Best fall recipes

1. Pumpkin Bread 

This may be the most basic and widely accepted fall baked good through out the United States. However, the beauty behind pumpkin bread is it can be redesigned and imagined each time it is made. One of these great varieties is pumpkin streusel bread, which is a traditional pumpkin bread with a brown sugar, cinnamon and oatmeal filling and topping. This particular recipe changes the ideas behind a traditional pumpkin bread without detracting from the original goal.  

Another great reason to bake pumpkin bread is the easy to obtain ingredients and fairly simple baking methods. Unlike some of the other recipes on this list, the hardest ingredient to find is canned pumpkin. This is available at every grocery store and is not overly priced. Additionally, to make pumpkin bread, it is only a quick mix and about 40 minutes in the oven, compared to the long kneading and rising process associated with most yeast breads.  

The best pumpkin bread recipe can be found at AllRecepies. The great thing about this recipe is it is easily reduced (so you can half it to make less bread.) Also, it is easy to change the amount and types of spices in this recipe to fit personal taste, or even turn into a different type of pumpkin bread, such as a pumpkin streusel bread.  

 2. Pumpkin Spice Cookies 

Pumpkin spice is the most popular flavoring during the fall season, but it is also quickly over used. However, pumpkin spice cookies take a possibly disastrous and overused flavor combination, and turn it into an amazing flavor combination. This cookie is made by taking a regular chocolate chip cookie recipe, taking out the chocolate chips, and instead adding pumpkin spice. Then to finish the cookie, it is rolled in a pumpkin spice and sugar mixture before being baked.  

The best recipe for these cookies is at justsotasty.com. However, this recipe can be hard to use because it calls for a vast amount of spices. Yet, it is definitely worth making these cookies. The recipe claims it takes two and a half hours to bake, yet most of this time is spent letting the dough chill, and a baker can be doing anything they want during this time. Although this recipe takes a vast number of spices, it is definitely worth making these cookies before the end of fall.  

3. Apple Pie Bites 

Moving on from the pumpkin inspired recipes, apple pie bits are perfect for people who like fall flavors but hate pumpkin. These pies are extremely miniature and are a lot easier than the traditional apple pie. That being said, these pie bites are still easier to make when using a premade pie crust. While maintaining a perfect crust consistency is much less important in this recipe than a traditional pie, nailing the perfect pie crust is nearly impossible. Using premade pie crust saves a lot of time, energy and quite honestly sanity.  

Real House Moms provides an amazing apple pie recipe. This recipe is more similar to an apple pie as both sides of the apple slice are surrounded by a flaky crust. The recipe calls for a homemade caramel sauce, but as caramel is not always fun to make, another great alternative is using a slightly thicker icing. Normally when making icing the perfect recipe is one cup of powdered sugar to every ¼ cup of water. However, this recipe may be either too thick or too runny, so it can easily be changed by adding either a tablespoon of water or a ¼ cup of powdered sugar based on the desired consistency.

4. Candy Bars 

This is the perfect recipe for getting rid of all the extra candy from trick-or-treating. However, it is only good for chocolate candies. I highly recommended cutting large candy bars into multiple parts before adding them to this recipe. The flavor of this is more of a winter flavor, as typically chocolate is best in winter holiday recipes, yet this makes the fall list for its ability to use leftover candy effectively. This is basically a chocolate chip cookie recipe where instead of using chocolate chips, candy bars are used. This is also best when baked as a tray and then cut apart, rather than individual cookies, as the candy makes individual cookies spread really easily into thin wafers.  

Relish.com has a great recipe and includes a list of usable candies. However, Twizzlers and jelly beans are not always the best choice to include due to their fruit flavoring. Normally using chocolate-based candies turns out a lot better. Another trick this recipe neglects is doing a traybake. Instead of forming individual cookies, spread the cookie dough into a greased 9×9 pan and bake for about double the time, or until the batter is a golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. This keeps cookies from spreading and allows bakers to control the portion sizes on pieces.  

5. Caramel 

The most traditional fall recipe to make is homemade caramel. However this process is nearly impossible to master the first time as caramels are a nightmare to make. Do not expect the first batch to be perfect because there is a good chance they will either be soup or a brick. The best way to make caramel is very counterintuitive, do not stir the mixture. Stirring the caramel while it is cooking stops it from heating enough to become a caramel consistency. However, overboiling caramels can also be an issue, so finding the perfect balance can be impossible.  

Chocolatechocolatemoreandmore.com has the only acceptable caramel recipe. If you have success making caramels it will be using this recipe. They recommend using a candy thermometer, but it is also possible to find if the caramel is done using a glass of cold water. If you drip some of the boiling caramel into a glass of cold water (no ice) and it forms into a ball, then it is done. This can be really hard to gauge, so don’t be disappointed if you do not get perfect caramel the first time. The best thing you can do is keep trying because when you finally manage to make the perfect caramel, you will find your new favorite desert.