Some fall evenings call for a little something sweet after everything else is finally done. These 19 recipes bring together warm apple desserts, spiced pumpkin bakes, rich chocolate cookies, and simple treats that don’t require the oven. Some are quick enough for an ordinary weeknight, while others make a good project for an afternoon at home. Whether it’s a slice of cake with coffee or a warm pastry after dinner, there’s plenty here for a well-earned break.
Pumpkin Dump Cake
When the day has been long, Pumpkin Dump Cake offers the flavors of pumpkin pie without rolling a crust. Pumpkin puree, evaporated milk, brown sugar, and fall spices form the soft base, while dry yellow cake mix and slices of butter bake into a golden topping. Everything goes into one 9-by-13-inch dish, making cleanup manageable. Serve a warm scoop with whipped cream after dinner, or let it cool for neater squares alongside coffee.
Get the Recipe: Pumpkin Dump Cake
Peanut Butter and Date Chocolate Bark
Flattened Medjool dates form the chewy foundation of Peanut Butter and Date Chocolate Bark, topped with creamy peanut butter and melted semisweet chocolate. A little coconut oil helps smooth the chocolate, and flaky salt can finish the surface. The slab chills in the refrigerator until firm enough to break or cut into pieces. Keep a few in the fridge for a quiet evening treat when you want chocolate without mixing dough or heating the oven.
Get the Recipe: Peanut Butter and Date Chocolate Bark
Apple Hand Pies
Buttery prepared pie crust makes Apple Hand Pies easier to assemble than a full fruit pie. Diced Granny Smith and Honeycrisp apples cook briefly with cinnamon, lemon juice, butter, and two kinds of sugar before being tucked between pastry rounds. A fork seals the edges, and a vanilla glaze goes on after baking. Make a few for an afternoon baking session, then reheat one when a single apple pastry sounds better than cutting a whole pie.
Get the Recipe: Apple Hand Pies
Butternut Squash Loaf with Spiced Icing
A soft slice of Butternut Squash Loaf with Spiced Icing brings pumpkin-pie-style spices to a quick bread made with squash puree. Buttermilk, eggs, oil, and vanilla keep the batter straightforward, while powdered sugar and maple syrup form the spiced glaze. There is no yeast or rising time to plan around. Let the icing set before slicing, then put a piece beside your evening coffee for a quieter finish to a busy fall day.
Get the Recipe: Butternut Squash Loaf with Spiced Icing
Crumbl Copycat Buckeye Brownie Cookies
Three layers make Crumbl Copycat Buckeye Brownie Cookies a substantial chocolate-and-peanut-butter treat. The cocoa-rich cookie base includes chocolate chips, then a sweet peanut butter mixture and glossy chocolate ganache go on after the cookies cool. These take more assembly than an ordinary batch of chocolate chip cookies, but each one comes ready to serve. Set one aside with a glass of milk for an evening when a small dessert should feel special.
Get the Recipe: Crumbl Copycat Buckeye Brownie Cookies
Vinegar Pie
Despite its unusual name, Vinegar Pie is a sweet custard-style dessert built from familiar pantry ingredients. Eggs, sugar, melted butter, a little flour, and apple cider or white vinegar create the filling, with cinnamon available as an optional addition. The crust is blind-baked before the filling goes in. Let the finished pie cool before slicing for a simple old-fashioned dessert when there are no fresh apples or pumpkins to use.
Get the Recipe: Vinegar Pie
Browned Butter Bourbon Pecan Chocolate Chip Cookies
Toasted pecans and nutty browned butter distinguish Browned Butter Bourbon Pecan Chocolate Chip Cookies from a standard cookie batch. Brown sugar, cinnamon, bourbon, chocolate chips, and flaky sea salt add flavor to the dough, while the pecans are toasted with butter separately. Browning the butter adds a little work, so this is a good choice for an unhurried baking afternoon. Save a few cookies for later and serve them with coffee after dinner.
Get the Recipe: Browned Butter Bourbon Pecan Chocolate Chip Cookies
Tasty Pumpkin Turnovers
Flaky store-bought puff pastry holds the spiced filling in Tasty Pumpkin Turnovers, which fold into individual triangular pastries. Pumpkin puree, brown sugar, pumpkin pie spice, and eggs make the filling, while an egg wash and cinnamon sugar finish the tops. The pastries bake until puffed and golden without requiring homemade dough. Serve one slightly warm with tea after a long day, or put the rest away for another fall afternoon.
Get the Recipe: Tasty Pumpkin Turnovers
Apple Dump Cake
With canned apple pie filling as the starting point, Apple Dump Cake needs very little preparation before baking. Yellow cake mix, brown sugar, cinnamon, sliced butter, and chopped pecans form a buttery topping over the fruit in a baking dish. The apples bubble beneath a golden crust in the oven. Spoon a portion into a bowl and add vanilla ice cream for the sort of simple dessert that makes an ordinary evening worth lingering over.
