There’s just something about a house with that spicy scent of cinnamon and brown sugar that screams fall. It is the time when apples, pumpkin, and spices come into play, be it a casual day baking or something for a special occasion.
This list brings all of that autumn flavor together with 14 desserts worth baking this season. Browse through them and pick the first one you’ll make!
14. Cinnamon Apple Crisp
Tender apples bake underneath a golden, buttery streusel topping for a fall classic that comes together fast. Skipping the oats gives the topping a crumbly, crust-like texture that holds up beautifully next to a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
This one calls for simple pantry staples and a quick process from start to finish. It’s a great pick for beginner bakers or anyone short on time.
Cinnamon Apple Crisp (No Oats Recipe)
Ingredients
Method
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Coat an 8×8 baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.
- Combine the sliced apples, sugar, cinnamon, cornstarch and lemon juice in a large bowl. Toss to coat the apples in the mixture.
- Pour the apple filling into the prepared baking dish.
- In a separate bowl, combine the melted butter, flour, brown sugar, granulated sugar and salt. Sprinkle evenly over the apple mixture.
- Bake for 30 minutes. Cool in the baking dish for at least 20 minutes before serving.
13. Puff Pastry Apple Dumplings with Streusel Topping
Cinnamon-sugar apples are tucked into individual puff pastry packages for an easy dessert that looks far fancier than it is. Each little package gets topped with a buttery pecan streusel before baking until golden brown.
A drizzle of caramel sauce right before serving takes these dumplings over the top. They come together with just a few pantry staples and one roll of store-bought puff pastry.
Puff Pastry Apple Dumplings
Ingredients
Method
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
- Peel, core and chop the apples.
- Combine cinnamon, sugar, nutmeg and bread crumbs in a large bowl. Toss the apples in the cinnamon mixture. Set aside.
- Roll out the first puff pastry sheet into a large rectangle. Using a sharp knife or pizza cutter, cut into 4 equal squares. Use a pastry brush to brush each square with beaten egg. Place a few spoonfuls of the apple mixture in the center of each pastry square. Fold opposite corners in towards the middle, overlapping the corners over top of the apples.
- Brush the outside of each dumpling with the egg wash. Repeat this process with the second puff pastry sheet, so that you have a total of 8 dumplings.
- Coat an 8×8 baking dish with nonstick cooking spray. Arrange the dumplings in the baking dish.
- Melt butter in a microwave safe dish. Combine the melted butter with the remaining streusel ingredients in a small bowl. Sprinkle over the tops of the dumplings. Bake in the preheated oven for 15 minutes. Lower the oven temperature to 350 degrees. Bake an additional 25-30 minutes.
- Drizzle with caramel sauce, if desired.
12. Pumpkin Cupcakes with Maple Cream Cheese Frosting
These cupcakes are packed with warm fall spices and topped with a smooth maple cream cheese frosting. The cake itself is naturally dairy free until it’s topped with frosting, and it bakes in about 30 minutes. Maple extract gives the frosting its flavor without changing the texture. They’re a delicious option for any holiday dessert table.
Pumpkin Cupcakes with Maple Cream Cheese Frosting
Ingredients
Method
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, whisk together the pumpkin puree and eggs. Add brown sugar, oil, baking powder, cinnamon, baking soda, clove and nutmeg. Mix together. Add the flour and mix until well-combined.
- Lightly grease a muffin pan or line with baking cups. Pour batter 2/3 of the way to the top of each cup. Bake 28-30 minutes. Allow to cool completely before frosting.
- In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or in a large bowl with an electric hand mixer, beat the cream cheese, butter, maple extract and vanilla extract on medium-high speed for 1-2 minutes. Turn speed down to low and add the confectioner's sugar. Turn speed back up to medium-high and beat for another 1-2 minutes.
11. Apple Cinnamon Sour Cream Coffee Cake
A ribbon of cinnamony apples runs through this moist cake, all topped with a thick, buttery brown sugar crumble. Sour cream keeps the crumb soft and rich, while melted butter in the topping helps it sit perfectly on top instead of sinking in. This cake holds up well for days on the counter or in the freezer. It’s a great choice for a potluck, football weekend or quiet night by the fire.
Apple Cinnamon Sour Cream Coffee Cake
Ingredients
Method
- Bring the apples, 3/4 cup sugar, lemon juice and cinnamon to a boil in a small saucepan. Lower the heat and simmer until thickened and apples are very soft, 15-20 minutes. Remove from heat. Mixture will thicken as it cools.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugar together until fluffy. Blend in the eggs, sour cream and vanilla.
