The moment September begins and the weather dips below 75 degrees, I start craving fall flavors. There are certain things I associate with the beginning of every fall semester: starting classes, rewatching the first season of Gilmore Girls, seeing the color of the leaves change on campus and baking fall recipes. For me, autumn doesn’t truly begin until I have something in the oven that makes my whole apartment smell like cinnamon. I always love to have baked goods on hand, whether it’s for lunch during co-op or a snack before class. The semester can be stressful, but in my experience, it’s always easier to romanticize fall when I’m baking.

It’s the best season of the year, and here are three fall recipes you can try to make this autumn a little bit sweeter.

Apple fritter focaccia

Apple fritters are my favorite type of donut, but I’ve never attempted to make them because I’m afraid of frying things. Thankfully, focaccia is one of the simplest, most delicious breads to make. Combining these two components, you get the ease of making focaccia and the amazing flavor of the apple fritter — and once the glaze crystallizes, you’ll get that perfect crackly textured sugar shell. This recipe is perfect to bake for a fall picnic, potluck or dinner party (or just to nibble on throughout the week).

Ingredients:

Focaccia:

• 3 cups + 2 tablespoons bread flour 
• 1 ¾ cups warm water
• 1 ½ teaspoons instant yeast
• 1 teaspoon granulated sugar (or honey)
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 teaspoons salt

Apple filling:

• 3 apples, peeled and diced into small cubes (Granny Smith or Honeycrisp)
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• ¼ cup brown sugar, packed
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• Cornstarch slurry: Combine 1 ½ teaspoons cornstarch and 1 ½ teaspoons water

Cinnamon sugar filling:

• 4 tablespoons butter, melted
• ⅓ cup brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Glaze:

• ¾ cup powdered sugar
• 3-4 tablespoons heavy cream
• ½ teaspoon cinnamon
• ½ teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions:

Make the dough

1. Stir together warm water and sugar until dissolved. Add instant yeast to the mixture, and give it a gentle stir. After five minutes, the yeast should bubble/foam.
2. Add bread flour and salt to the yeast mixture and mix until combined. Add olive oil and mix until the dough no longer sticks to the edges of the bowl.
3. Cover your dough with a towel or plastic wrap and let rest for 15 minutes. Fold the dough a few times, and then cover and rest for another 15 minutes. Fold the dough and rest twice more. After the third time folding, cover and rest the dough for 1.5 hours.

Make the apple filling

1. Add peeled, cored and diced apples into a medium saucepan. Add butter, lemon juice, brown sugar, salt and cinnamon, and heat mixture over medium high heat, stirring occasionally.
2. Bring the mixture to a boil, then bring down to a simmer. Add the cornstarch slurry and heat until thickened. Remove from heat and let cool for 15 minutes.

Make the cinnamon butter filling

1. Combine melted butter, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and vanilla extract in a small bowl.

Assemble the bread

1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
2. Place the proofed dough in a greased 9-by-13-inch baking pan. Add half of the apple filling and half of the cinnamon butter filling on top of the dough. Fold the dough inwards on all sides and flip over so that the seam is on the bottom of the pan. Cover and rest the dough for another 1.5 hours.
3. Spread the remaining apple filling and cinnamon butter filling evenly across the top of the dough. Using your fingertips, make indentations in the dough, pressing through to the bottom of the pan.
4. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until golden brown. 
5. After removing from the oven, let the bread cool for 15 minutes, then pour the glaze evenly over top. Serve and enjoy!

Pumpkin bread

No matter how many new, innovative fall recipes are developed, pumpkin bread will always be one of the greatest of them all. It’s a classic. This recipe brings the warmest spice flavors in every slice, and the texture is rich and moist. Once you take a bite of this, you’re going to want to eat the whole thing.

Ingredients:

• 1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
• ¼ teaspoon cloves
• ¼ teaspoon ginger
• ¾ teaspoon salt
• 2 large eggs, at room temperature
• ½ cup granulated sugar
• ¾ cup packed dark brown sugar
• 1 ½ cups pumpkin puree
• ½ cup vegetable oil
• ¼ cup milk

Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9-by-5-inch loaf pan and set aside.
2. Add flour, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, ginger and salt together in a large bowl and whisk to combine.
3. In a separate bowl, add eggs and both sugars in a bowl and whisk to combine. Add in the oil, milk and pumpkin puree and mix.
4. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix together until just combined (do not overmix).
5. Pour the batter into the loaf pan and bake for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, loosely cover the loaf pan with aluminum foil (to prevent over-browning) and continue to bake for another 30 to 35 minutes. Test to make sure the bread is done by inserting a toothpick into the center — it should come out clean or with only a few crumbs. 
6. Remove the bread from the oven and let it cool completely before serving.

Earl Grey snacking cake

If baking a whole cake seems intimidating to you, try a snacking cake. It’s less hassle and less commitment but just as delicious. I love a warm cup of Earl Grey tea — it feels sophisticated and refined, yet comforting at the same time. Paired with blackberry preserves, this cake feels like late summer and early fall in a slice.

Ingredients:

Cake:

• 2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoons Earl Grey tea, finely ground
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ¾ cups unsalted butter, softened
• 1 ½ cups granulated sugar
• 3 large eggs, room temperature
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Earl Grey milk:

• 1 ½ cups milk
• 1 Earl Grey tea bag
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Frosting:

• ½ cup unsalted butter, softened
• 2-3 cups powdered sugar
• 2 tablespoons heavy cream or milk, room temperature
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• A pinch of salt
• Optional: Blackberry preserves

Instructions:

Make the cake

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9-inch round cake pan and set aside.
2. Heat milk and tea in a saucepan until simmering and remove from heat. Steep for 10 minutes and strain out the tea, measuring out one cup of steeped milk.
3. Whisk together flour, baking powder, finely ground tea and salt in a bowl.
4. With a stand mixer, cream together butter and sugar on medium high speed until pale and fluffy. Reduce speed to low and add eggs one at a time. Add vanilla and mix until combined.
5. Alternate adding flour mixture and Earl Grey milk, beginning and ending with flour, gently incorporating after each addition.
6. Add batter to the cake pan and bake for 30 to 35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean or with only a few crumbs.
7. Allow the cake to cool completely before removing from the pan.

Make the frosting

1. In a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, cream the butter until pale (about 5 minutes).
2. Add in the powdered sugar, a cup at a time. Add in heavy cream, vanilla and salt, and whisk until combined. If the frosting consistency is too thick, add more cream, a splash at a time. If the frosting consistency is too thin, add more powdered sugar, a ½ cup at a time.

Assemble the cake

1. With a rubber spatula or a butter knife, spread the frosting on the cooled cake. Top with blackberry preserves, if desired.