Our 17 Best New Desserts You'll Want to Make This Fall

Chocolate Chip Skillet Cookie
Photo: Photographer: Antonis Achilleos, Prop Stylist: Christine Keely, Food Stylist: Karen Rankin

The cooling weather calls for a warm, comforting dessert, and these sweet treats are the perfect choice. We highlight seasonal ingredients like apples, pears, carrots and cinnamon, so you'll get all the cozy fall flavors you know and love. New recipes like our Chocolate Chip Skillet Cookie and Apple Caramel Pound Cake are dreamy and delicious.

01 of 17

Apple-Caramel Pound Cake

Apple-Caramel Pound Cake
Photographer / Antonis Achilleos, Prop Stylist / Kay Clarke, Food Stylist / Emily Nabors Hall

This tender apple-caramel pound cake has tons of flavor from the apples, brown sugar and cinnamon. The caramel glaze sends this easy cake over the top with a sweet and buttery finish.

02 of 17

Chocolate Chip Skillet Cookie

Chocolate Chip Skillet Cookie
Photographer: Antonis Achilleos, Prop Stylist: Christine Keely, Food Stylist: Karen Rankin

This chocolate chip skillet cookie is just like a classic chocolate chip cookie but with less sugar and saturated fat and a boost of fiber from whole-wheat flour. It's soft in the center and crispy around the edges, with plenty of warm, melted chocolate throughout.

03 of 17

Pear Pie

pear pie
Photography / Caitlin Bensel, Food Styling / Emily Nabors Hall

The buttery flaky crust complements tender-crisp pears in this easy pear pie. The pears keep their texture after baking, and the walnut streusel on top adds nutty flavor and texture.

04 of 17

Carrot Cake Bars

Carrot Cake Blondies
Photographer / Antonis Achilleos, Prop Stylist / Kay Clarke, Food Stylist / Emily Nabors Hall

Classic carrot cake flavors abound in these easy bars. They're rich like brownies, but their cake-like texture helps keep them light. A yogurt and cream cheese-based frosting topped with nutty walnuts completes this crowd-pleasing dessert. If you're avoiding gluten, look for gluten-free oat flour or make your own by processing gluten-free oats into powder in your high-speed blender.

05 of 17

Karidopita (Walnut Cake)

Karidopita (Walnut Cake)
Leigh Beisch

This syrup-soaked walnut cake—a traditional Greek dessert that's often served for holidays—gets its structure from breadcrumbs instead of flour. It's delicious unadorned, but feel free to top it with unsweetened whipped cream, vanilla ice cream or warm chocolate sauce for an extra layer of decadence.

06 of 17

Plum Torte

Plum Torte
Photography / Caitlin Bensel, Food Styling / Margaret Monroe Dickey

This pretty plum torte is simple yet delicious with an orange-scented batter that complements sweet summer plums. This version uses spelt flour for a boost of fiber, and olive oil in place of butter to keep saturated fat in check.

07 of 17

Chocolate Peanut Butter Pie

chocolate peanut butter pie
CREDIT: PHOTOGRAPHER: RYAN LIEBE, FOOD STYLIST: JASON SCHREIBER, PROP STYLIST: PAIGE HICKS

This healthy chocolate peanut butter pie is perfect for any occasion. We lighten up the ganache by using almond milk instead of the typical heavy cream. Peanuts add a welcome crunchy counterpoint to the luscious, creamy filling.

08 of 17

Baked Pears

baked pears
Photography / Caitlin Bensel, Food Styling / Kady Wohlfarth

These easy baked pears are soft with just a little bite and are perfect with the delicious buttery spiced syrup spooned over the top.

