This $2 Dessert Is So Perfect, I Asked My Grandma to Mail Them from Across the Country

Some might say freshly baked cakes and pies cooling on a windowsill sound pretty idyllic, but me? I daydream about fresh-out-of-the-box pies, specifically the ones mailed to me by my grandma throughout my childhood. Yes, my very Philadelphian grandmother sent my Floridian family a steady flow of Wawa hoagie rolls, Utz-brand pretzels, homemade cakes, and my prized favorites: Tastykake Baked Cherry Pies. 

For the majority of my childhood, these packages arrived like clockwork, with the Tastykake pies still warm from the voyage and wrapped like a present in layers of pastel tissue paper. 

It’s sadly been over a decade since my Grandma has been around to send Tastykake pies in the mail. Recently, I felt in need of something grounding and homey, and so I scoured the internet (and even enlisted my East Coast mom) to see how far I’d have to travel to get my hands on a Tastykake in Los Angeles, or vice versa. I ended up ordering a half dozen Tastykake pies off a speedy eBay seller based in Philly. (You can also find individual pies at select retailer locations, including Kroger, Walmart, Dollar General, Instacart, and more or buy them in bulk at Amazon or GoldBelly.) 

They might not have been lovingly packaged in pastels, but even fresh out of the sun-addled box on my stoop, these tart-sweet mini cherry pies still tasted just like the ones my grandma snail-mailed me.

Tastykake is a Pennsylvania institution and doesn’t often get the same sexy brand recognition it deserves, like say a Pat or Geno’s cheesesteak or Scrapple. But no more! By and large you can get Tastykakes that resemble actual tiny cakes (like chocolate and butterscotch), but for me it’s all about the cherry pie — a jammy, bright, and not-too-sweet filling that’s surrounded by a flaky, ultra-buttery crust roughly the size of your hand. 

Other snack-size pies are a bit too cloyingly sweet for my taste, but these manage to actually impart the acidity of a freshly baked cherry pie filling. Sure, I may have defected to cherry because the rest of my family often snagged the chocolate and apple pies first, but I still stand by it. Tastykake cherry pies are my desert island dessert, no question. 

You could go the Dale Cooper way and enjoy them with “a damn fine cup of coffee,” as I did one morning. I think the tart, jammy center and buttery crust play the best with a dollop of whipped cream (even better than with a scoop of really good vanilla ice cream). Either way, be sure to warm these puppies up the easiest way you can — whether it be by getting them straight from a sun-soaked package from the porch or a quick 30-second stint in the toaster oven. 

Buy: Tastykake Baked Cherry Pie, $1.48 for 4 ounce pie at Walmart

Do you have a favorite grocery from childhood you still buy today? Tell us about it in the comments below.