Food and Recipes Fruits Apple 21 Of Grandma's Favorite Apple Desserts These dessert recipes are the apple of Grandma's eye. By Jenna Sims Jenna Sims Jenna is a Senior Digital Editor for Southern Living and joined the team in 2014. She writes, produces, and assigns content with a focus on email growth and commerce content. She covers a range of topics in the lifestyle space from holiday gift guides to new product launches to tips for cooking with your air fryer. Southern Living's editorial guidelines Published on September 5, 2024 Close Photo: Caitlin Bensel; Food Stylist: Torie Cox When Grandma has apples in her kitchen during the fall, we bet she's going to be making at least one dessert with the fresh fruit. There's so many delicious desserts that star apples like Old-Fashioned Apple Pie, Fresh Apple Cake, Classic Apple Cobbler, and more. Plus, many of these apple desserts can also be enjoyed for breakfast or as an afternoon treat. 40 Delicious Apple Desserts That Will Dazzle This Fall 01 of 21 Old-Fashioned Apple Pie Antonis Achilleos; Prop Styling: Missie Neville Crawford; Food Styling: Torie Cox Perhaps the most classic dessert that's made with apples, this old-fashioned pie recipe makes use of 4 pounds of fresh apples. You probably already have all of the other ingredients on hand. Get The Recipe 02 of 21 Apple Dumplings Morgan Hunt Glaze, Food Stylist: Jennifer Wendorf, Prop Stylist: Shell Royster Grandma loved having little baker friends in her kitchen, and a dish like these apple dumplings is perfect for that. While you make the buttery syrup, younger helpers can roll the apples slices up in crescent roll dough. They taste like miniature apple pies, but they're easier to make and extra delicious thanks to a secret ingredient in the sauce. Get The Recipe 03 of 21 Fresh Apple Cake Hannah Zimmerman / Southern Living No mixer is needed to whip up this cake that's been a reader favorite since it was first published in 2001. Get The Recipe 04 of 21 Apple Turnovers Jessica Furniss Grandma always appreciated a smart shortcut, and these apple turnovers have that—frozen puff pastry makes the crust on these turnovers quick and easy. The filling is homemade, so you can mix and match spices to your liking. Get The Recipe 05 of 21 Classic Apple Cobbler Stephen DeVries; Prop Styling: Kay E. Clarke; Food Styling: Torie Cox Cobblers aren't just for summertime fruits. This apple version can be served all fall long. Get The Recipe 06 of 21 Apple Fritters Morgan Hunt Glaze, Food Stylist: Jennifer Wendorf, Prop Stylist: Shell Royster Grandma loved these little fried balls of apple, cinnamon, and brown sugar. They cook quickly, as the whole recipe goes from start to finish in just over 30 minutes. So she was always ready to make some of these when the family came over for a visit. Get The Recipe 07 of 21 Applesauce Cake Caitlin Bensel; Food Stylist: Torie Cox Grandma didn't just love to eat applesauce. She loved to bake with it, too. And applesauce cake, with warm cinnamon spice and an apple-y buttercream frosting, will instantly remind you of her. Get The Recipe 08 of 21 Fried Apple Pies Photographer: Victor Protasio; Food Stylist: Karen Ranking; Prop Stylist: Julia Bayless While you can use store-bought dough as a shortcut for fried apple pies, we recommend making it from scratch just like Grandma does. Cinnamon sugar is the perfect finishing touch. Get The Recipe 09 of 21 Apple Bread Micah A. Leal While this apple bread can be enjoyed for dessert, it also makes a delightful breakfast or afternoon snack. Get The Recipe 10 of 21 Apple Stack Cake Photo: Victor Protasi; Prop Styling: Cindy Barr; Food Styling: Torie Cox Grandma knows that the secret to the best apple stack cake is that it gets better as it sits. We recommend making it 2 to 3 days in advance so you can allow it to "ripen" at room temperature. Get The Recipe 11 of 21 Apple Spice Cake Victor Protasio, Food Stylist: Emily Nabors Hall, Prop Stylist: Kathleen Varner This no-fuss cake comes together in just one bowl and is then baked in a springform pan. Get The Recipe 12 of 21 Apple Chess Pie Photo: James Ransom; Food Styling: Ruth Blackburn; Prop Styling: Christine Keely Classic chess pie is given a fall makeover with the addition of slices of fresh Granny Smith apples. Get The Recipe 13 of 21 Apple Cinnamon Bread Photographer: Jennifer Causey Food Stylist: Melissa Gray Prop Stylist: Christina Daley What makes Grandma's homemade bread even more delicious? Adding a ribbon of apples covered in cinnamon and brown sugar to the mix. Get The Recipe 14 of 21 Easy Skillet Apple Pie Photographer: Luca Trovato; Prop Stylist: Buffy Hargett Miller, Food Stylist: Rori Trovato Though we love traditional apple pies, one that's made in Grandma's cast-iron skillet can be just as delicious. Get The Recipe 15 of 21 Caramel Apple Coffee Cake Homemade caramel sauce is the finishing touch that takes this apple coffee cake from good to great. Get The Recipe 16 of 21 Apple Rose Tart Photographer: Jennifer Causey Food Stylist: Melissa Gray Prop Stylist: Christina Daley Grandma knows that serving apples in a tart allows the fruit to truly shine. Our recipe uses Honeycrisp apples, but you can use any crisp variety. Get The Recipe 17 of 21 Apple Pie Cake Photography: Caitlin Bensel, Food Styling: Rishon Hanners When you can't decide what dessert to make with fall apples, this recipe is the best of both apple pie and apple cake in one dish. Get The Recipe 18 of 21 Apple Bread Pudding Helen Norman Cinnamon-raisin bread and apples come together to create fall's favorite bread pudding. Get The Recipe 19 of 21 Apple- Cream Cheese Bundt Cake Photo: Greg Dupree; Styling: Ginny Branch This apple bundt cake not only features a decadent Praline Frosting, but it's also filled with a Cream Cheese Filling. Get The Recipe 20 of 21 Caramel Apple Cake Hector Manuel Sanchez Grandma knows that caramel and apples are one of fall's most dynamic duos. This cake combines both to create one showstopping dessert. Get The Recipe 21 of 21 Warm Cinnamon Apples Caitlin Bensel; Food Stylist: Torie Cox Whether enjoyed alone or alongside a couple spoonfuls of vanilla ice cream, this simple apple dessert is hard to beat. Get The Recipe Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Tell us why! Other Submit