As the crisp autumn air fills our lungs and nature‘s canvas transforms into a vibrant masterpiece of golden hues and fiery reds, we find ourselves in the heart of fall—a season that beckons us to indulge in sweet treats that capture the essence of this enchanting time of year. From cozy apple pies that evoke nostalgic memories to decadent pumpkin cheesecakes that will steal the show at any gathering, our dessert repertoire caters to every craving and skill level.
Whether you‘re a seasoned baker or a novice in the kitchen, our recipes are designed to guide you through each step with clarity and ease. We‘ve carefully selected ingredients that are not only delicious but also readily available, ensuring that you can whip up these treats without any hassle.
Best Fall Desserts
Let’s explore a collection of easy fall desserts that are as delightful as they are effortless to create.
Apple Spice Cake with Baked Apple Roses
Apple Spice Cake with Baked Apple Roses features our moist spice cake with chopped apples sprinkled throughout married with a cream cheese frosting. Then, to really put it over the top, we add a caramel swirl and chopped walnuts (optional) along with the frosting between layers, a caramel drizzle on top, and edible baked apples shaped as roses for decor. This is the epitome of fall dessert and is quite the show-stopper. The spice of the cake mixed with the sweet apples and frosting juxtaposed with the smooth, slightly salty caramel makes every bite of this dessert unforgettable. To top it all off, no piping skills are required! The baked apple roses are so easy to make, create the perfect rustic decor, and are delicious!
Pumpkin Cheesecake Swirl Bundt Cake
Pumpkin Cheesecake Swirl Bundt Cake is a light, moist pumpkin cake filled with swirls of rich, creamy cheesecake. It is the quintessential fall dessert containing the warm spices of cinnamon and nutmeg that pair perfectly with pumpkin. This cake is super simple to make and is sure to impress a crowd!
Pumpkin Cheesecake with Salted Caramel
Pumpkin Cheesecake with Salted Caramel is the perfect marriage of rich, creamy New York style cheesecake and pumpkin pie topped with homemade salted caramel and whipped cream. While cheesecake can be somewhat dense, the texture of this is light and airy, almost resembling a pumpkin mousse. This combination transforms two delicious treats into an elegant autumn dessert. It is a little bit sweet, a little bit salty, and the perfect amount of indulgence.
S’mores Trifle
S’mores Trifle is like one giant s’more but in a trifle dish that you can eat with a spoon or fork. It is layered with our Decadent Chocolate Cake, chocolate mousse, a fluffy, gooey marshmallow whipped cream, crushed graham crackers, and mini chocolate chips. We top it off with some additional graham crackers, Hershey bars, and roasted mini marshmallows. It is a favorite for both kids and adults!
Autumn Spice Cake with Pineapple Flowers
Autumn Spice Cake with Pineapple Flowers is a light, moist cake filled with warm notes of cinnamon and nutmeg that is covered with a velvety cream cheese frosting. To top it off, we add optional chopped pecans and edible pineapple flowers tinted with food coloring reflecting the beautiful colors of fall. This cake is perfect for those brisk fall days and bitter cold winter nights. Serve with a cup of hot coffee or warm apple cider…heavenly!
Old-Fashioned Apple Pie
Old-Fashioned Apple Pie has a flaky, buttery crust filled with juicy apples that are covered in a delicious thick, cinnamon filling. It is absolutely divine! I am quite picky when it comes to apple pie. It can’t be overly tart or overly sweet. This recipe has the perfect balance of both.
Jewish Apple Cake
Jewish Apple Cake is a family favorite in this household. It has a dense cake with layers of sweet apples sprinkled in cinnamon-sugar goodness.
Apricot Walnut Oatmeal Cookies
Apricot Walnut Oatmeal Cookies are puffy, buttery oatmeal cookies with added bits of sweet apricot, hints of cinnamon, and chopped walnuts. These cookies are so delicious…it is impossible to eat just one!
Pumpkin Spice Buttercream Frosting
Pumpkin Spice Buttercream frosting is rich and creamy with flavors of pumpkin and vanilla that are accented by hints of cinnamon and nutmeg. We love to pair this frosting with the vanilla cake from our Strawberry Shortcake Cake or the pumpkin cake from our Pumpkin Cheesecake Swirl Bundt Cake. It also goes well with our Decadent Chocolate Cake recipe!
Spiced Wafer Oatmeal Cookies
Spiced Wafer Oatmeal Cookies are the magical combination of our pillowy oatmeal cookies with coarsely crushed spiced wafers added to the cookie dough. The oatmeal cookies provide a soft, buttery base while the spiced wafers add texture and that spiced wafer goodness we all love. Yum!
Traditional Pumpkin Pie
This Traditional Pumpkin Pie has been in my family for generations. It has a flaky, buttery crust filled with a flavorful pumpkin center featuring spices of nutmeg, ginger, and cinnamon. This is not a bland pumpkin pie…it is packed with a ton of flavor in every bite. Enjoy by itself, with a dollop of whipped cream, or some vanilla ice cream!
Ultimate Carrot Cake
Ultimate Carrot Cake has the perfect amount of spice, is super moist, and has a smooth cream cheese frosting with just the right amount of tang. With chopped walnuts (optional), shredded carrots, crushed pineapple, and shredded coconut (optional), it is the best carrot cake I’ve ever eaten. It also happens to be extremely easy to make and super versatile.
Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cupcakes
These Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cupcakes are unbelievably yummy! They are light, fluffy, moist, and have the perfect balance of peanut butter and chocolate. We then top these delicious treats with a rich chocolate buttercream frosting and grated peanut butter chip flakes that just puts them over the top!
Strawberry Swirl Cheesecake
Strawberry Swirl Cheesecake is a New York style cheesecake that is incredibly rich, creamy, and has a sweet strawberry puree woven into the filling. It is the ultimate indulgence and while I love to make this during peak strawberry season, it is perfect any time of year.
Peanut Butter Cup Cupcakes
If you are a peanut butter and chocolate fan, you will absolutely LOVE these cupcakes. They taste like peanut butter cups in a cupcake form! Our Peanut Butter Cup Cupcakes have our moist chocolate cake as a base with a peanut butter cup pressed into the middle, a rich, creamy peanut butter frosting, and then are topped with chocolate drizzle and another peanut butter cup.
Perfect Pound Cake
This Perfect Pound Cake is everything you would expect a pound cake to be and so much more. It is moist, rich, tender, buttery, and is excellent on its own or as the base in other recipes. Easy and quick to assemble, this classic cake is sure to be a crowd pleaser!
Peanut Butter Brookies
Peanut Butter Brookies are the super fun combination of peanut butter brownies and chocolate chip cookies layered in bars. For this recipe, we use our moist, fudgy brownies filled with chocolate chips, peanut butter chips, and a peanut butter swirl and then top them with our popular chocolate chip cookie dough. These are the best peanut butter brookies and they are extremely simple to make!
Quick Boston Cream Pie
Want delicious homemade Boston Cream Pie but are short on time? This is for you! It is super easy, quick, and is sure to be a crowd pleaser. It has a moist vanilla cake, fluffy cream filling (no eggs), and a rich chocolate ganache on top. The filling on this cake is different than the traditional Boston cream pie because it is not made with eggs. Instead, we use vanilla pudding mix, heavy cream, and cool whip. So fast and oh so good!
Butter Pecan Cookies
Butter Pecan Cookies are rich, buttery, filled with chopped toasted pecans, and then rolled in sugar for just a touch of extra sweetness. Crisp on the outside and soft in the center, these taste like butter pecan ice cream in cookie form. They are so delicious and incredibly easy to make!
Peanut Butter Chocolate Dream Trifle
Have you ever had a Kandy Kake by Tastykake? Growing up the Philadelphia area, we were treated to these delectable confections quite frequently. They are insanely popular small cakes covered in chocolate with a peanut butter filling. That is exactly what this trifle tastes like! Peanut Butter Chocolate Dream Trifle is filled with layers of white cake, peanut butter mousse, chocolate crunchies, chocolate mousse, peanut butter chips, and topped with a Magic Shell drizzle. It is out-of-this-world delicious, super simple, and ready to serve in under two hours!
Quick Triple Peanut Butter Brownies
Quick Triple Peanut Butter Brownies are moist, fudgy brownies filled with chocolate chips, peanut butter chips, chopped peanut butter cups, and topped with a yummy peanut butter swirl. These are the best peanut butter brownies and they are extremely simple to make!
Pie Crust Roll-Ups
Pie Crust Roll-Ups are bite-sized pie crust rolled up with butter, sugar, and cinnamon. They are like cinnamon buns but smaller and with pie crust instead of bread dough…they’re absolutely delicious!
Dutch Apple Pie
Dutch Apple Pie is unique because we use a brown sugar oat crust abounding with a sweet apple filling and topped with a cinnamon streusel. I love the warm flavors of brown sugar, oats, and butter in the crust. They compliment the apples perfectly and add a nice texture to balance the soft, sweet filling. Serve with a dollop of vanilla ice cream…absolutely divine!
Chocolate Almond Coconut Balls
These Chocolate Almond Coconut Balls are filled with sweet, moist coconut, chopped almonds, and then coated in a rich, chocolate shell topped with a pinch of sea salt. We love to make these around the holidays and always make a ton because they are a favorite amongst our family and friends!
Raspberry Swirl Cheesecake
Raspberry Swirl Cheesecake looks ridiculously elegant with its marbled design but it is really easy and so delicious! This cheesecake is rich, creamy, and has a sweet raspberry puree woven into the filling.
The Best Cheesecake
This New York Style cheesecake is smooth, creamy, and rich with a delicious crushed vanilla wafer crust. It is absolutely dreamy and the BEST cheesecake ever!
Donut Cake
Donut Cake is so much fun and so delicious! This cake tastes like an old-fashioned donut filled with vanilla cream and topped with chocolate ganache and rainbow sprinkles. Both kids and adults love this dessert and it is so easy to make. You really cannot go wrong with this crowd pleaser!
Decadent Chocolate Cake
This decadent chocolate cake is INTENSE!!! It has an insanely rich chocolate flavor with the perfect amount of moisture. You could even eat this without icing…it is that good.
Throughout this culinary journey, we‘ve celebrated the bounty of autumn, capturing its essence in every bite. As we pack away our mixing bowls and aprons, let us carry the sweet memories of fall’s desserts into the seasons that follow. May they serve as a reminder of the joy and abundance that this time of year brings.
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