80 Fall Dessert Recipes That Go Way Beyond Pumpkin Spice (2024)

Picture all the delightfulness of an apple cider donut, stuffed full of cream cheese frosting and drizzled in salted caramel, and you'll have these incredible whoopie pies. Best part? They're pretty straightforward to make!

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These anise and cinnamon scented cookies are the official state cookie of New Mexico! Though these cookies vary a bit in style depending where you are in the state, typically they are made with lard or butter, and cut into flower, star, or moon shapes. The anise seeds are crucial for that delicate floral licorice-y flavor, as is a dusting of cinnamon-sugar for added sweetness.

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The rich, nutty taste of brown butter makes these pumpkin blondies even better and the perfect fall treat. Pumpkin adds a lot of moisture to baked goods, which keeps these blondies soft and tender, but they’re still slightly chewy in the center, the way the best blondies are.

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Love a salty-sweet dessert? Prepare to meet your new obsession. Studded with pretzels and butterscotch chips, these rich peanut butter blondies rival any brownie or magic bar out there.

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Want something that couldn’t be easier to put together and to eat? This pie, a cross between a pumpkin and a Dutch apple pie, is adorned with an irresistible crunchy crumble. Buy apple butter at most grocery stores or make your own!

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These pretty gingersnaps are BIG, gingery, and extra extra chewy, like a warm hug in a cookie!

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A classic pumpkin pie is a standard at Thanksgiving dinner, but what to do when there are more diners than slices? Or what if you're more of a crust-lover than filling? Enter these adorable mini pumpkin pies, which rethink the ratio of crust to filling and do it in a snack-able package.

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When baking, it’s best to use a robust apple like Pink Lady, Braeburn, or Honeycrisp. It should be sweet, tart, and sturdy—nothing is worse than eating a flavorless mealy apple pie. In the case of this apple cake, Pink Ladies live up to all of your baked apple expectations: lightly sweet, tart, crisp, and sturdy.

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Alfajores are a soft and tender shortbread cookie with dulce de leche sandwiched between. Though the cookie originated in the Middle East, the Spanish took the cookies to South America, and now they are especially popular in Argentina. The cookies can be dusted in confectioners' sugar, or our favorite, coconut flakes.

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This silky smooth sweet potato pudding is a lighter, simplified cousin of sweet potato casserole without the topping or crust. It's essentially the filling of sweet potato pie with an optional whipped cream or marshmallow fluff topping. No crust or crimping fuss required!

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Get your pumpkin and cheesecake fix in one with these pumpkin-spiced cookies stuffed with a little surprise: cream cheese filling! The warming pumpkin spice cookies complement the creamy, tangy flavors of cheesecake, creating the most decadent cookie you'll have all season long. Although the pumpkin spice flavor screams fall, these cookies are truly enjoyable any time of the year.

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This cranberry loaf cake is by far our favorite way to use cranberries. It's the perfect balance of sweet and tart, and the sugar topping adds just the right subtle crunch.

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Here at Delish, we can’t get enough pumpkin recipes in the fall, whether it’s sweet or salty, and this one is a true winner when we're craving somethin' sweet. A two-in-one dessert, these brownies feature the ultimate fudge brownie bottom with a rich, moist pumpkin cheesecake top. That's what we like to call the best of both worlds!

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Stay with us here: These dumplings are essentially poached in a lemon-lime soda, which may seem a little odd, but trust us on this one. The dumplings come out slightly doughy and gooey, and the soda turns the whole thing into a sweet sauce that you should drizzle over your dumplings. It's the fastest way to apple pie and possibly a little better!

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No one needs to know how ridiculously simple this four-ingredient dessert really is—all you need is puff pastry, cinnamon, caramel sauce, and apples to make this impressive and delicious stunner.

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Adding pumpkin puree and pumpkin spice to chocolate chip cookie dough results in a heavenly pillow-like cookie with major autumn vibes. Yum!

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The honey cake is an underestimated cake and perfect to bring along to Rosh Hashanah or any gathering. The trick here is to use really good honey. We used a wildflower honey, which is sweet and floral, and gives the cake lots of flavor. An orange blossom honey would also work well!

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Out of all the amazing pumpkin desserts in the world (even the ones with carbs!), this is a keto MVP. So from the months of September to December, we eat the cinnamon-kissed, chocolate chip-studded loaf like it’s our job.

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This recipe is an amazing way top off a Thanksgiving dinner or a nice treat after a long week in October. We included a recipe for the pie crust but to make it even easier, feel free to use store-bought!

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Let’s face it: Pumpkin anything is a crowd pleaser in its own right. When combined with two of the most popular desserts in the history of dessert creation, it turns into a must-make for every fall occasion.

Get the Brownie Bottom Pumpkin Cheesecake recipe.