent at first glance, but they’re essentially corn puffs dusted with cinnamon sugar that disappear the moment they hit your tongue.

The sweetness overwhelms any actual cinnamon flavor, leaving you with a sugar rush and little satisfaction. Many customers find themselves reaching for another menu item shortly after finishing these disappointing churro substitutes.

At 170 calories per serving, they’re not the worst offender calorie-wise, but they offer virtually no nutritional value for those empty calories.

2. McDonald’s Baked Apple Pie: Nostalgic Disappointment

McDonald's Baked Apple Pie: Nostalgic Disappointment
© People.com

Golden arches nostalgia might have you reaching for this handheld pie, but today’s version falls flat compared to the fried original. The current baked version features a chewy crust that lacks the satisfying flakiness pie lovers crave.

Inside, the apple filling tastes oddly artificial, with a gelatinous texture that barely resembles fresh apples. The cinnamon-sugar coating on the outside tries to compensate, but only adds to the overwhelming sweetness.

For around 230 calories, you could enjoy a small portion of homemade apple pie with real ingredients and authentic flavor instead of this mass-produced shadow of a classic dessert.

3. Sonic Cinnabon Cinnasnacks: Sugar Overload in Disguise

Sonic Cinnabon Cinnasnacks: Sugar Overload in Disguise
© Snack Food & Wholesale Bakery

The smell alone lures you in—warm cinnamon pastries promising that mall-food-court Cinnabon experience in bite-sized form. The first bite delivers a moment of satisfaction as the warm filling oozes out.

But that enjoyment quickly fades as the overwhelming sweetness takes over. By the third bite, your taste buds are screaming for mercy. The accompanying cream cheese frosting for dipping only compounds the problem, turning these snacks into sugar delivery vehicles.

Four pieces with frosting pack about 530 calories and 30 grams of sugar—roughly equivalent to eating seven sugar cubes. Your pancreas deserves better treatment!

4. Subway Raspberry Cheesecake Cookie: Sweet Defeat

Subway Raspberry Cheesecake Cookie: Sweet Defeat
© YouTube

Subway might be known for sandwiches, but their dessert cookies often tempt customers at the register. The Raspberry Cheesecake variety sounds sophisticated—a marriage of tangy cheesecake and bright berry flavors baked into a convenient cookie.

Reality tells a different story. These cookies bombard your palate with artificial sweetness while the raspberry bits lack the natural tartness needed to balance the sugar assault. The cheesecake elements come across as vaguely chemical rather than creamy.

Each cookie contains about 210 calories and 18 grams of sugar—nearly half your recommended daily sugar intake—leaving you with sticky fingers and regret rather than satisfaction.

5. KFC Chocolate Chip Cookie: Bakery Blasphemy

KFC Chocolate Chip Cookie: Bakery Blasphemy
© KFC

Chocolate chip cookies should be a simple pleasure—warm, buttery, with melty chocolate chunks. KFC’s version misses every mark that makes this classic dessert special.

The texture leans toward dry and crumbly rather than chewy or crisp. Biting into one reveals a cookie that’s somehow both bland and excessively sweet, lacking the rich butter notes and complex vanilla undertones that define great chocolate chip cookies.

Even the chocolate pieces seem to be phoning it in, offering little of the cocoa richness chocolate lovers crave. At 120 calories, it might seem like a modest treat, but every calorie should bring joy—these simply don’t.

6. Arby’s Cherry Turnover: Syrupy Sweet Letdown

Arby's Cherry Turnover: Syrupy Sweet Letdown
© Arby’s

Fruit-filled pastries should celebrate the natural sweetness of their starring ingredient. Arby’s Cherry Turnover instead drowns any hint of actual cherry flavor under an avalanche of corn syrup and artificial flavoring.

The flaky exterior initially promises good things, but quickly gives way to a filling that more closely resembles candy than fruit. The sugar-laden drizzle on top pushes this dessert firmly into tooth-aching territory.

With roughly 390 calories and 17 grams of fat, this turnover represents a significant portion of your daily caloric intake. The worst part? After finishing, you’ll likely still crave a properly made cherry dessert with authentic flavor.

7. Pizza Hut Hershey’s Triple Chocolate Brownie: Dense Disappointment

Pizza Hut Hershey's Triple Chocolate Brownie: Dense Disappointment
© Popsugar

The name sets expectations sky-high—triple chocolate should mean triple pleasure. Unfortunately, Pizza Hut’s collaboration with Hershey’s produces a brownie that’s more about marketing than memorable dessert experiences.

The texture lands firmly in the dense, heavy category without achieving the gooey interior that makes brownies worth the caloric splurge. Despite the chocolate overload promised in the name, the flavor profile comes across as one-dimensional and overly sweet rather than rich and complex.

