[Photographs: J. Kenji López-Alt, Carrie Vasios Mullins, Yvonne Ruperti, Vicky Wasik]
I've always loved the fall: cool-but-not-cold weather, beautiful changing leaves, and, of course, an overabundance of apples. When I was a kid, every autumn my parents took my sister and me to a local apple orchard to go picking. We weren't big on baking in our household, so the fruit we came home with was mostly eaten raw, with a certain portion reserved for my mom's delicious crisp.
But if you are a baking type—if you're the sort who eagerly awaits the day when it's finally cool enough to reunite with your oven and start filling your kitchen with the smell of warming butter and sugar—well, then I don't have to tell you that apples also provide a world of dessert opportunities. Apples come in so many different flavors and textures, and are so inexpensive and plentiful this time of year, now's your chance to experiment a little with some new vehicles—including scratch-made strudel, gluten-free fritters and hand pies, and apple oatmeal cookies—all of which prove that apple desserts don't have to be predictable to be comforting.
Perfect Apple Pie
[Photograph: J. Kenji López-Alt]
It goes without saying that it's just not fall without a great apple pie—chunks of sweet apples with a little tender bite, packed inside a flaky, buttery crust. Par-cooking your apples (we recommend Golden Delicious) before baking them into the pie helps them retain some firmness and prevents them from releasing too much moisture into the crust, making it soggy.
Get the recipe for Perfect Apple Pie »
Caramel Apple Pie
[Photograph: Lauren Weisenthal]
Other than a pinch of cinnamon, apple pie doesn't necessarily need any extra flavorings to be awesome, but that doesn't mean there's no room to play around. Rich, sweet caramel is a natural partner for apples, and, to be perfectly honest, combining the two in a pie is way more delicious than eating them off a stick at the county fair. We mix most of the caramel in with the apple filling here, but reserve some of it to drizzle on top after the pie comes out of the oven.
Get the recipe for Caramel Apple Pie »
Apple-Pecan Bourbon-Caramel Pie
[Photograph: Jennifer Latham]
You know that dilemma you're faced with on Thanksgiving, when you don't know whether to go for the apple pie or the pecan pie? (It's not just me, is it?) Making this mashup means you don't have to choose—you get the wholesome-feeling fruitiness of apple pie plus the decidedly less wholesome sticky-sweetness of pecan pie, with a whiskey-laced caramel thrown in to boot. Because each component is made separately, it's actually an easy process: Blind-bake the pie crust, pour in stovetop-cooked apples, and top with a bourbon caramel mixed with pecans.
Get the recipe for Apple-Pecan Bourbon-Caramel Pie »
Apple Lattice Mini Pies
[Photograph: Colin Price]
Despite their adorableness, the subject of mini pies can strike quite a nerve in the baking community due to the difficulty of constructing them and the skewed crust-to-filling ratio they require. But they're sort of like small dogs—high-maintenance, yes, but also so cute and crowd-pleasing that it's hard not to love them. You'll want to cut your apples into smaller pieces than you'd normally use, and accept the fact that your lattice won't be quite as fancy as it would be on a full-size pie.
Get the recipe for Apple Lattice Mini Pies »
The Best Apple Crisp
[Photograph: Vicky Wasik]
The phrase "easy as pie" is one of the most eternally misleading clichés in existence, because, as any baker can tell you, pies (even non-mini pies) can be a hell of a lot of work. Crisps, on the other hand—a hefty dose of fruit, covered by a crunchy topping that's arguably even tastier than a good pie crust—are worthy of the simile. Toasted pecans, raw sugar, lemon zest, nutmeg or mace, and good European butter are our go-to components for the topping; use a mix of softer and firmer apples for better textural contrast.
Get the recipe for The Best Apple Crisp »
Rustic Apple-Cranberry Pie
[Photograph: Yvonne Ruperti]
Okay, so you want something that's more pie-like than a crisp, but still pretty hassle-free? Go with a rustic pie, or galette. Rather than using top and bottom crusts and a pie pan, a galette needs just one crust, made from a simple dough of flour, sugar, salt, and butter. The crust is laid out flat on a baking sheet, piled with fruit—in this case, apples and cranberries—folded over to partially cover the filling, and baked. It's a lot less chichi than its name sounds, but it's every bit as satisfying as pie.
