The 12 best recipes to bake in September: Time for apples!

It’s finally shoulder season, when summer begins to give way to fall. At the farmers markets there are the last tomatoes and the first apples, cool mornings turn into warm afternoons, and there’s an anticipatory energy in the air. And, as always, there are things to bake and reasons to bake them, from cookies to keep lunchboxes full to an apple cake that can sweeten any gathering — and of course, the first pumpkin bakes of the season. 1) Apple Fritter Cake In this recipe, the beloved apple fritter is reimagined as a sliceable, snackable bake. The moist, sturdy cake, made using the reverse creaming method, supports a huge heap of diced cinnamon-scented apples. The vanilla glaze on top gives this homemade cake doughnut shop appeal. Get the recipe: Apple Fritter Cake To make this recipe, you’ll need: Vietnamese Cinnamon and Pure Vanilla Extract If you like this recipe, you may also like: Apple Buñuelos (Apple Fritters), Apple Crumb Cake 2) Harvest Pumpkin Scones If you’re already baking with canned pumpkin this season, this recipe is an excellent way to use up leftover purée. (It only calls for half a cup!) Cinnamon, ginger, allspice, and nutmeg give these scones the scent of autumn, while Cinnamon Sweet Bits add extra pockets of spice in every bite. Get the recipe: Harvest Pumpkin Scones (or Gluten-Free Pumpkin Scones) To make this recipe, you’ll need: Cinnamon Sweet Bits and Pumpkin Pie Spice If you like this recipe, you may also like: Easy Whole Grain Pumpkin-Banana Bread, Pumpkin Cake Bars with Cream Cheese Frosting 3) Cinnamon Apple Pull-Apart Bread This autumnal bread is enriched with milk and eggs so that it bakes up soft and tender, ready to fall apart at the lightest tug. Tucked between each layer is a sweet, cinnamon-scented apple filling, made even more fragrant and gooey with a splash of vanilla and a bit of brown sugar. Get the recipe: Cinnamon Apple Pull-Apart Bread To make this recipe, you’ll need: Instant Clearjel If you like this recipe, you may also like: Jalapeño-Cheddar Pull-Apart Bread, Apple Cinnamon Monkey Bread 4) Fudgy Chocolate Date Cake We should all be baking more with dates, and no recipe will convince you more than this gooey, chewy chocolate cake. Medjool dates provide caramelly sweetness and a dense, moist texture, while chopped chocolate and cocoa make the cake extra-chocolatey. Get the recipe: Fudgy Chocolate Date Cake To make this recipe, you’ll need: Guittard Semisweet Chocolate Wafers If you like this recipe, you may also like: Oatmeal Date Smash Cookies, Flourless Chocolate Truffle Cake 5) The Softest Oatmeal Raisin Cookies These hearty cookies are exceptionally soft, moist, and chewy, with a texture that stays tender for days (even after freezing) thanks to one simple trick: The oats are soaked in melted butter and milk before they’re incorporated into the rest of the dough. Made with brown sugar and a touch of cinnamon for a warm, balanced flavor, they come together in under an hour and emerge from the oven looking like bakery-perfect cookies. Get the recipe: The Softest Oatmeal Raisin Cookies To make this recipe, you’ll need: King Arthur Rolled Oats If you like this recipe, you may also like: Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies, Oatmeal-Date Smash Cookies 6) Caramel Macchiato Tiramisu Move over, pumpkin spice lattes. We’re turning toward a different coffeeshop drink for fall flavor inspiration. Here, a creamy, dreamy caramel macchiato is transformed into a layered tiramisu featuring salted caramel sauce between espresso-soaked ladyfingers and mascarpone filling. Get the recipe: Caramel Macchiato Tiramisu To make this recipe, you’ll need: King Arthur Pure Vanilla Extract If you like this recipe, you may also like: Tiramisu, Tiramisu for Two 7) Flaky Puff Crust Pizza Turnovers Made with the dough from our Recipe of the Year, Flaky Puff Crust Pizza, these pizza pockets are like a buttery turnover and cheesy calzone mashed together. Fill them with pepperoni and make them entrée-sized for a fun family dinner or portion them into smaller snack-sized versions. (See the tips at the bottom of the recipe page for guidance on how to do so.) Get the recipe: Flaky Puff Crust Pizza Turnovers To make this recipe, you’ll need: Crispiest Crust Pizza Pan If you like this recipe, you may also like: Homemade Pizza Pockets, Flaky Puff Crust Pizza 8) Crispy Brown Butter Cookies Brown butter makes everything better, including these nutty, caramelly cookies (and their glaze!), which also have a delicate, crisp texture thanks to cornstarch in the dough. Even better, the dough comes together entirely by hand and requires no chilling, just 20 minutes for the browned butter to cool slightly. Get the recipe: Crispy Brown Butter Cookies To make this recipe, you’ll need: Tablespoon Scoop If you like this recipe, you may also like: Joy's Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies with Pecans, Soft Brown Sugar Cookies 9) Pistachio Cake with Pomegranate Glaze With a vibrant pink glaze and pale green crumb, this single-layer cake will attract attention on any table. But it’s not just about looks: The tender, moist cake is fragrant with pistachios, orange, and rose water, while the glaze is slightly tart from pomegranate juice. The inclusion of pomegranate is intentional, as it’s part of the Persian Jewish Rosh Hashanah seder, making this bake a lovely addition to any Rosh Hashanah table. Get the recipe: Pistachio Cake with Pomegranate Glaze To make this recipe, you’ll need: Nielsen-Massey Rose Water If you like this recipe, you may also like: Sparkling Pistachio Cookies, Pistachio-Cardamom Cupcakes with Dark Chocolate Ganache 10) Cinnamon-Sugar Pretzel Bites Small but mighty, these pretzel bites pack a major (and very nostalgic) punch. Just like the ubiquitous mall pretzels, they’re drenched in butter, then plunged into salt-spiked cinnamon sugar. Each bite delivers maximum fall spice. Get the recipe: Cinnamon-Sugar Pretzel Bites To make this recipe, you’ll need: Bread Flour If you like this recipe, you may also like: Soft & Chewy Pretzel Bites, Pretzel Pigs in Blankets 11) Everyday Bread Back-to-school season may also mean back to regular bread baking, and for that, we recommend this reliable loaf. It's sturdy enough to slice and stack, but it’s also soft and yielding thanks to the inclusion of whole milk and a smidge of butter. A dollop of honey adds subtle sweetness, while a combination of whole wheat and all-purpose flour ensures the dough is smooth and strong, yet nutritious. Get the recipe: Everyday Bread To make this recipe, you’ll need: Golden Wheat Flour If you like this recipe, you may also like: Sourdough Sandwich Bread, Classic Sandwich Bread 12) Mostly Apples Apple Cake There’s just enough batter to hold together a heap of sliced apples in this one-of-a-kind cake. Lightly sweetened with brown sugar and scented with almond extract, this minimalist cake is greater than the sum of its parts: a sophisticated, custardy cake that’s deceivingly simple to make. Get the recipe: Mostly Apples Apple Cake To make this recipe, you’ll need: Almond Flour If you like this recipe, you may also like: Old-Fashioned Apple Cake with Brown Sugar Frosting, Whipped Caramel Apple Cake Cover photo by Patrick Marinello; food styling by Yekaterina Boytsova.