Fall is slowly creeping into our calendars, wardrobes, and lifestyles. With that also comes the craving to try fall foods, whether they’re cult classics we all know and love or new recipes that leave us feeling spooked and ready for the Thanksgiving feast. As someone who calls herself a foodie, I love to find new foods to try and recommend them to my friends. I also love to cook and try others’ cooking to inspire myself on how to improve for the next meal. Despite having a love for cooking, I am not the most avid baker (although I am no stranger to a delicious dessert). This season, I’ve been inspired to try some of the foods I have always desired to perfect, but have yet to do so. Come along with me as I detail five delicious recipes I (and hopefully, you too) plan to make this fall season.
Apple cider
What’s fall without a little warm apple cider? Picture yourself in Boone, North Carolina in the heart of the Appalachian Mountains. You’re sitting under a beautiful maple tree with a multitude of colorful leaves, feeling the early October breeze run through the seams of your sweater. In your hands, you hold a warm cup of apple cider and watch as the sun sets behind the mountains. Sounds amazing, right? Well, Boone is the city that gave me my love for apple cider, and I’ve longed to have apple cider that authentic again. After doing a little research, here’s a simple apple cider recipe that will leave you longing for a road trip to the mountains.
Ingredients/Equipment
Crock-Pot, Instant Pot, or Stockpot
Fine-mesh strainer
Wooden spoon
1 Bag Apples
1 Bag Oranges
1 Box Brown Sugar
Cinnamon Sticks
Nutmeg
Water
Any brand of apples, brown sugar, or nutmeg will do. However, if you want my favorites, I’d go for SweeTango apples (hybrid between a Honeycrisp and a Zestar), Domino’s Brown Sugar, and McCormick’s Nutmeg. Once you have all of your ingredients together, combine them in the pot and cover them with water, leaving about an inch or two of space from the top. Heat the cider on high until it starts to simmer, and then reduce heat to medium-low. At this point, put the lid on your pot and let it work its magic for around two hours or until the apples are soft. Once they are, take your wooden spoon and mash all of the apples and oranges against the side of the crockpot in order to maximize the flavor. Put the lid back on your pot and let it simmer for a little bit longer. After that, take your strainer and strain out all of the solids, pressing them against the strainer to get all of the juices out. Lastly, discard all of your solids and add your desired amount of brown sugar to your liquid. My recommendation would be to pour a few small samples of your apple cider, add various amounts of brown sugar to each one, and find which amount tastes best to you. Aaaaand that’s it! You’ve got a tasty and delicious apple cider made from scratch. One final note, the cook times listed are for cooking apple cider in a stock pot. If you have a Crock-Pot, cook your apple cider on low for 6-8 hours or on high for 3-4. If you have an Instant Pot, set the valve to “Sealing” and cook on Manual for 25 minutes. The rest of the instructions are the same for all three pieces of equipment.
Cinnamon balls
I actually discovered this recipe doom scrolling on Instagram one day, so take that social media haters. I was blown away by how easy this recipe looked, and I absolutely cannot wait to make it myself. Where are my Cinnabon fans at?? This recipe is just for you. Imagine the Cinnasweeties, but covered in glaze instead of cinnamon sugar. As long as you have an oven, a few ingredients, and a little bit of time, you’ll have the dessert fan favorite of the Thanksgiving feast.
Ingredients/Equipment
1 cup of sugar
2 tablespoons of cinnamon
2 cans of buttermilk biscuits
1 stick of butter, melted
3 cups of powdered sugar
4 tablespoons of milk
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
5 bowls
1 cutting board
1 knife
1 spoon
1 fork
1 oven safe glass dish
Cooking spray
Parchment paper
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Start off by adding your one cup of sugar and two tablespoons of cinnamon into your first bowl and stir with your spoon. Next, pop your biscuit tins open (personally, I like Pillsbury Doughboy, but any brand will do) and lay your biscuits out on your cutting board. Take your knife and cut each biscuit into four parts, rolling each part into a little ball before setting aside. Once all balls are formed, take your glass dish, coat the bottom with cooking spray, and lay a sheet of parchment paper on top. With your second bowl, take your stick of butter and microwave it for about 30 seconds or until mostly melted. Stir until all butter is in liquid form. Now for the fun part! Take each ball with your fork and roll it in your butter, your cinnamon sugar mixture, and then place it onto your parchment paper. Place dish into the oven and cook for 18 minutes. While those are cooking, take your other three bowls and place them in front of you. In the third bowl, pour your three cups of powdered sugar. In your fourth bowl, pour your four tablespoons of milk. In your fifth bowl, pour in your powdered sugar, followed by your milk, followed by your one teaspoon of vanilla extract. Stir mixture until creamy. Take your cinnamon balls out of the oven (when it’s time of course) and let them cool for five minutes. Once that time has passed, drizzle your glaze onto your dish and enjoy!
Pumpkin pie
If you’re willing to put in a little extra effort, this recipe shows you how to make a pumpkin pie from scratch. Surprisingly, it only takes about an hour. It serves 8, so feel free to make more than one if you’re trying to feed the immediate and the extended family. Now personally, I’m not the biggest pumpkin fan. I’ve never been able to get on the pumpkin spice trend (sorry Starbucks fans). I’ve tried pumpkin pie in the past and a few other foods with pumpkin mixed in, but I’ve never been blown away. Perhaps it’s the texture, or maybe the taste. Regardless, this year, I’m going to put aside my pumpkin differences and attempt to make this pie for Thanksgiving (or maybe just for a Saturday night treat, I’ll decide in the car). Props to you if you recognize that reference.
