Best Fall Recipes: Baked Goods
Image courtesy of phillymag.com
By Caroline Morris
I started baking from scratch this summer after a semi-fatal addiction to The Great British Bake Off and an unflinching belief that if I ever met Peter Sawkins from Series 11 I could win his heart with my baking skill.
As a novice baker, I can tell you firsthand: starting to bake is not insanely difficult. You need to have an ability to follow directions exactly, a large dose of confidence, and a willingness to have final products that taste better than they look.
Every week I choose a new recipe that I am craving and just make it. None have failed (so far), though some have tasted better than others. But as we’ve gotten deeper into autumn and the D.C. weather cools down, I have been trying my hand at comforting, fall baked goods, and they are exceeding all of my expectations. The best part: they’re all easy and only need a few tools (or jerry-rigged replacements).
My first recommendation is an East Coast classic that I swear by: Apple Cider Doughnuts. For those who aren’t familiar with this treat, it is life-changing. The doughnuts are filled with apple cider, cinnamon, nutmeg, and other fall flavors, baked, then rolled in a cinnamon-sugar mix. The two big things you need for this recipe are a hand mixer (though you can always get away with a whisk or fork and some elbow grease) and a doughnut pan. But don’t worry; I did it without a doughnut pan because I am a normal human who doesn’t have something like that on hand. I used a cupcake or muffin tin and used tinfoil to make little cylinders. Just place those cylinders in the middle of the cups and pour the batter around and you’ll have some homemade doughnuts!
The next recipe you may have already seen because it went viral on Tiktok: Pumpkin Cream Cheese Bread. This recipe has received some mixed reviews, but I made it and thought it was delicious! It was super moist and the cream cheese layering was the perfect complement to the pumpkin. My recommendation is to up the sugar in the recipe if you have a sweet tooth (I definitely do) and to get heavy-handed with the pumpkin spice mix. You’ll need a bread pan for this recipe but they’re reasonably priced on Amazon or at Giant.
The final fall treats that I adore are Pumpkin Muffins. I had leftover pumpkin puree from my bread and didn’t want it to go to waste, so I gave these a shot and loved them! These muffins are super light and when eaten fresh out of the oven have a lovely crisp on top. The recipe says you can use water or apple juice as a liquid, but I used apple cider and it really added a depth of flavor to the muffins. They can also double as cupcakes if you throw some cream cheese frosting on top!
Fall’s arrival always hits me with specific cravings for apple, pumpkin, and cinnamon, and all of these baked goods hit the spot. From one novice baker to any others, these recipes are extremely doable and definite crowd pleasers. So get baking and don’t forget to share!