Get the Recipe: Apple Dump Cake
Crumbl Copycat Frosted Oreo Cookies
Crushed Oreo cookies give Crumbl Copycat Frosted Oreo Cookies extra chocolate flavor right in the dough. Cocoa powder and cornstarch help create the soft cookie base, while a butter-and-powdered-sugar vanilla frosting goes on after cooling. More Oreo crumbs finish the top for a bakery-style look without complicated piping. These do not require chilling the dough, making them a good baking project when you want a thick frosted cookie with your evening milk.
Get the Recipe: Crumbl Copycat Frosted Oreo Cookies
Chocolate Pumpkin Patch Brownie Cake
Orange-coated strawberries turn Chocolate Pumpkin Patch Brownie Cake into a little autumn scene on top of a fudgy brownie. Dark chocolate ganache covers the baked base, and green mint or basil sprigs can resemble pumpkin vines around the candy-coated fruit. It takes more decorating than a simple pan of brownies, but the brownie can be prepared ahead. Cut a square once the ganache sets for a rich chocolate dessert with a seasonal finish.
Get the Recipe: Chocolate Pumpkin Patch Brownie Cake
Caramel Apple Sheet Cake
Across a tender cinnamon cake, Caramel Apple Sheet Cake layers buttery frosting with diced apples cooked in brown sugar and cinnamon. Sour cream goes into the cake batter, while a drizzle of caramel sauce finishes the apple topping. The shallow jelly roll pan makes the cake easy to cut into squares without stacking layers. Keep a slice for dessert after supper, with hot coffee alongside to balance the sweet apples and frosting.
Get the Recipe: Caramel Apple Sheet Cake
Cinnamon Cream Cheese Pumpkin Muffins
Under a buttery cinnamon streusel, Cinnamon Cream Cheese Pumpkin Muffins hide a sweet cream cheese center. Pumpkin puree, buttermilk, brown sugar, and pumpkin spice give the soft muffin batter its fall flavor, while the crumb topping adds a little crunch. The individual portions work for dessert as easily as breakfast. Set one beside an afternoon cup of tea, or save a muffin for a quiet moment after the kitchen is cleaned.
Get the Recipe: Cinnamon Cream Cheese Pumpkin Muffins
Avalanche Crunch Cookies
No baking is needed for Avalanche Crunch Cookies, which combine melted white coating chocolate and peanut butter with crisp rice cereal. Mini marshmallows add chew, while small chocolate chips go into the mixture and over the tops. Scoop the mixture onto parchment and refrigerate the mounds until firm. The contrast between crisp cereal and creamy chocolate makes these especially useful when you want an evening sweet but would rather leave the oven off.
Get the Recipe: Avalanche Crunch Cookies
Grandma’s Pumpkin Bread with Streusel
Cinnamon streusel gives Grandma’s Pumpkin Bread with Streusel a crumbly finish over a moist, spiced pumpkin loaf. Canned pumpkin, oil, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves go into the batter, while powdered sugar and honey become a simple glaze. The loaf needs time to bake and cool before slicing. Make it earlier in the day, then cut a thick piece for a fall dessert with coffee or warm cider.
Get the Recipe: Grandma’s Pumpkin Bread with Streusel
Easy Apple Crisp with Vanilla Ice Cream
Juicy apples bake beneath a buttery oat crumble in Easy Apple Crisp with Vanilla Ice Cream, with cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice seasoning the filling. Brown sugar, flour, rolled oats, and cold butter make the crisp topping, while lemon juice helps balance the apples. Everything bakes in one dish, with no pastry to roll. Spoon it into a bowl while still warm and add vanilla ice cream for an easy finish to a cool evening.
Get the Recipe: Easy Apple Crisp with Vanilla Ice Cream
Fall Pumpkin Linzer Cookies
Almond flour lends a delicate texture to Fall Pumpkin Linzer Cookies, with cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and pumpkin spice flavoring the shortbread dough. Pumpkin butter goes between the baked cookies, and small pumpkin-shaped cutouts reveal the filling beneath powdered sugar. The dough needs time to chill before rolling, so save these for a slower baking day. Assemble a few with coffee when you want a small, decorative autumn dessert.
Get the Recipe: Fall Pumpkin Linzer Cookies
Caramel Apple Pizza
Ricotta keeps the cookie crust of Caramel Apple Pizza soft beneath a cream cheese topping. Tart Granny Smith apples, pecans, apple pie spice, and caramel sauce finish the dessert once the crust cools. The dough needs chilling time, but the finished round cuts into wedges that are easy to share. Save a slice for a fall afternoon when you want the flavors of a caramel apple with a tender, cookie-like base.
Get the Recipe: Caramel Apple Pizza
Old Fashioned Pumpkin Whoopie Pies Recipe
Soft pumpkin cookie rounds sandwich the creamy filling in Old Fashioned Pumpkin Whoopie Pies Recipe. Canned pumpkin, brown sugar, and pumpkin pie spice give the cookies their autumn flavor, while cream cheese, butter, and powdered sugar make the center. Let the rounds cool completely before pairing and filling them, then chill the finished sandwiches as needed. Keep one for an after-dinner treat when a handheld pumpkin dessert sounds better than another slice of pie.
Get the Recipe: Old Fashioned Pumpkin Whoopie Pies Recipe