Get the recipe for Rustic Apple-Cranberry Pie »
Domino's CinnaStix Apple Crisp
[Photograph: Vicky Wasik]
In case you weren't aware of how serious we are here at Serious Eats, know that last year we made a Thanksgiving feast out of fast food, and this CinnaStix-topped apple crisp was dessert. And yes, we did drizzle that sticky, powdered-sugary dipping sauce over the top. The rest of the dish was adapted from Max's Best Apple Crisp recipe—to balance out the extra sweetness, we spiked the apple mixture with smoky Scotch.
Get the recipe for Domino's CinnaStix Apple Crisp »
Apple Strudel
[Photograph: Yvonne Ruperti]
Strudel dough has a reputation for being tough to make, which is why a lot of strudel recipes call for store-bought puff pastry instead. But it really isn't as bad as it's made out to be—the key is not to over-knead the dough, which will make it too tight. After kneading, roll it out and stretch it until it's thin enough to read through, then fill it with a simple mixture of apples, raisins, and lemon juice and zest.
Get the recipe for Apple Strudel »
Cranberry Apple Strudel
[Photograph: Carrie Vasios Mullins]
Here's a puff-pastry strudel recipe for times when you'd rather skip the dough-making step. This easy version combines sweet apples with tart dried cranberries, plus chopped walnuts for texture. To finish, simply dust with powdered sugar and add a dollop of whipped cream.
Get the recipe for Cranberry Apple Strudel »
Gluten-Free Apple Fritters
[Photograph: Elizabeth Barbone]
Homemade apple fritters take a lot of time. We're perfectly willing to admit that up front. But homemade apple fritters, with a perfect ratio of crisp fried exterior to apple-studded crumb, are also totally worth it, and these carry the added benefit of being gluten-free. While the yeasted dough of rice and manioc flour rises, sauté apples with butter and dark brown sugar, then boil them down in apple cider. Punch down the dough, mix in the apples, fry, and coat them with a light powdered-sugar glaze. After all that work, you'll be rewarded with the best apple fritters you've ever had.
Get the recipe for Gluten-Free Apple Fritters »
Apple Brandy Doughnut Holes
[Photograph: Sydney Oland]
Yep—they're just as good as they sound. Proofing yeast and letting the dough rise can turn doughnut-making into a time-consuming process, but you can get these mini versions ready for Sunday brunch in less than an hour. A combination of grated apple and cider packs them with intense flavor and makes them extra moist. We add a splash of brandy, too, because who doesn't want to start their weekend morning with a little booze?
Get the recipe for Apple Brandy Doughnut Holes »
Apple Crostata
[Photograph: Carrie Vasios Mullins]
This fresh, apple-laden tart is like a lighter version of apple pie that's perfect for breakfast (not that there's anything wrong with eating pie for breakfast). For crostata, we prefer tart to semi-tart apples, like Braeburns, Macouns, or Granny Smiths, and a lemon-inflected pasta frolla for the dough. Cinnamon and nutmeg add depth, and a bit of extra lemon juice brightens it up.
Get the recipe for Apple Crostata »
Gluten-Free Apple Hand Pies
[Photograph: Elizabeth Barbone]
Making a gluten-free pie dough is inherently challenging—gluten makes dough elastic, so without it, your dough is likely to tear before it stretches out to fill a pie pan. The solution? Make individual hand pies, and don't fold the dough. Instead, just cut out two rounds of dough for each pie, drop a spoonful of apple filling on one, top with the other, and crimp the edges all the way around.
Get the recipe for Gluten-Free Apple Hand Pies »
Cinnamon Apple Sour Cream Cake With Spelt
[Photograph: Stephanie Stiavetti]
Apples and cinnamon are undoubtedly a delicious combination, but apple-cinnamon desserts often tend toward the cloyingly sweet. For this cake, we use sour cream as the sole fat source to provide a pleasant tartness that balances out the sugar. Sliced almonds add a nice crunch, and an unexpected pinch of cayenne gives the cake a little something extra without making it spicy.
Get the recipe for Cinnamon Apple Sour Cream Cake With Spelt »
Easy Apple Cinnamon Cake
[Photograph: Yvonne Ruperti]
This applesauce- and yogurt-enriched cake has a dense texture similar to that of coffee cake, which ensures that the top layer of apples doesn't sink down during baking. Use relatively soft baking apples, like Macintoshes or Galas, and brush them with butter to keep them moist in the oven.
Get the recipe for Easy Apple Cinnamon Cake »
Apple Oatmeal Cookies
[Photograph: Carrie Vasios Mullins]
A mix of applesauce and chopped apples gives these oatmeal cookies a double dose of apple flavor; the applesauce also helps out by lending a pleasant slight stickiness. Be sure to use unsweetened applesauce to avoid loading up the dough with too much sugar.
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