Few things say fall as well as a tall glass of apple cider – particularly if that cider is spiced and served hot. This week, I found lots of recipes that used apple cider to infuse their desserts with a touch of fall – as well as a few recipes that didn’t use cider, but still used plenty of spices to round out their flavors.
- Apple cider often works its way into baked goods like cakes, but it is a little less common to find it in cookies. That didn’t stop Cookie Dough and Oven Mitt from baking up a batch of Cider Snaps. The cookies are inspired by gingersnaps, which are usually made with molasses. These are made with apple cider “molasses”, a very concentrated, syrupy apple cider reduction that packs a strong apple cider flavor. This syrup infuses apples into the cookies, even though there are no chunks of apple in them. The cookies also have a generous dose of spice in them that makes every chewy bite taste like fall.
- 30 Pounds of Apples made a batch of Apple Cider Maple Caramels that sound like a delicious fall treat. The caramels start with a very reduced apple cider that has a very concentrated flavor to it. Maple syrup is added to the apple cider, along with maple syrup, sugar, butter, cream and a few fall spices. You’ll have a fairly large batch from the recipe – although they’re addictive – so they should last quite a while and are perfect for filling a candy dish when you’re entertaining.
- Crazy for Crust‘s Spiced Caramel Apple Roll Cake is another dessert that features apples and spice. The jelly roll-like cake is a light spice cake. It is rolled around an apple pie-like filling that has lots of pieces of tender apples in it, and the whole thing is frosted with caramel sauce and sprinkled with chopped walnuts. It’s got a great combination of textures and, of course, plenty of fall flavor.
- Carrot Cake is usually paired with a cream cheese frosting. It’s a great flavor combination, and ButterYum‘s Carrot Cake Cheesecake features that same flavor combination in a different, decadent format. The cake swirls together a cheesecake layer and a carrot cake layer – and, to top it off, finishes the whole dessert with a cream cheese topping. The carrot cake layer sits on the bottom of this cake and gives you a great two-tone effect as you slice into it. It does need to chill for a while after baking, so plan in advance if you are going to give it a try.
The Pumpkin Chocolate Spiderweb Cupcakes from Confessions of a Bright Eyed Baker are a good Halloween cupcake for those who don’t want to get too crazy with their spooky or scary desserts. The chocolate cupcakes are moist and fluffy, thanks to pumpkin puree and yogurt in the batter. They’re topped with a spiced cream cheese frosting that has a very seasonal feel to it and just enough orange food coloring to give your dessert a great black and orange color palate.