Easy Fall Desserts You Can Make at Home

The best part about autumn is filling the house with the aromatic scent of freshly baked pumpkin spice cookies, apple pies, or decadent fall cheesecakes. There’s something about autumn desserts that makes you want to wear your aprons and get baking; as pumpkin spice products fill the supermarket shelves, you have more opportunities to experiment with creating the best fall dessert.

Once you’ve mastered the art of preparing summer treats, the autumnal season awaits along with its comforting, indulgent flavors that make appearances in everything from homemade pies to chocolate-oozing skillet cookies. With pumpkin spice in one hand and a whisk in the other, check out these easy fall dessert recipes to wow your guests this Thanksgiving and beyond. 

Fall Dessert Recipes

1. Pumpkin Brownies

Combining two of the best fall ingredients—chocolate and pumpkin—this autumn dessert is an explosion of deliciousness in your mouth. Upgrade your regular brownies to the best fall dessert that’ll get everyone smacking their lips. 

Ingredients 
Brownie mix of your choice from Renewal Mill 
½ cup milk chocolate chips from Guittard Chocolate Company
½ can pumpkin
6 ounces cream cheese
3 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice

2. Caramel Apple Crisp Bites

Bringing the best autumn flavors into one treat, caramel apple crisp bites are the perfect comforting and decadent fall desserts, gushing with sweetness. The all-time favorite seasonal snack is best enjoyed with apple cinnamon tea. If you want the ultimate fall experience, go apple picking at a California orchard and use your haul for this recipe.

Ingredients
2 cups graham cracker crumbs from Annie’s Homegrown
½ cup powdered sugar
12 tablespoons butter, melted
4 cups apples, peeled and chopped
⅓ cup sugar
¼ cup brown sugar
2 ¼ tablespoons flour
½ teaspoon cinnamon
¼ teaspoon nutmeg
Caramel topping from Santini Foods

3. Vegan Pumpkin Pie

There’s no Thanksgiving dinner without a classic pumpkin pie. Everyone is bound to enjoy this fabulous cruelty-free fall dessert. Warming your heart and filling your stomach with autumnal flavors, this vegan pumpkin pie will satiate your craving—you won’t even be able to tell it’s vegan. Although there are many ingredients involved, we promise it’s quite easy to make.

Ingredients
Crust:
1 ½ cups pecans
⅔ cups old fashioned oats
3 tablespoons packed brown sugar
¼ teaspoon kosher salt
3 tablespoons coconut oil, melted 
Cooking spray

Filling:
1 can pumpkin puree
1 cup coconut milk
¾ cup packed brown sugar 
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract 
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon kosher salt
½ teaspoon ground ginger
¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg

Topping:
1 can full-fat coconut cream, refrigerated overnight
3 tablespoons powdered sugar 
A pinch of kosher salt

4. Churro Chips

Churro chips are an easy fall dessert you can snack on at any time of the day. Quick and simple to prepare, they’re beyond addicting and just the thing for a last-minute treat. Best of all, they always come out perfectly.

Ingredients
6 medium flour tortillas
4 tablespoons butter, melted
1 cup granulated sugar
1 ½ tablespoons cinnamon

5. Chocolate Pumpkin Cheesecake

Chocolate and pumpkin in cheesecake form? Yes, please! Though most people avoid preparing a cheesecake because they think it’s too complicated, this dreamy autumn dessert will get you hooked on baking.

Ingredients
Cheesecake filling:
3 blocks cream cheese, softened
1 can pumpkin puree
4 large eggs
¾ cup granulated sugar
½ cup packed brown sugar
¼ cup sour cream
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon kosher salt

Crust:
24 whole Oreos
6 tablespoons butter, melted

6. Caramel Apple S’mores

S’mores are everyone’s favorite campfire treats, and we’re not ready to give them up just yet. Munch on this classic dessert with a seasonal touch while enjoying California’s autumn foliage. Bring apples next time you go camping to try this tasty treat with your friends. 

Ingredients
8 marshmallows
2 apples, cored and thinly sliced 
A bar of LetterPress Chocolate
Warm caramel ganache from Amoretti

7. Frosted Pumpkin Cranberry Bars

With tangy dried cranberries and creamy brown butter frosting, these mildly spiced pumpkin bars are a two-in-one delight. And it’s a good thing the recipe makes plenty because once you taste one of these bars, you won’t be able to resist going back for more.

Ingredients
1 ½ cups all-purpose flour from the King’s Roost
1 ¼ cups sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder 
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon 
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon ground ginger 
3 large eggs, in room temperature 
1 can (15 ounces) pumpkin 
¾ cup melted butter 
¾ cup chopped dried cranberries 

Brown butter frosting 
½ cup butter 
4 cups confectioner’s sugar from C&H Sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4–6 tablespoons whole milk
Additional dried cranberries, optional

8. Fudgy Peanut Butter Cake

Life is too short to say no to cake, especially when it's as fudgy as this. This easy fall treat is a recipe passed down by generations and it makes your house smell fantastic while it’s slow cooking.

Ingredients 
⅓ cup 2 percent milk
¼ cup peanut butter from Trader Joe’s
1 tablespoon canola oil
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
¾ cup sugar, divided 
½ cup all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons baking cocoa
1 cup boiling water 
Chocolate or vanilla ice cream from Humphry Slocombe 

9. Chocolate Chunk Cupcakes with Swirled Frosting 

Perfect as an after-school snack or a bake sale treat, these cupcakes are the best thing you’ll try this fall. They’re topped with an easier-than-it-looks frosting, which takes minimal effort to make.

Ingredients
Cupcakes 
2 sticks unsalted butter from Clover Sonoma, room temperature 
1½ cups granulated sugar 
1½ teaspoons baking powder 
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ kosher salt 
4 large egg whites, room temperature 
2 teaspoons pure, vanilla extract
2 ⅔ cups sifted cake flour, plus 1 tablespoon
1 ⅓ cups buttermilk from Organic Pastures 
2 ⅔ cups chocolate chunks, divided 

Frosting 
1¼ cups unsalted butter, room temperature
4¼ cups sifted confectioner’s sugar
1½ teaspoons pure vanilla extract
¼ teaspoon kosher salt 
¼ cup heavy cream
½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted