Food Fruits & Vegetables Irresistible Apple Dessert Recipes By Midwest Living editors Midwest Living editors Midwest Living's experienced editors create best-in-class travel, lifestyle, food, home and garden content you won't find anywhere else. We're loudly, proudly Midwestern, and we're passionate about helping our audience explore and create through award-winning storytelling. Midwest Living's Editorial Guidelines Updated on November 20, 2023 Trending Videos Close this video player Photo: Carson Downing Our apple pies, crisps, cakes, cookies, breads and other apple dessert recipes will fill your kitchen with the flavors of fall: crisp apples, creamy caramel, fragrant cinnamon, toasted nuts. 01 of 34 Vanilla Apple Gratin This simple, orchard-fresh dessert captures the flavor of vanilla ice cream melting into the warm apples in a pie—but more quickly, and with way less fat and sugar. View Recipe 02 of 34 Spiced Apple Mochi Cakes with Miso Caramel and Walnuts Carson Downing Chef Ji Hye Kim of Miss Kim in Ann Arbor, Michigan, shares the recipe for these lightly spiced, apple-flecked cakes. Their slightly chewy texture comes from sweet rice flour, a typical ingredient in many Asian sweets. Topped with miso caramel, toasted walnuts and whipped cream, this dessert fires on all flavor and texture cylinders. View Recipe 03 of 34 Apple Crumble Carson Downing One bite of this gloriously simple recipe will remind you that, sometimes, you don't mess with a good thing. Chef Jason Qureshi of River Roast in Chicago prefers to use Granny Smith apples for their firm texture and tart taste. View Recipe 04 of 34 Apple Sour Cream Kuchen Carson Downing This German-style, not-too-sweet, yeast-raised cake begs for a cup of coffee. For an extra tang, you can serve it with a dollop of lightly sweetened sour cream. View Recipe 05 of 34 Danish Pastry Apple Bars One of Gail Michael's students shared this apple dessert recipe with her long ago. The bars taste like apple pie in a baking pan. Our Best Bar Cookies View Recipe 06 of 34 Apple-Almond Brave Betty Adam Albright We gave a classic dessert a new name, in honor of all the people who have cooked in servitude or fought for social justice over the centuries—and we updated the flavors, too, with almond cookies and a splash of bourbon. View Recipe 07 of 34 Spiced Apple Tarte Tatin This easy, French-style upside-down apple tart relies on frozen puff pastry. The spice flavor comes from Chinese five-spice powder, a widely available blend with flavors of clove, black pepper and star anise. View Recipe 08 of 34 Harvest Apple Bars Carson Downing Tammy Post's Iowa State Fair blue-ribbon recipe doesn't skimp on apples, which results in incredibly moist and indulgent bars. View Recipe 09 of 34 Maple-Walnut Apple Cobbler This easy skillet cobbler is bursting with harvest flavor: crisp apples, cinnamon, toasted walnuts and sweet maple syrup. Easy Crisp and Cobbler Recipes View Recipe 10 of 34 Caramel Apple Cookies Creamy caramel frosting finishes these apple-filled cookies. Our Favorite Fall Cookie Recipes View Recipe 11 of 34 Freestyle Apple Tarts This recipe from Iowa's Rapid Creek Cidery restaurant looks daunting, but it's actually five very simple parts that are easily made ahead. (You'll end up with extra candied nuts; they're great alone or with cheese.) View Recipe 12 of 34 Fresh Apple Cake This nutty comfort cake from Sharon Buckner of Rhineland, Missouri, gets a sugary top and caramelized gooey bottom as it cooks. Don't be surprised by the thick batter; it will bake into a moist, dense cake. View Recipe 13 of 34 Cider-Spiked Apple and Pecan Tart Apples are gently cooked in butter, then arranged in a prebaked crust and brushed with jelly. The result is an edible work of art. View Recipe 14 of 34 Applesauce Spice Cake No granulated sugar is added to this apple dessert recipe; the sweetness comes from cider, fruit and applesauce. The recipe comes from Sandra Schifferle of Lansing, Kansas. View Recipe 15 of 34 Amish Apple Dumplings We often equate Amish food with comfort. Here's our version of a favorite apple dessert you might find at Amish-based restaurants in the Midwest. View Recipe 16 of 34 Crumb-Topped Apple Trio Pie Crisp on top, sweetly tender inside, this pie blends tart and sweet apples—Granny Smith, Jonagold and Braeburn—with sugar and cinnamon under a brown-sugar and walnut crumb topping. Make Your Best