43 Apple Desserts for a Warm and Cozy Start to Fall
The minute fall hits we get apple desserts on the brain. You’ll find us right at the start of apple season, racing to the nearest you-pick orchard, filling our buckets with all the red, green, and gold apples we can get our hands on. The only question: What should we bake first?
If you’re also wondering what to do with an abundance of fresh apples, we’re here to help. First, consider purchasing an apple corer. The inexpensive gadget is a must for some of our editors—it exponentially speeds up apple prep, getting you to Pie Town that much more quickly. Next, sort your apples so you’ve collected the best apples for baking and saved the others for snacking (then find out how to keep those snacking apples from browning).
Below you’ll find 43 of our favorite apple dessert recipes to make the most of the season. There’s nothing more autumnal than the aroma of a freshly baked apple pie wafting through your home, but the Epicurious archives is also full of easy apple crisps, rustic galettes, fancy cakes, and more to help you turn your bounty of fruit into something even more delicious. Preheat your oven and get that scoop of vanilla ice cream ready.
Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Prop Styling by Alex Brannian, Food Styling by Ali Nardi1/43Classic Apple Pie
When we're thinking about essential apple desserts, pie is first and foremost on the list. We tested the many homemade apple pie recipes on the site to narrow in on our favorite version, which boasts a flaky all-butter pie crust. The apple filling is made with both Braeburn and Honeycrisp apples for the ideal balance of sweet and tart.
Photo by Joseph De Leo, Food Styling by Bill Clark3/43Creole Cream Cheesecake With Caramel-Apple Topping
This tangy cheesecake gets its personality from Creole cream cheese. The topping can take many forms throughout the year (like strawberries in spring), but for fall, there's nothing better than apple slices soaked in a buttery caramel sauce.
Photo by Travis Rainey, Food Styling by Stevie Stewart5/43Apple Crumble
This unfussy dessert isn't heavily spiced, so it really lets the apples shine. McIntosh and Golden Delicious apples pair nicely together—the sweet McIntosh apples break down when baked, while the Golden Delicious apples are a bit more tart and sturdy. But you can experiment with whatever apples you have on hand.
Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Food Styling by Katherine Sacks6/43Caramel Apple Drip Cake With Candied Walnuts
Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Prop Styling by Alex Brannian, Food Styling by Ali Nardi8/43Apple Fritters With Spiced Sugar
Photo by Joseph De Leo, Food Styling by Anna Stockwell9/43Olive Oil Apple Cake With Spiced Sugar
This no-mixer-required, dairy-free cake recipe hits all the right autumnal notes: it’s earthy thanks to the olive oil and warm thanks to the spices. Choose your apples for this dessert wisely—a softer type will melt into the cake, while firmer apples (such as Granny Smith) will give the crumb a coarser texture. Serve instead of coffee cake at your next brunch.
Photo by Joseph De Leo, Food Styling by Kaitlin Wayne11/43Apple Sticky Toffee Pudding
Two favorite fall desserts meet up in this recipe: It's one part apple cake, one part sticky toffee pudding. And while it's ideal for Rosh Hashanah, we'll be baking it frequently throughout the fall and winter.
Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Prop Styling by Nathaniel James, Food Styling by Frances Boswell12/43Galette de Pommes au Calvados
Apple jelly and a boozy Calvados sauce dress up this French apple tart.
Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Prop Styling by Anna Surbatovich, Food Styling by Olivia Mack Anderson13/43Individual Apple Crisp
If you're craving apple crisp but don't need a full-sized baking dish of it, this delightful little dessert is made for you. Dollop with spiced whipped cream or add a scoop of ice cream on top.
Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Prop Styling by Astrid Chastka, Food Styling by Anna Hampton14/433-Ingredient Caramel Apple Tart
The secret to making this stunning and delicious dessert for a crowd in under an hour? Store-bought caramel sauce and frozen puff pastry.
Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Food Styling by Anna Stockwell15/43Layered Apple Pie With Phyllo Crust
The flaky phyllo pastry crust of this easy tart is reminiscent of crunchy fall leaves—but a dusting of cinnamon sugar between each layer makes it taste a lot better.
Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Prop Styling by Nathaniel James, Food Styling by Anna Hampton16/43Apple-Cranberry Crisp With Oatmeal-Cookie Crumble
Inspired by the bright flavors of cranberry sauce, tangy fresh (or frozen) cranberries and sweet orange zest add a floral tartness to this easy apple crisp recipe.
Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Food Styling by Katherine Sacks17/43Apple and Persimmon Tarte Tatin
The delicate, earthy sweetness of Fuyu persimmons is a perfect match for apples in this twist on a classic French dessert. A quick caramel sauce and easy puff pastry crust give you big payoff for very little fuss.
Photo by Matthew Septimus18/43Apple Walnut Bundt Cake
This is the ideal apple cake for the fall season—it's easy to make and stays moist and flavorful for up to a week. The caramel sauce is an optional, but fabulous, accompaniment.
Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Food Styling by Rhoda Boone19/43Salted Apple Pretzel Pie
Instead of pie dough, this cast-iron-skillet-baked apple pie gets a golden pretzel topping strewn with crunchy salt. It's a fun baking project for a fall weekend, perfect for serving after some brats and a football game.
Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Prop Styling by Astrid Chastka, Food Styling by Katherine Sacks20/43Christmas Glazed Apple Cake
Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Food Styling by Anna Stockwell21/433-Ingredient Caramel Apple Hand Pies
With just three ingredients—okay, four including salt—these quick and easy hand pies are a cross between the beloved caramel apple and flaky apple turnovers. The active prep time for this recipe is just 20 minutes, so you can pull it off even on a weeknight.
Diana Yen, food and prop styling by Diana Yen28/43Apple and Pumpkin Ginger Crisp
The flavors here are like a big party where pumpkin pie, apple pie, and gingerbread all show up. The crunchy topping is made with old fashioned oats, all-purpose flour, pecans, and brown sugar, and the filling gets bright spice from finely chopped candied ginger.
Photo by Gentl & Hyers35/43Apple and Fig Custard
Serve this warm-hug-in-a-casserole-dish for brunch or dessert with a pour of maple syrup and a dollop of fresh whipped cream.
Tom Schierlitz, food styling by Brian Preston-Campbell36/43Oat Shortcakes With Sautéed Apples
Strawberry shortcake, meet your autumnal cousin. These gluten-free oat-flour cakes make a wonderful base for brown sugar caramelized apples and unsweetened whipped cream.
Photo by Peden + Munk37/43Baked Apples with Prunes, Almonds, and Amaretto
This easy, make-ahead apple dessert idea is elegant enough for a fall dinner party but doesn't require messing with pastry dough. For a theatrical finish, pour the cream over the baked apples at the table and serve with frozen amaro.
Michael Graydon and Nikole Herriott38/43Apple and Blackberry Polenta Cobbler
Polenta adds a warm, sunny corn flavor to this biscuit-topped apple cobbler and thawed frozen blackberries add a pop of sweetness. Yes, a scoop of our favorite vanilla ice cream on top is a good idea.
Romulo Yanes39/43Cranberry-Apple Crumble Pie
No need to get fussy with weaving a lattice or any other fancy decorative pie crust moves here. This apple crumble pie packs all the flavor and fragrance of a traditional apple pie underneath a nutty, buttery, cinnamon-spiced crumb topping.
Charles Masters, food styling by Suzanne Lenzer41/43Caramel-Apple Caramels
Flavored with homemade or store-bought apple butter, these chewy candies make a great homemade Halloween or other holiday treat. The wrapped caramels can be kept for up to 1 month.
Photo by Isa Zapata, Food Styling by Jessie YuChen42/43Salted Caramel Apple Cookies
To make these fall cookies from Bon Appétit, you'll cook down a caramel and grated apple mixture until all the liquid from the apples has evaporated. Once it's cool, the apple caramel gets swirled into a snickerdoodle-like dough.
Photo by Michael Graydon & Nikole Herriott, Prop Styling by Kalen Kaminski, Food Styling by Susie Theodorou43/43Fall Fruit Galette
Hosting pros know that galettes are great move for entertaining. This is one of those apple desserts that's just as delicious and impressive as a pie, but takes half the effort. Choose Pink Lady, Honeycrisp, or Granny Smith apples (some of the best apples for baking since they hold their shape when cooked). Toss slices in granulated sugar with fennel seeds and vanilla, fold up the flaky pastry edges and bake until golden brown. Click through for even more sweet and savory apple recipes to round out the meal.
