Recipe Roundup

43 Fall Desserts to Bake Right Now

Like an easy-fancy pear tart, a decadent caramel-apple cheesecake, crinkly ginger-molasses cookies, and more.
A Sweet Potato Basque Cheesecake being served.
Photo by Joseph De Leo, Food Styling by Micah Marie Morton

Bidding farewell to summer berries and stone fruits might be bittersweet, but these fall desserts are sure to soften the blow. After all, we have all of autumn’s best produce to look forward to: apples, pears, pecans, and pumpkin—not to mention quince and grapes and so much more. Below you’ll find our very best fall dessert recipes, including a stunning pumpkin bread made with an apple cider reduction and a centerpiece-worthy caramel-apple cheesecake. If you’re looking for classic comforts, we’ve included chewy chocolate chip cookies, warm bread pudding, and fudgy brownies, all with an autumnal twist, too.

  • Baked flour butter and brown sugar over sliced apples in an 8x8 baking tray next to a bowl of whipped cream.
    Photo by Travis Rainey, Food Styling by Stevie Stewart
    1/43

    Apple Crumble

    If fall desserts had a spokesperson, it’d be this classic. To make it your own, toss your favorite chopped nuts into the topping, or a handful of dried cranberries and a big pinch of ground cinnamon or ginger into the apples.

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  • A slice of a pumpkin roll on a plate.
    Photo by Elizabeth Coetzee, Food Styling by Mira Evnine
    2/43

    Pumpkin Roll With Cream Cheese Filling

    This tender pumpkin cake can do no wrong, thanks to its walnut-studded cream cheese frosting and cinnamon-spiced sponge. And even better, it calls for a much more common half-sheet pan rather than a jelly-roll pan.

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  • A ring of caramelglazed monkey bread on a platter crusted with pecans and pumpkin seeds.
    Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Prop Styling by Beatrice Chastka, Food Styling by Olivia Mack Anderson
    3/43

    Monkey Bread

    Warmly spiced with cinnamon, ginger, black pepper, cardamom, and cloves, this shareable monkey bread tastes just like chai.

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  • Slices of raisinstudded apple strudel on a platter.
    Photo by Elizabeth Coetzee, Food Styling by Erika Joyce
    4/43

    Apple Strudel

    Store-bought phyllo dough lends tons of lighter-than-air layers to this impressive apple strudel that’s surprisingly easy to pull off. It’s perfect for when you’re in the mood for fall baking but want a little assist.

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  • A Basque cheesecake being served from a serving plate.
    Photo by Joseph De Leo, Food Styling by Micah Marie Morton
    5/43

    Cardamom Basque Cheesecake

    Cardamom lends tons of autumn warmth to this honey-sweetened version of caramelized and burnt to perfection Basque cheesecake.

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  • Fried dough filled with pured apples topped with confectioner's sugar on a plate.
    Photo by Elizabeth Coetzee, Food Styling by Stevie Stewart
    6/43

    Fried Apple Pies

    From the legendary Edna Lewis comes this epitome of Southern decadence. The cinnamon-spiked pie filling is made with dried apples reconstituted in fresh apple cider for a whallop of flavor.

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  • A slice of banoffee pie made from bananas cream and caramel on a crumbled biscuit crust on a plate with a fork.
    Photo by Joseph De Leo, Food Styling by Kaitlin Wayne
    7/43

    Banoffee Pie

    A buttery crust, easy caramel sauce, and luscious layers of banana and cream deliver big flavor with simple steps. If you can’t find digestive biscuits, graham crackers, Biscoff cookies, or even shortbread would make fine substitutes.

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  • Pear tart with groupings of shingled pears in a pastry crust on a platter.
    Photo by Joseph De Leo, Food Styling by Judy Kim
    8/43

    Pear Tart With Dulce de Leche Drizzle

    End a fall dinner party with this impressive pear tart, which can be baked a day in advance. Though adding a little dulce de leche to each slice is optional, it’s a major upgrade; if you don’t feel like making it from scratch, store-bought will work just fine.

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  • Grid of soft molasses cookies as seen from overhead atop marble surface.
    Photograph by Isa Zapata, Food Styling by Eliza Mozer
    9/43

    Molasses Cookies

    These lightly spiced molasses cookies have crispy edges and chewy centers. They’re at the top of our to-bake list every fall.

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  • A classic pecan pie with a forkcrimped edge and glistening pecan halves in a ceramic pie dish with one slice cut out.
    Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Prop Styling by Alex Brannian, Food Styling by Ali Nardi
    10/43

    Classic Pecan Pie

    A list of our favorite fall desserts would not be complete without pecan pie. This one’s loaded with crunchy nuts—half a pound of them—and gets a little verve from orange zest. Unlike many pecan pie recipes, this version isn’t overly sweet, and we think you’ll love it.

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Zoe gained her culinary education in kitchens quite literally spanning the country: She’s worked at an artisanal ice cream shop in Alabama, an organic farm-bakery in Maui, and a Michelin-starred restaurant in NYC. Now, she’s putting all that knowledge to use at Epicurious, where her primary objective is to help ... Read More
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The Epicurious editorial team develops original recipes, and publishes stories about cooking better, faster, and more creatively, sustainably, and affordably. See our full masthead, here. ... Read More
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