- In a separate medium bowl, combine the dry ingredients: flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. With the mixer on low speed, blend the flour mixture into the wet ingredients until combined. Pour into a greased 9×13 baking dish. Drop spoonfuls of the apple mixture onto the cake batter. Using a knife, swirl the apple mixture evenly into the cake batter.
- In a small bowl, use a fork to mix all of the topping ingredients together until crumbly. Sprinkle evenly over the cake layer. Bake 40 minutes.
10. Jewish Apple Cake
Layers of cinnamon-sugar apples run through this dense, moist cake – a traditional favorite for Rosh Hashanah. Made with vegetable oil instead of butter, this cake is naturally dairy free. A splash of orange juice keeps the crumb from drying out. It keeps well on the counter for days, making it easy to bake ahead.
Best Jewish Apple Cake
Ingredients
Method
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Sift dry ingredients together in a large mixing bowl. Add the wet ingredients – vanilla, eggs, oil and orange juice – to flour mixture. Mix by hand for 5-10 minutes until very thick.
- Grease and flour a tube or bundt pan. If using a bundt pan, arrange apple slices in an overlapping pattern on the bottom of the prepared pan. Sprinkle with cinnamon sugar mixture. Pour half of the batter on top of the apples. Layer remaining apple slices and sprinkle remaining cinnamon sugar, followed by the remaining batter.If using a tube pan, spread half of the batter onto the bottom of the pan. Layer apple slices over the batter. Sprinkle with half of the cinnamon sugar mixture. Pour the remaining batter over the apples and top with the rest of the apple slices in an overlapping pattern. Sprinkle with the remaining cinnamon sugar mixture.
- Bake for 1 hour 15 minutes. Let the cake cool to room temperature on a wire rack before turning it out of the pan.
9. Pumpkin Spice Monkey Bread with Cream Cheese Frosting
We’re rolling biscuit dough pieces in a homemade pumpkin spice blend for a pull-apart treat with all the flavors of the season. The dough bakes in a bundt pan until golden brown and gooey in the center. Drizzle the simple cream cheese frosting over the top once it cools. It’s an easy weekend breakfast or dessert that the whole family can help put together.
Pumpkin Spice Monkey Bread with Cream Cheese Frosting
Ingredients
Method
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Coat a bundt pan thoroughly with non-stick cooking spray.
- Combine the granulated sugar, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and cloves in a medium bowl. (Alternatively, place the mixture into a large plastic bag and shake vigorously.)
- Cut each biscuit into quarters and roll each piece into a ball. Coat the dough balls in the pumpkin spice and arrange in the prepared bundt pan. (Alternatively, place the biscuit pieces into the plastic food bag, seal and shake gently to coat.)
- Melt the butter in a small saucepan over low to medium heat. Stir in the brown sugar. Whisk until the sugar dissolves. Pour melted butter evenly over the biscuit dough.
- Place the bundt pan on the middle rack of the oven with a baking sheet under it on the lower rack to catch any spills. Do not skip this step!
- Bake for 1 hour, until top is golden brown. For best results, cool completely before inverting onto a serving plate.
- Before serving, make the cream cheese frosting: Combine the softened cream cheese and butter together in a small bowl. Whisk in the sugar, milk and vanilla. Drizzle over cooled monkey bread.
8. Apple Butter Cookies with Cinnamon Vanilla Frosting
Soft, oversized cookies get their cakey texture from a combination of apple butter and brown sugar. A cinnamon vanilla frosting made with real vanilla bean tops each cookie and stays soft for days. The frosting can even be stored at room temperature. These cookies are great for fall baking and carry right into the holiday cookie season.
Apple Butter Cookies with Cinnamon Vanilla Frosting
Ingredients
Method
- Beat butter and sugars until fluffy. Beat in the egg, vanilla and apple butter.
- In a separate bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt.
- Stir the flour mixture into the apple butter mixture until combined. Cover the dough and chill at least 30 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Using a 3 Tbsp. cookie scoop, place cookie dough 1 inch apart on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake 15 minutes. Cool completely before frosting.
- Make the frosting: Beat the butter until fluffy. With the mixer on low speed, beat in the confectioner's sugar, vanilla bean paste and cinnamon. Store at room temperature.
