Portillo's, Dunkin' and Paris Baguette fall for dessert

Restaurant chains are sweetening up the dessert lineup for fall, with seasonal flavors including caramel, cinnamon, maple, apple, and yes—pumpkin—in abundance. But pizzas and flatbreads are also getting a lot of play, along with chicken wings and smoothie bowls. And fall-flavored beverages continue to pour out of coffee concepts this week.

Portillo’s debuted its first new cake flavor in 20 years: Salted Caramel Spice Cake. The chain known for its fan-favorite Chocolate Cake is spicing things up for fall with this new limited-time dessert. It features two layers of moist spice cake iced with salted caramel icing and is available as a whole cake, by the slice or in Portillo’s signature Cake Shake. Throughout September customers can get a slice of Salted Caramel Spice Cake for $1 with the purchase of any entrée.

The fall lineup at Dunkin’ includes the mandatory pumpkin spice coffees along with some sweet surprises. There’s an Apple Cider Donut, Banana Chocolate Chip Loaf and Pumpkin Muffin and Donut to eat, while on the beverage side, the new Dunkalatte makes its entrance—a coffee milk latte created by combining coffee milk with rich espresso. Back is Dunkin’s Pumpkin Spice Signature Latte, hot or iced, and a newcomer—Almond Spice Coffee—where toasted almond flavors and almond milk join pumpkin. Breakfasters on the go can enjoy the Maple Sugar Bacon Breakfast Sandwich, Maple Sugar Bacon Wake-Up Wrap and Loaded Hash Browns.

The sweets selection at Paris Baguette spans several fall flavors. Guests can dig into Maple Pecan Layer Cake, a Pecan Tart, a Pumpkin King Cream Donut and Pumpkin Danish. To sip, there’s the obligatory Pumpkin Spiced Latte as well as a Maple Oatmilk Latte and Maple Sweet Cream Cold Brew. On the savory front, a Turkey, Cranberry & Goat Cheese Croissant Sandwich is on the menu.

Sonic is introducing queso to its menu, a first for the drive-in chain. Loaded Queso Fries are the vehicle, available in two variations. Bacon Ranch Loaded Fries have a base of Sonic’s Groovy Fries topped with creamy white queso, bacon, melted shredded cheese and a drizzle of ranch. Southwest Loaded Queso Fries start with the same Groovy Fries and white queso but are topped with sliced jalapenos, tomatoes, creamy Southwest sauce and melted cheese. They’re both available for a limited time, starting at $3.99.

The Bakery Crust Pizza has debuted at Donatos, boasting a square-cut, thicker crust in the Detroit pizza style. The rectangular pizza is baked with provolone cheese and topped with a choice of up to three ingredients, then cut into nine squares. As an introductory offer, customers can enjoy a one-topping Bakery Crust Pizza for $11.99 or two for $19.99

Nashville-Style Hot Honey Pizza has arrived at California Pizza Kitchen, fired up with the extra-hot version of Mike’s Hot Honey. The pie is topped with hand-battered crispy chicken, Ranchito sauce and fresh mozzarella, then baked and garnished with cayenne, dill pickles and the aforementioned hot honey. CPK is also bringing back Pumpkin Cheesecake and Samuel Adams Octoberfest Lager for fall.

Two globally inspired pizza-like flatbreads launched at Twin Peaks. The Backyard BBQ Brisket Flatbread features house-smoked brisket, pimento cheese, mozzarella, Parmesan, red onion, green chilies, herbs and spices and a smoky sweet barbecue sauce drizzle, while the Chicken Tikka Flatbread is topped with house-smoked chicken, tikka sauce, mozzarella, Parmesan, pepperjack cheese, herbs and jalapeno pesto. Two new wing sauces are also making news: Tikka, with notes of cardamom, cumin, cloves, ginger and coriander, and Spicy Chili Crisp, a sweet-spicy blend with umami and crunch. Quesabirria Tacos are also on offer for fall.

Wing sauce is in the spotlight at Wingstop, too. Sweet BBQ Blaze has a sweet and smoky flavor profile with a shot of heat, much like Popeyes new Sweet ‘n Smokey Chipotle sauce released last week. Wingstop describes its new wing flavor as “sweet and smoky Kansas City-style BBQ wet sauce and a seasoned dry rub dusted on Nashville-style.” The limited-time offer (LTO) is timed to the start of football season.

Known primarily for its burgers, Whataburger is turning up the heat on chicken wings starting Tuesday. The chain’s new limited-time boneless Nashville Hot WhataWings are drenched in a blend of cayenne and paprika to create a smoky-spicy flavor profile with a hint of sweetness. It’s prime time for wings as football games kick off.

