Fall is calling and it wants apple desserts on the Thanksgiving table! I rounded up the coziest, most irresistible apple treats for your holiday spread, from buttery bars to showstopping tarts. There are 24 recipes here, and every single one is ready to make your post-feast moment extra special.
1. Rustic Apple Galette
Meet the OG pie: the galette. It's completely unfussy, totally delicious, and gorgeous in its simplicity. You can make a galette with almost any fruit, but this apple version is perfect for fall. Start with a simple pie dough, or grab a pre-made one if you want to keep things extra easy.
2. Sharlotka (Russian Apple Cake)
This easy dessert is so appley and delicious, you won't be able to stop eating! At least, I struggle to control myself around Sharlotka. This Russian treat is incredibly light and airy. And trust me when I say you'll want to make extra because this apple cake will go fast. Luckily, you only need six simple ingredients to make it, and you probably already have them in your kitchen!
3. Apple Cream Pie
This pie is exactly what it sounds like: apples dusted with cinnamon, sugar, and flour, then baked in cream. If that sounds delicious to you, you're absolutely right. The end result is a fabulously creamy, apple custard-like pie that's best served cold. It's dreamy.
4. Apple Dumplings with Browned-Butter Salted Caramel Sauce
If you want to tell someone they're the apple of your eye, these dumplings are the way to do it. Each apple gets stuffed with cinnamon sugar and wrapped up snugly in pastry. They bake until luscious, a little nutty from that gorgeous brown butter, and beautifully caramelized. It's pure heaven on a plate. Serve them with caramel ice cream and you can thank me later.
5. Apple Cobbler
If apple crisp is the star of the midwestern table, apple cobbler reigns supreme in the south. It's another iconic dish that simply screams fall. This version comes together with saucy cinnamon apples and a buttery biscuit topping that's pure comfort.
6. Easy Apple Pandowdy
I consider myself a pretty experienced baker, but I only recently learned about the Pandowdy. It's an old-fashioned fruit dessert that's reminiscent of a cobbler or crisp. You get a saucy fruit base topped with pastry dough, usually shortcrust. It's rustic and absolutely charming.
7. Apple Pomegranate Cobbler
Apple cobbler is one of those classic Thanksgiving desserts that's easy to pull off and always hits the spot. But this version is extra special. It's brighter, more colorful, and even tastier while still keeping everything you love about a traditional cobbler. I'm talking saucy fruit, tender apple chunks, and a fluffy biscuit topping. The twist here is pomegranate, which adds a gorgeous pop alongside the usual apple cinnamon vibe.
8. Caramel Apple Cheesecake Bars
Fair warning: these cheesecake bars are sinfully delicious and highly addictive. The crust is flaky, sweet, and wonderfully tender, the perfect foundation. Then comes the cheesecake filling, and when I say it's smooth, I mean it's like velvet. It's luscious, sweet, and completely to die for.
9. Maple Apple Upside-Down Cake
Since we're already talking about upside-down cakes, let me introduce this beauty! Everything about this vegan apple cake is tantalizing, from the tender crumb to that dreamy maple caramel topping. And here's the best part: it's so easy to serve. No fancy decorations required at all.
10. Glazed Puff Pastry Apple Roses
I know Thanksgiving gets busy, but you've got to make time to stop and smell the apple roses! Yes, actual apple roses! They're sweet, light, and super tasty. Plus, they're probably the most stunning holiday dessert you'll ever make. And lucky for all of us, they're crazy easy to recreate.
11. French Apple Rose Tart with Frangipane
If you loved the idea of apple roses but wanted something even more impressive, this tart is calling your name. It's bigger, sweeter, and maybe even yummier. The whole thing starts with a sugar cookie crust, which is already a win. Then you add a frangipane filling that's nutty, sweet, and wonderfully custard-like.
12. Apple Pie Ice Cream
Who needs pie when you can just have à la mode? This incredible recipe features cinnamon ice cream, soft apple chunks, and crunchy Graham Crackers all mixed together. It's so flavorful and the texture is absolutely tantalizing. All you need is a little caramel sauce drizzled on top and you're set.
13. Apple Crisp with Cranberries and Walnuts
This delicious crisp packs a triple dose of fall goodness! It's bursting with apples, cranberries, and walnuts, so every bite lands somewhere between sweet, tart, and just a little nutty. It's everything you want in a cozy autumn dessert.
14. Apple Bourbon Pot Pie
If the filling is your favorite part of apple pie, this fun dessert is for you. It's apple pie with a twist! Like a pot pie, this dish is mostly filling, topped with a super buttery pastry crust. But instead of chicken and veggies, you get cinnamon apples. Plus bourbon and apple cider to boot. It's delicious!
15. French Caramel Apple Cake
Ooh la la! This French-inspired apple cake will whisk your tastebuds straight to dessert nirvana. It features silky caramel, soft cinnamon apples, and sweet vanilla cake all in one glorious package. Each part is wonderful on its own, but together? Totally irresistible.
16. Caramel Apple Clafoutis
A clafoutis is technically a type of baked flan, but it looks and tastes like a soufflé with fruit. It's almost as if a soufflé married a cobbler, and honestly, that's a match made in heaven. The edges puff up light and airy, like a pancake, while the center stays soft and pudding-like. So scrummy.
17. Apple Tarte Tatin
This topsy-turvy tart probably inspired the classic upside-down cake, and honestly, I get it. You caramelize apples in butter and sugar, then top them with flaky pastry and bake the whole thing upside down. That means you don't get to see the magic until you flip it over at the end. It's such a treat after any holiday feast.
18. Rustic Skillet Apple Pie
Apple pie without all the fuss? Sign me up! I love a classic apple pie, but making one completely from scratch can feel like a whole project. I mean, who has time for a lattice crust when you're already juggling a full Thanksgiving menu? This rustic skillet version gives you all that homey apple pie goodness with way less effort.
19. Salted Caramel Apple Pie Bars
Okay, let's kick things off with a bang because these apple pie bars are pure indulgence. You get layer after layer of apple, butter, cinnamon, and caramel all stacked into one addictive treat. It starts with a homemade shortbread crust that's buttery and flaky in the best way. Then comes a pile of fresh apples tossed with flour and warm spices. Good luck stopping at just one square.
20. Salted Caramel Apple Hand Pies
Skip the drive-thru and make these delicious hand pies at home. Homemade is always better anyway. These little beauties are brimming with caramel and apples, and the crust is absolutely stellar. Oh, and there's even more caramel on top, because why not?
21. Apple Bread Pudding
Bread pudding is simple, rustic, and easily one of my all-time favorite desserts. It's soft, chewy, moist, and sweet without being overpowering. For a carb lover, it's an absolute dream. And it's so easy to make because it's practically a dump-and-bake situation.
22. Apple Cream Cheese Bundt Cake
This apple and cream cheese cake is scrum-diddly-umptious, and that's nothing bundt the truth! I'm drooling just thinking about the moist apple cake, the cheesecake center, and that luxurious cream cheese frosting. It's a total showstopper.
23. Spiced Apple Upside-Down Cake with Bourbon Caramel Glaze
This isn't your typical spiced apple cake! It's grown up and way more delicious, thanks to a generous pour of bourbon caramel. Every single bite is rich, moist, and seriously decadent. This one is for the adults at the table.
24. Apple Cake
This cake is loaded with fresh apples and fragrant spices, and every single bite is mouthwatering. It's fabulously moist too, almost dense in the most wonderful way. Then you top the whole thing with a homemade caramel sauce that just might change your life. Don't be surprised if this becomes a holiday staple in your house.