7. Chai Spice Burnt Basque Cheesecake
Light and airy on the inside with a deeply caramelized top, this cheesecake gets its warmth from chai spices steeped right into the cream. Unlike a traditional cheesecake, this one has no crust and only a small amount of flour. High heat gives the top its signature dark, cracked appearance. It’s a naturally easy dessert to make gluten free.
Chai Spice Burnt Basque Cheesecake
Ingredients
Method
- Bring cream to a boil in a saucepan. Remove from heat. Stir in the tea bags. Let steep 15-20 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
- Double line a 9" springform pan with parchment. Make sure the parchment goes up the sides of the pan too.
- Beat cream cheese and sugar together in a stand mixer until smooth, about 2 minutes. Beat in the eggs one at a time.
- Lower the speed. Beat in the cream, salt and vanilla until combined.
- Turn off the mixer. Sift in the flour, then beat on low speed, scraping down the sides until very smooth. Pour batter into the prepared pan.
- Bake 1 hour. The cake will still be jiggly. Let it cool completely before unmolding. Serve at room temperature.
6. Chai Spice Crème Brûlée
This classic French custard gets a fall makeover with chai spices like cinnamon, clove and cardamom. The spices steep right into the cream before it’s combined with egg yolks and baked in a water bath. A quick pass with a kitchen torch gives the top its signature crackly sugar crust. Did I mention that you’ll only need 5 ingredients to pull this dessert together?
Chai Spice Crème Brûlée Recipe
Ingredients
Method
- Stir cream and vanilla bean paste together in a medium saucepan. (If using a whole vanilla bean, scrape the beans into the saucepan and also put the vanilla pod in). Bring to a boil. Watch closely because it can easily boil over. Remove from heat and stir in the tea bags. Cover and let steep for 15 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Arrange 6 ramekins in a single layer in a 9×13 baking dish. Set up the water bath: fill the baking dish with hot water until it reaches about halfway up the sides of the ramekins. The water does not have to be boiling.
- In a bowl, whisk egg yolks and 1/2 cup sugar together. Remove vanilla bean pod, if using, from the cream mixture and discard. Squeeze the tea bags into the cream mixture and discard.
- Slowly pour the cream into the egg mixture, a little at a time, whisking constantly. Divide the custard mixture evenly among the ramekins. Bake 40-45 minutes, until crème brûlée is set but still jiggly.
- When cool enough to handle, remove from the baking pan to cool on a wire rack. Cover and refrigerate several hours until set. Remove from the refrigerator and sprinkle evenly with the remaining 1/2 cup sugar. Use torch to burn the sugar topping until browned.
5. Apple Cinnamon Ice Cream Pie
A buttery graham cracker crust gets filled with a no-churn cinnamon ice cream for a fun twist on apple pie a la mode. Syrupy cooked apples are spread over the top just before serving. And you won’t need an ice cream maker for this one! Prepare this dessert well ahead of time, making it a great option for the busy holiday season.
Best Apple Cinnamon Ice Cream Pie (No Churn Recipe)
Ingredients
Method
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spray at 9-inch springform pan with nonstick cooking spray.
- Process the graham crackers in a food processor until fine. Melt butter in a microwave safe dish. With the motor running on low speed, pour the melted butter through the feed tube until incorporated.
- Transfer the mixture to the springform pan and press down, moving some of the crumbs up the sides of the pan. Press until firm. Bake for 10 minutes, until golden brown.
- In a large bowl, beat the heavy cream, 3 Tbsp. sugar and vanilla with a hand mixer until stiff peaks form. Fold in the sweetened condensed milk and 1 Tbsp. cinnamon.
- Pour into the cooled crust. Cover with plastic wrap and freeze at least 2 hours.
- Cook the apples, 1/4 cup sugar, 1 tsp. cinnamon and water in a saucepan over medium-high heat until thickened.
- Once most of the liquid is absorbed, reduce to low heat and stir in the lemon juice. Cook an additional 2-3 minutes, then remove from heat. Allow to cool to room temperature.
- Prior to serving, spread apple mixture on top of the ice cream pie. Slice and serve.
4. Pumpkin Spice Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
This moist sheet cake is loaded with warm spices, golden raisins and pecans. Buttermilk keeps the crumb soft, while a fluffy cream cheese frosting finishes it off. Since it bakes in a 9×13 pan, there’s plenty to go around. It’s an easy choice for any autumn gathering.
Pumpkin Spice Cake Recipe with Cream Cheese Frosting
Ingredients
Method
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- In a large bowl, whisk pumpkin and eggs together. Add brown sugar, oil and buttermilk. Whisk to combine.
