15 Easy Fall Desserts Anyone Can Make

coconut cranberry bars sliced
Photo: Allrecipes Magazine

When you're craving a fall dessert without a lot of fuss or fancy ingredients, these simple recipes will do the job nicely. Packed with deep, rich autumn flavors these easy-to-make treats just might make it look like you know what you're doing, even if you're a beginner baker. And in these topsy-turvy times, nothing comforts like a sweet something baked in your very own oven. So put down that stress ball and bake up one of these easy fall desserts.

01 of 16

Iron Skillet Apple Pie

apple pie baked in a cast iron skillet
Meredith

Ready-made refrigerated pie crusts make this deep-dish apple pie a snap to pull together. Liz Lee says, "What a great idea to bake this in a cast-iron skillet. I always bake my fruit pies until they bubble, and the skillet depth keeps the pie from overflowing." For a grown-up finish, top with homemade whipped cream with a little spiced rum or other liqueur folded in at the end.

02 of 16

Caramel Popcorn Brownies

Caramel Popcorn Brownies
Allrecipes

Start with a package of brownie mix (or make brownies from scratch if you're a purist) and spread a layer of popped popcorn, peanuts, chocolate chips, and peanut butter chip over the top. Drizzle with an easy homemade caramel syrup and bake. Try not to eat the whole pan yourself.

03 of 16

Brookies (Brownie Cookies)

stack of brownie cookies topped with ice cream
Allrecipes Magazine

Don't be intimidated by how stunning this double-layered dessert looks. It's simply a layer of cookie batter topped with a layer of brownie batter. Home cook the4taals says, "I liked that it used pantry ingredients and came together fast." Serve warm with a scoop of ice cream on top.

04 of 16

Easy Pear Clafouti

individual pear clafouti baked in ramekins
Allrecipes Magazine

Individual ramekins filled with fresh fall pears baked in a sweet custard batter are as satisfying to behold as they are to eat. And imagine how great your home will smell! Allrecipes home cook Maureen Sullivan didn't have ramekins so she baked them in a 12-inch round glass pan. "The taste was fabulous," she says.

05 of 16

Baked Apples with Oatmeal Filling

Baked Apples with Oatmeal Filling in a white bowl over an apple tablecloth
lutzflcat

The very definition of ridiculously easy. All you do is scoop out the top of the apple and fill it in with oats, brown sugar, and cinnamon. Thirty minutes later, you've got a warm and satisfying baked apple to keep you company while you binge watch that show you love.

06 of 16

Peanut Butter Freezer Fudge (2-Ingredient)

Peanut Butter Freezer Fudge (2-Ingredient)
Christina

If you have two everyday pantry ingredients and 15 minutes to spare, you'll be rewarded with this rich and creamy maple peanut butter fudge-like treat. Home cook Annie Hashmi says she microwaved the maple syrup to thin it out a bit before whisking it into the peanut butter. (And now you know what the two ingredients are.)

07 of 16

Chewy Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

peanut butter chocolate chip cookies cooling on a rack
Allrecipes Magazine

"For epic gooey goodness, take them out when the bottom edges just start to turn golden," says DIABOLIQUE. "I also baked some a little longer because my dad loves his crunchy."

08 of 16

Butterscotch Bread Pudding

Butterscotch Bread Pudding
LRandall

After a quick 10-minute prep, this soul-satisfying bread pudding goes for some hands-off baking time while you maybe read a book by the fire. Or however you want to spend a cozy hour.

Carol Anne says, "OH MY GOODNESS! I have made this 4 times in the last four weeks, and if I owned the rights to this recipe I could get rich." Nandabear adds, " I am dumbfounded at how easy and delicious this recipe is."

09 of 16

Frosted Cereal Bars

frosted cereal bars
magicallydelicious

Crispy rice cereal bars get the fall-flavor treatment when you add chocolate and butterscotch chips to the mix. JAWANDMEE raves, "These are excellent. My husband and son don't like regular rice krispy treats but they both loved these. These are more substantial and flavorful." And yes, they're very easy to make.

10 of 16

Amazing Gluten-Free Layer Bars

Amazing Gluten-Free Layer Bars
MomTo6

Six easy ingredients is all it takes to layer up these rich, indulgent bars. You'll bake them for 20 minutes, then let them cool before you slice them up. If you truly are eating gluten-free, Allrecipes home cook sarakate wants you to be sure to read the butterscotch package to make sure you're choosing gluten-free chips.

11 of 16

Boardwalk Quality Maple Walnut Fudge

maple fudge with nuts
Allrecipes Magazine

Ten minutes and five ingredients are all it takes to make this creamy, dreamy fudge. The only hard part is when you have to let it cool before cutting it into squares. You can do this!

Allrecipes home cook BOAZGIRL says, "OMG! The only modification I made was I toasted the walnuts. Easy, delicious, and everyone will think you are a candy making genius."

12 of 16

Banana Banana Bread

sliced banana bread
Allrecipes Magazine

Quick bread doesn't fall into the strict category of dessert, but let's face it: A rich and flavorful banana bread eats like a dense, rustic cake. So we'll allow it. For a clever topping, Allrecipes sliced a banana lengthwise and pressed the two halves into the top of the batter with a final sprinkle of turbinado sugar before baking.

13 of 16

Coconut-Cranberry Bars with Pecans

coconut cranberry bars sliced
Allrecipes Magazine

It's easy to keep all the ingredients for these easy bar cookies on hand. Two kinds of chocolate, nutty pecans, flaked coconut, dried cranberries, and condensed milk get stirred together and spread over a butter and graham cracker crumb crust before going in for a bake. You can do that, right?

14 of 16

Skillet Apple Brownie

Skillet Apple Brownie topped with ice cream
Allrecipes

"This was a perfect recipe and the ease was almost scary. So simple that I could probably make it every night," raves Avon-status quo PRO. If you don't have an 8- or 9-inch cast iron skillet, you can use a well-greased stainless pan instead.

(Note: Don't use glass or ceramic dish for this recipe because it has to be heated in the oven before the batter is poured in; the contrast between the hot glass or ceramic and the cold batter will cause the pan to break.)

15 of 16

Apple Turnovers

Apple Turnovers
Allison TX

Sliced and spiced apples are baked in ready-made puff pastry dough until they're golden brown and bursting with flaky, buttery, warm apple spice goodness. Honestly, it's that easy.

16 of 16
allrecipes magazine covers

Portions of this article originally appeared in the August/September 2020 issue of Allrecipes Magazine.

Was this page helpful?