While pumpkin spice lattes may be a staple for some to get through the autumn season, others argue that there are better treats to indulge in.

The Trader Joe’s craze is a year-round phenomenon, but the craze especially spikes during fall. Customers enjoy Trader Joes’ fall collection as they have many different options you can choose from. Some of these options include Pumpkin O’s, Pumpkin-Flavored Joe-Joe’s, Harvest Chocolate Collection, and Pumpkin Spiced Teeny Tiny Pretzels. Just on September first, they swapped the lemonade out for apple cider. Chelsey Fernicola, a senior at Wayne Hills stated, “I love the Butternut Squash Mac and Cheese so much from Trader Joe’s. I think it is the greatest thing in the world!” 

In addition to Trader Joe’s, customers get extremely excited every August when the Starbucks and Dunkin fall items return to their menus for a limited time. The argument between which line-up is better returns yearly.  While Starbucks has the pumpkin cream cold brew, apple crisp chai, and pumpkin cream cheese muffin, Dunkin has some close competition with their pumpkin donut, almond spice latte, and their dunkalatte. 

There is no doubt Starbucks and Dunkin have some delicious treats to choose from, but there is nothing like making your own fall goods from scratch. Baking pumpkin bread or apple crisp can be a fun and fairly simple activity to do with friends or family.

When choosing between what kind of fall treat to have, there is always the decision of pumpkin versus apple foods. Erin Han, a senior at Wayne Hills shared, “My favorite fall snack is caramel apples because they are really good.” Another student, Julia Sandler, a senior, leans a little more towards the pumpkin craze, “The pumpkin spice popcorn from the Lesser Evil brand is so delicious I eat it quite often.” Overall, we found the popularity between the two treats are quite equal.