Our 16 best apple recipes for fall baking
Embrace the season with tarts, cookies, bread, and more.
There’s an apple recipe for everyone. For the purists, there are lattice-topped pies and fruit-studded muffins. For the non-traditionalists, there are caramel-frosted cakes and fritter-inspired loaves. And for apple lovers that hate cinnamon? Well, there are custardy cakes and flaky hand pies. Ready to start baking with fall’s best fruit? Read on.
1) Whipped Caramel Apple Cake
There’s no shortage of apple in this cake — applesauce keeps things moist while boiled cider adds sharp, tangy fruit flavor. The cake is great on its own, but pair it with light, creamy Whipped Caramel Frosting, and you’ve got an irresistible baked version of a caramel apple (with none of the fears about your teeth).
Get the recipe: Whipped Caramel Apple Cake
Shop the recipe: Vermont Boiled Cider
2) Tiny Apple Tarts for Two
You only need one apple (and two people eager for an apple dessert) to make a pair of these adorable galettes. Half the apple is sliced, while the other half is grated, which creates a hidden layer of jam beneath the shingled slices. Flaky fruit tarts don’t get easier (or cuter!) than this.
Get the recipe: Tiny Apple Tarts for Two
Shop the recipe: Apple Pie Spice
3) Apple Cider Snickerdoodles
The classic snickerdoodle gets dressed for fall by subbing in Apple Pie Spice for cinnamon and adding a heavy pour of boiled cider — one of our favorite ways to add concentrated apple flavor to fall bakes. These soft, chewy cookies may rival apple cider doughnuts as your new favorite fall treat — so plan on making a double batch.
Get the recipe: Apple Cider Snickerdoodles
Shop the recipe: Jumbo Cookie Scoop and Apple Pie Spice
4) Old-Fashioned Apple Cake with Brown Sugar Frosting
This super-easy one-bowl cake is loaded with chopped apples and walnuts, which give this moist, spiced cake heft and texture. The frosting, akin to a velvety brown sugar fudge, adds a textural counterpoint and an extra dimension of richness.
Get the recipe: Old-Fashioned Apple Cake with Brown Sugar Frosting
Shop the recipe: 9" x 13" pan
5) Fresh Apple Cinnamon Scones
Cinnamon and apple go together like a flannel and a beanie, but this recipe one-ups that perfect pairing with the addition of cinnamon chips. Diced apple and melty pockets of cinnamon-sugar are also studded throughout these autumnal scones, which are then finished off with an extra-crunchy sugar coating.
Get the recipe: Fresh Apple Cinnamon Scones
Shop the recipe: Cinnamon Sweet Bits
6) Apple Pie Babka
Ribbons of gooey, cinnamon-scented apples are twisted throughout this striking enriched loaf. Beautiful to behold (and easier to make than you’d think), this braided babka would be a welcome addition to any Rosh Hashanah table or fall celebration.
Get the recipe: Apple Pie Babka
Shop the recipe: Baker’s Special Dry Milk
7) Secret Ingredient Apple Pie
Spoiler alert: The eponymous secret ingredient in this special pie is boiled cider! Made by cooking down apple cider into a concentrate, a few drops deliver big apple flavor. When used in apple pies, it super-charges the fruit’s tart, tangy flavor, delivering a pie with over-the-top apple goodness.
Get the recipe: Secret Ingredient Apple Pie
Shop the recipe: Boiled Cider
8) Apple Fritter Cake
If your go-to doughnut order is an apple fritter, this mash-up cake was made for you. The batter is made using the reverse creaming technique, which ensures a velvety crumb and tender texture. In each slice, there’s a filling and topping of cinnamon-dusted apples and a final drizzle of icy-white vanilla glaze. A slice rivals anything you can get at your local doughnut shop.
Get the recipe: Apple Fritter Cake
Shop the recipe: Instant ClearJel
9) Apple French Toast Bake
Put your stale bread to good use in this French toast casserole. The custard-soaked bread and diced apples can rest in the fridge for up to two days, so it’s the perfect make-ahead breakfast. Once you’re ready to eat, just pop the pan into the oven and the scent of cinnamon, apples, and butter will fill your kitchen in no time.
Get the recipe: Apple French Toast Bake
Shop the recipe: Vermont Maple Syrup
10) Apple Muffins
These apple-filled muffins come together in just over half an hour, making them perfect for quick breakfasts or a sweet after-school snack. A few additions make these better than your basic muffin: whole wheat flour for nutty flavor, plus buttermilk for lift and tang.
Get the recipe: Apple Muffins
Shop the recipe: Golden Wheat Flour
11) Classic Apple Crisp
When you want a fruit dessert fast, you can always count on crisps — no rolling, no resting, and most importantly, no special equipment required! This crisp is made with a handful of baking basics, so when you find yourself with a surplus of apples, dessert is barely an hour away.
Get the recipe: Classic Apple Crisp
Shop the recipe: 9" Square Pan
12) Sugar-Crusted Apple Cobbler Cake
This time of year, apples don't need much to make them shine. The paper-thin, crackly top layer of this cobbler highlights the juicy fruit beneath. It doesn’t need a lot of adornment, but a scoop of vanilla ice cream never hurt anything.
Get the recipe: Sugar-Crusted Apple Cobbler Cake
Shop the recipe: Vietnamese Cinnamon
13) Sausage, Apple, and Cheddar Pocket Pies
If you thought apple pies were always sweet, think again. Sausage, cheddar and apples are a winning combination — the sweet-tart fruit offsets the richness of the meat, cheese, and flaky pastry
Get the recipe: Sausage, Apple, and Cheddar Pocket Pies
Shop the recipe: Better Cheddar Cheese Powder
14) Apple Butter Apple Galette
If you’re looking to veer from classic apple pie territory, this galette stays true to those roots but adds a few modern twists. It starts with a buttery whole wheat crust enriched with a touch of sour cream. Then, a layer of apple butter (which can be easily made by cooking down applesauce) is spread beneath a layer of artfully arranged apples slices.
Get the recipe: Apple Butter Apple Galette
Shop the recipe: Sparkling Sugar
15) Mostly Apples Apple Cake
There’s just enough batter to hold together a heap of sliced apples in this one-of-a-kind cake. Gently sweetened with brown sugar and scented with almond extract, this minimalist cake is greater than the sum of its parts — a sophisticated, custardy cake that’s deceivingly simple to make.
Get the recipe: Mostly Apples Apple Cake
Shop the recipe: Almond Extract
16) Cinnamon-Apple Pull-Apart Bread
This pull-apart bread is as fun to make as it is to eat. After rolling out the dough into a rectangle, it’s spread with sweetened apple filling. The dough is cut up into several strips, then stacked and squeezed into a loaf pan. It bakes into a loaf comprised of distinct slices of pillowy apple-studded bread that you can easily tear from the loaf.
Get the recipe: Cinnamon-Apple Pull-Apart Bread
Shop the recipe: SAF Instant Yeast
Looking for more fall baking inspiration? Check out our recipe collection of Fall Favorites.
Cover photo (Whipped Caramel Apple Cake) by Patrick Marinello; food styling by Kaitlin Wayne.
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