09 of 17

Carrot Cake with Miso Cream Cheese Frosting

Carrot Cake with Miso Cream Cheese Frosting
Rick Poon

Cookbook author and cooking teacher Sonoko Sakai extends her passion for miso to this cake recipe. She explains, "When I moved to Los Angeles from Tokyo, my mother took us to a diner where she ordered us carrot cake for the first time. She was always encouraging us to try things, but a vegetable cake? I was skeptical at first, but when I took the first bite, I fell in love. Soon, I began making my own. I'd never baked with any of these ingredients before, so I felt a little more American every time. Later in my life, the Japanese in me wondered about adding miso to the frosting—after all, mochi sweets are often flavored with miso. I found it offsets the sweetness and gives it a punch of umami. I like to use both white and red miso. Since the flavor of miso varies, start small, taste and adjust to suit your palate."

10 of 17

Chocolate Brownie Vegan Mug Cake

Chocolate Brownie Vegan Mug Cake
Photographer / Jennifer Causey, Food Stylist / Karen Rankin, Prop Stylist / Christine Keely

This dark chocolate vegan mug cake is a brownie in a flash! It's moist and rich and made extra decadent with vegan chocolate chips melted on top.

11 of 17

Air-Fryer Doughnuts

air fryer donuts
Jacob Fox

These grease-free air-fryer doughnuts are so easy—just pop open a can of store-bought biscuit dough, and you are on your way. Once cooked, you can choose between vanilla or chocolate glaze or a sweet cinnamon sugar topping. You can discard the doughnut holes or cook them up too! Arrange them in a single layer in the basket of your air fryer and cook at 350°F for 2 minutes.

12 of 17

Vegan Coffee Cake with Cinnamon Streusel

Vegan Coffee Cake with Cinnamon Streusel
Photographer / Antonis Achilleos, Prop Stylist / Christine Kelly, Food Stylist / Karen Rankin

This vegan coffee cake with cinnamon streusel is subtly sweet, with a nutty streusel spiked with just enough spice and walnuts. Whip up this dairy- and egg-free cake for your next brunch to satisfy vegans and non-vegans alike!

13 of 17

Peanut Butter & Chocolate Chickpea Blondies

Peanut Butter & Chocolate Chickpea Blondies
Photography / Nico Schinco, Food Styling / Frances Boswell, Prop Stylist / Paige Hicks

Chickpea blondies? Hear us out! Not only do these legume-based treats have a delightful fudgy texture, they have twice as much fiber and three times as much protein as a blondie made with flour.

14 of 17

Vegan Red Velvet Cake

Vegan Red Velvet Cake
Photographer / Antonis Achilleos, Prop Stylist / Christine Kelly, Food Stylist / Karen Rankin

This vegan red velvet cake has tender layers of cake with just a hint of chocolate and a slight tang from the soy "buttermilk." The creamy vegan frosting would fool just about anybody that it's dairy-free. Enjoy this vibrant cake on Valentine's Day or any occasion worthy of a celebration.

15 of 17

Easy Poached Pears

easy poached pears
Photography / Caitlin bensel, Food Styling / Emily Nabors Hall

These easy poached pears are tender and lightly spiced with cinnamon and vanilla. The sauce adds just the right amount of sweetness, with the yogurt topping adding a creamy finish. If you prefer, you can skip the wine and use all apple cider with a squeeze of lemon juice in its place.

16 of 17

Plum Tart

Plum Tart
Photographer / Jen Causey, Prop Stylist / Kay Clarke, Food Stylist / Chelsea Zimmer

Juicy, caramelized plums combine with fresh lemon zest and a nutty crust in this easy plum tart. Feel free to use walnuts, almonds or hazelnuts in the crust to complement the fruity plum flavor.

17 of 17

Vegan Vanilla Cake

Vegan Vanilla Cake
Photographer / Antonis Achilleos, Prop Stylist / Christine Kelly, Food Stylist / Karen Rankin

Layers of fluffy cake are coated in a creamy frosting to create this sweet vegan vanilla cake. Mixing almond milk and apple-cider vinegar creates a vegan alternative to buttermilk. We top the cake with fresh berries, but other fresh fruit like peaches or cherries would be just as delicious.

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