Bojangles is also flying into the wing frenzy with its all-new Chicken Wings with house-made Ranch. The wings are marinated in bold spices, cooked crisp and served with a choice of three ranch flavors for dipping: Creamy Buffalo, BBQ or Classic. Like the other wing LTOs, this one is running in sync with fall football watch parties and tailgates.

Contrary to its name, Buffalo Wild Wings is focusing on bacon, sandwiches and burgers with its new menu lineup. The chain has developed Buffalo Bacon Sauce, a blend of bold Buffalo sauce and smoky bacon, which can magnify the bacon flavor of its new Bacon Mac & Cheese Burger—a hand-smashed double patty topped with thick-cut bacon, American cheese, mac ‘n cheese, pickled hot peppers and Hatch chile aioli on a challah bun. There’s also a Bacon Patty Melt layered with a double burger patty, thick-cut bacon, Swiss and American cheese, grilled onions and bacon aioli on brioche toast and a BLT sandwich on toasted Parmesan brioche.

Doughnuts, not wings, tie into football season at Krispy Kreme. The chain is partnering with Dr Pepper on a Kickoff Collection, starting with the Dr Pepper Kickoff Doughnut. It’s an original glazed piped with Dr Pepper flavored frosting and topped with a burgundy-colored sprinkle blend and white chocolate Dr Pepper logo. There’s also a Buttercreme Goals Doughnut dipped in green icing, topped with sprinkles and decorated with a yellow frosting goal post, and a Kreme Filled Football Doughnut—an unglazed doughnut filled with white kreme and dipped in chocolate icing with football-themed decorations.

Amid all the sweets, wings, pizza and fall flavors, Smoothie King is keeping summer and healthy eating top of mind with two new coconut bowls. Go Coconuts features a coconut base topped with granola, bananas, strawberries, blueberries and a drizzle of chocolate hazelnut, while Coco Colada has the same dairy-free coconut base topped with granola, pineapple, strawberries, blueberries and a drizzle of honey.  

The September Pancake of the Month at IHOP is Maple Pumpkin Cheesecake. An order consists of four pumpkin spice pancakes crowned with maple glaze, cheesecake mousse and whipped topping. For those who are Pumpkin Spice Pancake purists, a full or short stack made with a batter containing real pumpkin and seasonal spices is available. To sip, there’s Pumpkin Spice Cold Foam Cold Brew.

The fall beverage lineup at Dutch Bros includes a pumpkin-flavored item but it’s just one of three. The Caramel Pumpkin Brulee Breve pairs pumpkin with caramel, finished with a signature soft top, pumpkin drizzle and sugar sprinks. It’s joined by the Cookie Butter Latte flavored with cookie butter with a cookie butter swirl lining the cup and topped with a cookie butter drizzle, and the Caramel Apple Rebel energy drink with notes of green apple and salted caramel.

Gong Cha’s take on fall revolves around pumpkin pie flavors. Iced Pumpkin Pie Milk Tea with Milk Foam & Boba leads off the collection, a blend of spices, black milk tea and brown sugar boba. The Hot Pumpkin Pie Milk Tea with Milk Foam has the same flavor combination topped with milk foam, while the Pumpkin Pie Slush Milk Foam mixes black milk tea with pumpkin pie spices and blends the mixture with ice.

Seasonal beverages at Tim Horton’s cover the flavor spectrum. Guests can choose from Caramel Apple Lattes, Maple Cinnamon Sugar Cold Brew, a new Chai Latte Blend and several Pumpkin Spice selections, including Iced Capp, latte and cold brew with cold foam. On the food side, a pumpkin donut and muffin are on hand and coming in mid-September, a Maple Waffle Sandwich.

Although pumpkin is in the lineup, apple is the star of Caribou Coffee’s autumnal beverages. More specifically, honeycrisp apples, showing up in four new selections. There’s a Honeycrisp Apple Caramel Espresso Shaker, Honeycrisp Apple Caramel High Rise topped with whipped cream and a caramel drizzle, a sparkling Honeycrisp Apple Energy Drink and the Honeycrisp Apple Caramel Oatmilk Steamer

For ice cream fans, Marble Slab is the destination for Pumpkin Spice Latte Ice Cream. It’s made with real pumpkin, rich coffee and a dash of cinnamon. The seasonal flavor is available through Oct. 31 with a choice of complementary mix-ins, including chopped pecans, graham cracker crumbs, caramel and marshmallows.