A single serving contains approximately 350 calories and 14 grams of fat. Your chocolate fix would be better satisfied with a small piece of quality dark chocolate that actually lets cocoa shine.

8. Domino’s Lava Crunch Cakes: Tiny Calorie Bombs

Domino's Lava Crunch Cakes: Tiny Calorie Bombs
© Top Secret Recipes

Size can be deceiving. Domino’s Lava Crunch Cakes appear as innocent two-bite desserts, but they pack a surprising caloric punch for their diminutive stature.

The chocolate cake exterior often errs on the dry side, while the “lava” center sometimes fails to achieve the molten consistency promised in promotional photos. What should be a luxurious chocolate experience becomes merely a sweet afterthought to your pizza order.

At approximately 350 calories per tiny cake, these desserts demand a serious commitment from your daily calorie budget. Considering their small size, you’ll likely finish one in just a few bites and wonder why you didn’t save those calories for something more satisfying.

1. Sonic Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup Master Shake: Liquid Meal Replacement

Sonic Reese's Peanut Butter Cup Master Shake: Liquid Meal Replacement
© Sonic

Fans of the classic peanut butter cup might be tempted by this liquid homage. The reality? This 44-ounce behemoth contains a staggering 1,720 calories—nearly a full day’s worth for many adults!

The peanut butter flavor comes across as artificial rather than nutty, while the sweetness level makes your teeth ache after just a few sips. With approximately 48 teaspoons of sugar, this shake contains more sugar than eight full-sized Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups.

Your body would need about three hours of jogging to burn off this single indulgence. Even splitting it with three friends would still deliver a significant sugar bomb to your system.

2. Culver’s Peanut Butter Shake: Deceptively Dangerous

Culver's Peanut Butter Shake: Deceptively Dangerous
© X

Culver’s builds its reputation on quality ingredients and homestyle appeal. Their peanut butter shake, however, represents a serious dietary derailment disguised as a creamy treat.

A large serving delivers over 1,400 calories and a jaw-dropping 85 grams of sugar—equivalent to more than 21 teaspoons! The shake’s thick consistency tricks your brain into thinking you’re getting something substantial, while you’re actually consuming more sugar than eight glazed donuts.

The worst part? Most customers don’t realize they’ve just consumed nearly three-quarters of their daily caloric needs in what they considered just a beverage alongside their actual meal.

3. Jack in the Box Strawberry Shake: Berry Bad Choice

Jack in the Box Strawberry Shake: Berry Bad Choice
© Jack in the Box Menu

The appealing pink color masks this shake’s true nature as a serious caloric commitment. Jack in the Box’s strawberry offering with whipped topping contains approximately 1,120 calories—more than half a day’s worth for many people.

Despite the fruit in its name, you’ll find little resemblance to actual strawberries in the flavor profile. Instead, expect an intensely sweet concoction that tastes more like strawberry candy than the fresh fruit.

The shake’s thickness makes it seem substantial, but nutritionally speaking, you’d be better off eating an entire meal. For perspective, this single shake contains more calories than a Jumbo Jack burger, medium fries, and a soft drink combined!

4. Shake Shack Loaded Chocolate Cookies & Cream Shake: Dessert Disguised as Drink

Shake Shack Loaded Chocolate Cookies & Cream Shake: Dessert Disguised as Drink
© shakeshack

Shake Shack built its reputation on quality ingredients, but their Loaded Chocolate Cookies & Cream Shake takes indulgence too far. This liquid dessert masquerades as a simple milkshake while delivering an astonishing 1,160 calories in a single serving.

The combination of chocolate custard, cookie pieces, and whipped cream creates a texture so thick you’ll need a spoon rather than a straw. Each sip coats your mouth with excessive sweetness that quickly becomes cloying rather than satisfying.

Consider this: you could eat an entire Shackburger, fries, AND a regular shake for roughly the same caloric impact as this single specialty beverage. Your waistline deserves more respect!

5. Burger King Chocolate Oreo Shake: Cookie Catastrophe

Burger King Chocolate Oreo Shake: Cookie Catastrophe
© X

Oreos might be America’s favorite cookie, but Burger King’s interpretation of this classic flavor combo falls flat in nutritional terms. Their chocolate Oreo shake contains approximately 675 calories, which might seem moderate compared to other shakes on this list—until you notice the 91 grams of sugar.

That’s nearly four times the American Heart Association’s recommended daily sugar limit for women in just one beverage! The shake’s overwhelming sweetness quickly numbs your taste buds, making it difficult to detect any nuanced chocolate or cookie flavors.

The cookie pieces often become soggy, losing the trademark Oreo crunch that makes the original cookie so satisfying. Your blood sugar deserves better treatment than this liquid sugar bomb.

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