As the temperatures drop and the days grow shorter, spending time in a warm kitchen becomes tempting again. 'Tis the season for autumn baking! We scoured the internet for the best fall baking recipes (including some that are keto, vegan, and gluten-free) to give you another reason to turn on your oven. You're welcome!
Popovers are light, fluffy, and taste like you must have worked some serious French technique to have made them. But, they couldn't be simpler (whisk, blend, bake) and these in particular are super savory. The lemon zest adds a beautiful brightness to offset the spice of the pepper and the umami of the parmesan.
Recipe: Food52
Related: Babka to Yorkshire Pudding: 25 International Baked Goods to Try at Home
This spiced, charming cake makes a lovely dessert (especially with a bit of whipped cream) but can be a tasty breakfast with coffee as well. The molasses and baking spices come together in a way that is distinctly autumnal without incorporating the expected apple or pumpkin. A great recipe to have in your baking rotation!
Recipe: Your Home Based Mom
Related: Secret Ingredients That Made Grandma's Food Amazing
Apple cider doughnuts are gaining ground on pumpkin spice lattes as the preferred autumn celebration dish, and this recipe is another in their favor. They're sweet, tender, and buttery. Reducing the apple cider first makes for an especially apple-y experience.
Recipe: Allrecipes
Related: How to Make Your Own Pumpkin Spice Latte: 10 Recipes to Try at Home
The great thing about this recipe is that it's tasty and impressive enough to be made for special occasions (especially if you make it as a layer cake and frost it), but simple enough to be whipped up on the fly when you're craving a vegan treat. If you bake vegan recipes frequently, you will probably already have most of the ingredients in your pantry!
Recipe: Minimalist Baker
Related: 30 Vegetable Recipes for People Who Hate Vegetables
Looking for a next-level version of pecan pie? Try pecan pie cheesecake. Prep time is only 25 minutes and you will automatically become the supreme ruler of the dessert course. Feel free to make the topping up to an hour in advance.
Recipe: Delish
Dorie Greenspan is one of the most famous bakers, and this recipe is a testament as to why. It's simple, mostly using ingredients that you'll already have, and its results are spectacular. You can add a bit of cinnamon or other baking spices if you'd like, but, as Lebovitz notes, that won't make it quite as French.
Recipe: David Lebovitz
The Pittsburgh-based blogger The Brown Eyed Baker created this recipe as an homage to the cranberry orange bread at her local bakery. It's citrusy, soft, and decadent — a refreshing fall treat. Try it griddled in the morning in butter for breakfast!
Recipe: The Brown Eyed Baker
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These Red Velvet Crinkles are delicious, and reminiscent of the fall leaves turning bright red outside. Keep them in your repertoire for when Christmas comes around, because they're perfect then too! It's a simple recipe, and with photos included of just about every step, it's entirely foolproof.
Recipe: The Spruce Eats
Related: The 20 Best Classic Cookie Recipes
Ree Drummond, "The Pioneer Woman," added pumpkin to her mother's cinnamon roll recipe to come up with this decadent fall treat, complete with cream cheese icing. It's not the quickest recipe — it'll take you a little under two hours — but you will be glad you put in the effort. Plus, her recipe is very thorough, with pictures to guide you.
Recipe: The Pioneer Woman
Related: Pumpkin Spice-Flavored Products to Try — and Which Ones to Skip
We all love our fall desserts, but don't forget about savory fall recipes. This Roasted Butternut Squash Pie was created to be a vegetarian (or vegan, if you use vegan phyllo dough) entrée hearty and delicious enough to be served for Thanksgiving. It can also be assembled ahead and refrigerated — just bake it at 350°F for 45 to 50 minutes instead of what's listed.
Recipe: Epicurious
If your favorite part of Thanksgiving is the mashed potatoes, you'll love these Mashed Potato Scones by award-winning blogger Joy Wilson, known around the internet as Joy the Baker. They're easy — taking only 30 minutes of prep time — and will quickly become a brunch staple around your home.
Recipe: FoodRepublic
Related: Celebrate Spuds With 27 Tasty Ways to Cook Potatoes
Just because it's autumn doesn't mean you need to overdose on baking spices. For a filling, scrumptious dessert outside the norm, try this Vietnamese Iced Coffee Cake. One of the secrets is sour cream, which adds a lovely tang that prevents it from being too sweet or heavy.
Recipe: Hummingbird High
Related: A Surprising Ingredient Makes These Desserts Irresistible
We think potato rolls are perfect for all seasons, but they're especially lovely to make in the fall. Enjoy them as a dinner side, as a canvas for lunchtime sandwiches, or for bacon, egg, and cheese sandwiches in the morning with coffee. They could not be more versatile.
Recipe: MyRecipes
While this recipe is delicious and sounds fancy, it really couldn't be easier. By using dairy-free milk and applesauce instead of butter, these recipes are moist and tasty and no one will notice that they're vegan. Plus, they're easy to customize — add in chocolate chips or substitute spices or whatever sounds good in the moment.
Recipe: Feel Good Foodie
Keto pumpkin cheesecake? You'd better believe it. They're low-carb, free of refined sugar, and can be made as bars or slices. If you have a favorite keto sweetener, such as stevia or monk fruit, you can use that, but the recipe recommends powdered Erythritol sweetener. Reviewers love it, and say it is a new favorite.
Recipe: Gimme Delicious
Related: 20 Cheap and Easy Cheesecake Recipes
Tartiflette sounds like a fancy French delicacy, and it kind of is, but it's also just a potato, bacon, and cheese casserole. It's decadent, rich, and supremely satisfying on a cold evening (or morning, for that matter). And, while we wouldn't quite call it healthy, it is gluten-free.
Recipe: Kitchen Stories
Related: 21 Hearty Casserole and Stew Recipes That Reheat Well
This brunch-y recipe is built to impress. It's sweet, nutty, has the tartness from the cherries, the aromatics from the orange zest, and is such a treat. It's also a great opportunity to practice making bread from scratch if you're new to it, and results in something absolutely worth the effort.
Recipe: Southern Living
The recipe title here is actually referring to masala biscuits, sometimes called khara biscuits, whose closest approximation to Western treats is shortbread. The green chile and cheddar come together in a tangy, spicy treat that's lovely with a cup of coffee. And, no mixers or food processors required — you can hand-mix everything in a bowl with the greatest of ease.
Recipe: FoodRepublic
This recipe is the sweet and satisfying marriage of linzer cookies and apple hand pies. It simply could not be more autumnal, and is a fresh and fun take on the classic apple pie. One reviewer says they bought dough to use for this and it turned out wonderfully, so if you're in need of a quicker approach, you can always opt for that. Another says, "Unbelievably easy to make. It got rave reviews from everyone I know."
Recipe: Epicurious
Looking for something semi-homemade? This Betty Crocker recipe uses a snickerdoodle cookie mix to make the whole process easier. You'll have ready-to-go cookies in only three steps, and no one will be the wiser. One reviewer raves, "These cookies are amazing. I made them exactly as is and they were so good. We don't even eat cranberries, but it doesn't matter, the flavors together are wonderful."
Recipe: Betty Crocker
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