Ingredients/Equipment
Equipment:
2 bowls
Electric mixer
Cutting board
Wooden rolling pin
9-inch pie pan
1 knife
1 spoon
Pastry Crust:
1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup cold butter or shortening
3 tablespoons of cold water (or more as needed)
Filling:
2 cups mashed, cooked pie pumpkin
1 (12 fluid ounce) can evaporated milk
2 large eggs, beaten
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon salt
Gather all of your ingredients and preheat your oven to 400 degrees. To make the pastry crust, mix your all-purpose flour and your salt together in a bowl. Cut your butter into slices and add to your mixture, mixing everything together until it looks like coarse crumbs. Mix in your three tablespoons of cold water, one at a time, until the dough is moist enough to hold together. If it’s still not holding, add one more tablespoon of water. Grab a cutting board and a wooden rolling pin and lightly flour your board. Lightly flour your hands as well. Take your dough and roll it into a ball before laying it flat on your cutting board to roll. Roll it into a thin, flat circle. Take a 9-inch oven safe pie pan and place it on top of your dough; use a knife to cut a circle of dough roughly 1 1/2 inches larger than the pie pan. Once this is done, throw away any scraps you have and set your pie pan aside. Hope you didn’t put your rolling pin away, because you’re going to use it to roll the dough around the pin, creating the tin shape and the edge of the crust. Carefully, and I mean carefully, transfer your dough into your pie pan and flute the edge of your crust (this means making the triangle shape around the edge of the crust). Now for the filling! Take your pumpkin, evaporated milk, brown sugar, eggs, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and salt and mix it all into an electric mixer safe bowl. Mix your ingredients until the mixture is creamy. Pour your mixture into your crust. Bake pie for 40 to 60 minutes, being sure to check the pie at 40, 45, 50, 55, and 60 minutes to ensure that your knife is coming out clean. If the knife is clean before the 60 minutes is up, take your pie out. Let cool and enjoy!
Sweet potato casserole
To me, nothing screams fall more than a tasty casserole. There’s all different kinds, from the decadent ones you find at the local cafe to the ones your mom makes for Thanksgiving that you swear you’ll mention to her that they suck, but you never do because she’s your mom and you love her. One of my absolute favorite casseroles is a good, homemade sweet potato casserole. When my grandmother was alive, she was famous for making one every year for Thanksgiving. What made hers special, however, was she made her with marshmallow topping, not pecan topping. I miss her and that sweet potato casserole very much. If you’re not the biggest sweet potato fan, that’s ok, neither was I for the longest time. However, I assure you that this recipe will make you fall in love with sweet potatoes (or even more if you were already a fan).
Ingredients/Equipment
Large saucepan
Water strainer
Wooden spoon or masher
1 Bowl
Electric mixer
9×13 inch baking dish
5 sweet potatoes, peeled and sliced
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup butter
3 tablespoons orange juice
1 pinch ground cinnamon
1 (10.5 ounce) package miniature marshmallows
Gather all of your ingredients and preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Place your sweet potatoes in a large saucepan and fill it with enough water to cover the potatoes. Boil your potatoes and cook them until tender, which should be around 15 minutes. Remove pot from stove, drain the water, and mash your potatoes. Place your mashed sweet potatoes in a bowl and add your brown sugar, butter, orange juice, and cinnamon. Mix with an electric mixer until blended. Take a 9×13-inch baking dish and pour your mixture in, being sure to spread it evenly throughout the pan. Once it looks perfect, take your marshmallows and sprinkle them over the top. Bake for about 25-30 minutes or until the marshmallows on the top look puffed and golden brown. Let cool and enjoy!
Stuffing
Finishing off with a cult classic, you can’t go wrong with a homemade stuffing. I feel like stuffing is one of those foods that you either love or hate. If you hate it, it’s probably because you had the driest stuffing known to man and you swore off of it. If you love it, it’s probably because your grandma made it one year for a family gathering and it was the best dish there that day. Regardless of your previous bias, this recipe will teach you how to make a simple stuffing that will surely get you ready for the fall season.
Ingredients/Equipment
1 large bowl
Large skillet or Dutch oven
Casserole dish
White bread (cut up into cubes)
2 onions
Pack of celery
8 tablespoons of butter
1 (32 fluid ounces) carton of chicken broth or chicken stock
Parsley
Paprika
Gather all of your ingredients and preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Take your baking dish and rub some butter around the bottom and sides. Take your cubed bread and add it to your large bowl. Take your skillet and place it on a burner, turning the heat up to medium-high. Melt about 4 tablespoons of butter and brown your onions. Once soft, transport them to your large bowl. Repeat the last two steps with your celery and four more tablespoons of butter. From there, add the rest of whatever butter stick you have left, your broth, your chopped parsley (oh yeah, go ahead and chop that if you haven’t done so), your paprika, and salt and pepper to the large bowl. Mix everything with your hands until the bread cubes are soaked. Transfer the stuffing to the prepared baking dish and spread it into the pan, raising it a bit around the edges with a bit of a well in the center of the stuffing. This ensures that the stuffing bakes evenly. Bake for about 25-45 minutes with a piece of aluminum foil on top and then another 15-30 minutes uncovered. Let cool and enjoy!
I hope you enjoy these foods and recipes as much as I will! If you feel up to it, I would love to see pictures of your dishes, so feel free to post them in the comments! If you also decide to take an impromptu mountain trip because you were inspired by this article, feel free to post those pictures as well. Have a Happy Fall, Happy Halloween, and Happy Thanksgiving!