- In a separate bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda and spices together. Slowly pour the dry ingredients into the pumpkin mixture and stir to combine.
- Fold in the raisins and pecans.
- Coat a 9×13 baking pan with nonstick cooking spray. Pour the batter into the pan. Bake 35 minutes. Cool completely before frosting.
- To make the frosting, beat the cream cheese, butter and vanilla together in a stand mixer. (Alternatively, use a handheld electric mixer). With the mixer on low speed, add the confectioner's sugar. Increase mixer speed and whip the frosting until fluffy.
3. Salted Caramel Kentucky Butter Cake
This rich, buttery bundt cake gets soaked in a warm butter sauce right out of the oven. Once cooled, it gets topped with caramel sauce and a sprinkle of flaky sea salt. The butter sauce sinks into every bite for an incredibly moist texture. It’s simple to make but looks like it took all afternoon.
Salted Caramel Kentucky Butter Cake
Ingredients
Method
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Coat a bundt pan generously with nonstick cooking spray.
- Combine flour, salt, baking powder and baking soda together in a large bowl.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the cup of butter and sugar on medium speed until fluffy. (Alternatively, use a handheld electric mixer and a large bowl). Add the eggs, vanilla and buttermilk. Beat to combine. With the mixer on low speed, add the dry mixture until incorporated.
- Pour batter into the prepared bundt pan. Bake for in the preheated oven for 60 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean.
- Make the butter sauce: in a small saucepan combine the butter, sugar, milk and vanilla. Heat the mixture over medium-low heat until the sugar dissolves and the mixture becomes smooth.
- Prick holes in the warm cake and pour the butter sauce over the cake. Do not worry if there's a lot of sauce – it will all sink in.
- Cool the cake completely in the bundt pan on a wire rack. Invert the room temperature cake onto a serving plate. Top with caramel sauce and flaky sea salt.
2. Bakery Style Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins
These jumbo muffins are loaded with pumpkin puree, warm fall spices and big chocolate chunks. A quick chocolate drizzle on top finishes them off in bakery style. They’re easy to make gluten free with a one-to-one flour swap. They’re a fun way to bring bakery-style flavor into a weekend of fall baking.
Bakery Style Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins (Gluten Free option)
Ingredients
Method
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Coat a jumbo size muffin tin with nonstick cooking spray, or line with cupcake liners.
- In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until fluffy. Beat in the eggs and pumpkin puree.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, baking soda and spices.
- Stir the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until fully combined. Fold in 1 cup of the chocolate chunks.
- Fill muffin tins 2/3 of the way with batter. Sprinkle evenly with coarse sugar. Bake 25-30 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean.
- To make the chocolate drizzle, combine 1/2 cup of chocolate chunks and the coconut oil in a small bowl. Microwave in 20 second intervals until melted and smooth. Drizzle over cooled muffins.
1. Warm Apple Crostata
This rustic, free-form pastry is filled with syrupy cinnamon apples wrapped in a flaky, buttery crust. Don’t worry about perfect crimping, since the whole point of a crostata is to look effortlessly imperfect.
Brush the crust with cream and sprinkle with turbinado sugar before baking, then serve it warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. It’s one of the coziest desserts of the season!
Warm Apple Crostata Recipe
Ingredients
Method
- In the bowl of a food processor, pulse the flour, sugar and salt to combine. Cut the cold butter into cubes. Add the butter to the food processor and process until they are the size of peas.
- With the motor running on low, pour 5 Tbsp. very cold water through the feed tube until a crumbly dough forms.
- Remove the dough and press it into a disc. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
- Melt the butter in a small saucepan over low heat. Add the sugar. Stir continuously until the mixture becomes an amber color. Don't worry if it gets clumpy.
- Stir in the apple slices, cinnamon and nutmeg. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the apples are softened.
- In a small bowl, combine the cornstarch with 1 1/2 Tbsp. of water. Pour the mixture into the apples and stir until thickened. Remove from heat.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- Using a rolling pin, roll dough into a large circle on a lightly floured surface. Transfer it to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
- Spread the apple mixture in the center of the dough, leaving a perimeter of dough about 2 inches.
- Fold and gather the dough in towards the center, slightly overlapping other pieces of dough and overlapping the apple mixture by 1/2 inch.
- Brush the dough with heavy cream. Sprinkle it with turbinado sugar. Bake 50 minutes, until golden brown. Allow to cool on the baking sheet before transferring it to a serving plate.
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