Pie Ever View Recipe 17 of 34 Dutch Apple Pudding Cake With apple pie filling on the bottom and a moist walnut cake layer on top, this dessert makes the perfect ending to a fall or winter meal. View Recipe 18 of 34 Rise and Shine Cranberry-Apple Crisp Spiced coconut streusel adds crunch to healthy apples and berries. View Recipe 19 of 34 Cider-Baked Stuffed Apples with Salty Caramel Sauce Nuts and cranberries fill these simple baked apples that cook in your slow cooker. Top them with Sea Salt Caramel Sauce and, if you like, a scoop of vanilla ice cream. View Recipe 20 of 34 Apple, Cranberry and Pecan Galette A free-form tart is the anxious pie-maker's best friend. No fussy crimping, and any torn edges or lumpy folds just add to the charm (especially when sprinkled with sparkly raw sugar). View Recipe 21 of 34 Apple Pear Praline Pie "The key to this pie is the apples you use," says Mary Schrier of Cumberland, Iowa, who got the recipe from an old handwritten family recipe book. She suggests not using Red Delicious apples. Instead, try Granny Smith, Jonathan or any sweet-tart heirloom apples. "There are quite a few orchards that are starting to carry the heirloom apples, and this old recipe is just waiting for them," she says. Favorite Apple Pie Recipes View Recipe 22 of 34 Indulgent Caramel Apples Wrap your favorite tart or sweet apple in caramel (we even created a less sticky version), then unleash your imagination as you add on nuts, cereal, dried fruit, candy, decorative sprinkles or whatever else inspires you—and your taste buds. View Recipe 23 of 34 Nutty Caramel Apple Crisp A double dose of caramel—baked in with the fruit and drizzled on top—elevates the humble crisp to new levels of indulgence. Mix two types of apples for the best texture. The tender apples cook down and create a sort of thick sauce; the firm apples hold their shape. View Recipe 24 of 34 Apple-Butter Cakelets Caramel sauce adds a creamy-sweet finish to individual Apple-Butter Cakelets created by Midwest Living in honor of Illinois' Amish bakers. You can choose from two Prairie State ingredients, apples or pumpkins, for this treat. View Recipe 25 of 34 Streusel Apple Bread A touch of lemon, chopped cranberries and walnuts make this quick bread seem like coffee cake. Norma Hendricks of Hopedale, Illinois, likes to serve this for dessert. "I made this by combining a couple of recipes," Norma says. "I think I started with a cranberry bread, but most of my kids don't like cranberries. Then I saw an apple bread recipe, and I thought streusel would be good on top." 20 Sweet Quick-Bread Loaves View Recipe 26 of 34 Apple-Toffee Tartlets Try Jonagold, Gala or Granny Smith apples in this easy 3-step dessert. Refrigerated piecrust speeds prep time. View Recipe 27 of 34 Single-Serving Caramel Apples Joan Wagner of Overland Park, Kansas, considers this baked apple dessert her easy-entertaining recipe. "You can make these up to six hours ahead and cover them with plastic wrap, so the puff pastry doesn't dry out," she says. "The desserts can bake while your coffee is brewing." View Recipe 28 of 34 Spiced Apple Drops An apple a day tastes even better in cookie form, especially with frosting on top! View Recipe 29 of 34 Maple-Apple Pudding Bake The Wisconsin Maple Producers created this recipe to showcase maple syrup and juicy apples in a moist, rich dessert. View Recipe 30 of 34 Apple-Cranberry Walnut Pie Sweet apples balance the tang of cranberries in this fall favorite. View Recipe 31 of 34 Easy Apple Cranberry Slab Pie Purchased puff pastry adds to the ease of this dessert recipe, but the real star is the filling the pairing of sweet apples and tart cranberries. Homemade icing rounds out this crowd-pleasing potluck pie. View Recipe 32 of 34 Apple Pumpkin Sunflower Bread We packed a bushel of fall into this homey loaf: pumpkin, apple, nuts and spices. View Recipe 33 of 34 Apple Scones with Spiced Maple Butter They're light, buttery and full of apple flavor. We almost hate to cover up the baked-on apple slice with the whipped maple butter. Almost. View Recipe 34 of 34 Apple-Cinnamon Pull-Apart Bread Biscuits, apples, orange juice? Sounds like breakfast to us. Orange juice adds brightness to both the bite-of-autumn bread and the cream cheese icing drizzle. Warm and Comforting Breakfast Breads View Recipe Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Tell us why! Other Submit