McDonald's $MCD added two breakfast sandwiches to its menu: the Honey Brown Butter Bacon, Egg & Cheese Biscuit and the Honey Brown Butter Chicken Biscuit, according to Allrecipes.
Customers around the country are already finding the sandwiches in the McDonald's app ahead of what is expected to be a July 21 menu debut. Both sandwiches are priced at roughly $5.19, with the caveat that cost and availability can differ depending on location.
The bacon sandwich is built with two half-strips of bacon, a folded egg, and a slice of American cheese, while the chicken version comes with a crispy chicken patty; both receive a drizzle of the new honey brown butter sauce, according to Allrecipes.
Where the prevailing hot honey trend across fast food leans on spice, the honey brown butter sauce takes a different approach entirely, offering depth and warmth rather than heat.
Brown butter's moment in the mainstream is well underway: Pillsbury has rolled out a brown butter chocolate chip cookie dough, and McCormick added a Brown Butter Finishing Salt to its lineup.
The new biscuits arrive as McDonald's has been placing greater emphasis on menu innovation. The company unveiled a global growth strategy called McDonald's > NEXT that includes raising the bar on menu offerings, deepening consumer connections, and boosting operational efficiency. The plan, announced at the company's biennial Worldwide Convention for franchisees, suppliers, and employees in Las Vegas, replaces the Accelerating the Arches strategy launched in 2020.
"We're raising the bar for our menu by improving quality and consistency at scale and innovating in spaces where we see growth potential and know matter to our customers, like chicken, beef and beverages," Jill McDonald, the chain's global chief restaurant experience officer, said in a statement at the time.
McDonald's has also been working to hold onto lower-income customers who pulled back on restaurant visits following years of higher menu prices. UBS Evidence Labs surveys found that the share of U.S. customers rating McDonald's as a good value dropped from about 55% in 2020 to around 40% by 2024.