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UC Berkeley | Wellness

8 FALL RECIPES YOU NEED TO TRY

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Valeria Armenta Student Contributor, University of California - Berkeley
This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at UC Berkeley chapter and does not reflect the views of Her Campus.

It’s that wonderful time when nature initiates all of us to expect change. From green leaves to orange, red, brown, and yellow leaves; from blue skies to gray, from sunny warmth to windy breezes and rainy downpours — fall is here, and what better way to follow the change in seasons than to introduce ourselves to the wonders of fall baking! 

Of course, being the assigned baker during the fall season is never an easy task. The ambitious urge to impress friends and family with a delicious, new, and inventive dessert during the Holidays versus the overwhelming dread of dishes you’ll have to wash later can leave you feeling lost about what to make. Whether it be for Thanksgiving, Christmas, the New Year, or just a casual chilly fall day, I’ve created the perfect list of desserts that’ll have everyone begging you to bake more. Maybe you can even start a little side hustle with them!

1. Carrot (cup)Cake(s)

I’ve never been a big fan of carrot cake (because why would you have vegetables in a dessert) but this recipe has completely changed my mind. It’s so moist, fluffy, and filled with those typical warm cinnamon-y spices, paired with the most perfect cream cheese frosting. 

This is traditionally made as a three-layered cake, but what makes this recipe so great is you can bake it in any way, shape, or form. Throughout my time using this recipe, cupcakes have become my preferred method. The recipe is still the same but you would bake them for about 15 minutes instead. You end up with about 24 cupcakes ready to serve to your awaiting friends and family.

Link to Recipe: https://pin.it/2PrY0ZUL2

2. Snickerdoodles

Chocolate chip cookies are a classic, but I think the second-best, and cookie most suited for the fall season, is your classic Snickerdoodle. A perfect blend of butter, sugar, and cinnamon, these chewy Snickerdoodles are the best treat to warm your stomach on a cold night. 

Link to Recipe: https://pin.it/6tXEWT2Ht

Cookies Snickerdoodle
Jocelyn Hsu / Spoon

3. Pumpkin Tres leches

This is where the recipes start becoming more and more fun! Here, we take a traditional Mexican dessert and put a little fall twist on it. I found this recipe on TikTok and it came out amazing! 

If you’ve never had Tres Leches, it’s typically a vanilla cake drenched in a mixture of condensed, evaporated, and whole milk, along with a splash of vanilla, and topped with a whipped cream frosting. This recipe takes all those wonderful elements and combines them with pumpkin into the cake base, as well as into the whipped cream frosting. Your result is a Tres Leches x Pumpkin pie dessert, which I’ll definitely be making every year when the fall season comes around!

Link to Recipe: https://www.tiktok.com/@lovevivv/video/7423454553888066858?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pc&web_id=7437646126112933422

4. chai cheesecake bars

I love, and I mean love cheesecake. So what better way to incorporate my favorite dessert into this Fall season than to add some chai to it? These cheesecake bars are so creamy and pack in that sweet warm chai flavor. But what pulls this recipe together is the brown butter cream cheese frosting. It really is a dairy lover’s dream.

Link to Recipe: https://inbloombakery.com/chai-cheesecake-bars/

pumpkin chiffon pie
Photo by Molly Farrell for Spoon University

5. Pumpkin cinnamon rolls

Cinnamon rolls are already great on their own, but when you add pumpkin along with those warm fall spices, it makes the pillowy, fluffy dough melt in your mouth even more. After one roll, you’ll definitely be taking a beautiful nap afterward. I know I did!

Link to Recipe: https://www.tiktok.com/@yessidothecookingg/video/7423189272401906986?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pc&web_id=7437646126112933422

6. pumpkin coffee cake cookies

Another great recipe I found on TikTok, these cookies are absolutely divine. It’s everything you want from a cookie. A chewy and slightly fluffy base, topped with a sweet crunchy streusel, and drizzled with a vanilla glaze. I’m not kidding when I say I’ve never tasted anything like this, but it truly is fall in your mouth. 

My biggest tip when making these is to dry the pumpkin puree! If your puree is still too wet when you add it to your mixture, your cookies will be way too cakey, so be careful!

Link to Recipe: https://www.tiktok.com/@inbloombakery/video/7296122925109873950?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pc&web_id=7437646126112933422

Pumpkin Puree
Alyssa Robertson Case / Spoon

7. Biscoff stuffed blondies

I’ve never made blondies before and I love Biscoff, so why not combine the two? These blondies are perfectly chewy and have that deep rich caramel flavor from the Biscoff.

If you really want to impress your friends and family, make a caramel drizzle on top, and voilà! 

Link to Recipe: https://sweetkitchencravings.com/recipes/biscoff-blondies/

8. apple cinnamon swirl cake

If you’re not a big fan of apple pie but like apples in your dessert, you’ll devour this cake. I have few words to say about this recipe except that it did not last long. The minute you make this, you’ll want to make it over and over again.

Link to Recipe: https://www.tiktok.com/@eatmebaby.onemoretime/video/7276841174910995744?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pc&web_id=7437646126112933422

Whether you try all eight recipes, a few, or just one, I hope this list allows you to feel a little less overwhelmed about the endless possibilities of what you could bake. Each of these recipes will transport you into the ultimate fall day, so put your apron on, play the Christmas playlist that everyone tells you is too early, and get to baking!

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Valeria Armenta

UC Berkeley '26

Valeria is a junior at the University of California, Berkeley, majoring in English and Social Welfare. She has always loved writing, and aspires to be a published author one day, hoping to inspire others to love reading as much as she always has. As a writer she hopes that her words can be a voice for those who feel unheard. Some of her favorite hobbies include traveling around the world, reading romance books, baking, going on walks, journaling, taking pictures, thrifting, and writing stories and poems.