49 Delicious Ways to Savor Apple Season

The spices in this salad are like those in French gingerbread, or pain d’épice. If you make it with walnut oil, use walnuts; if you make it with hazelnut oil, use hazelnuts.

Recipe: Fall Green Salad with Apples, Nuts, and Pain d’Epice Dressing

A big, colorful salad is a welcome sight at Thanksgiving. The rich cheese and ginger–apple cider dressing unites the fruit with the greens.

Recipe: Fall Greens and Apple Salad

Toasted walnuts and walnut oil give a warm autumn flavor to this hearty salad.

Recipe: Kale and Apple Salad with Walnut Dressing

Nutty, salty, and sweet, this hearty salad is best with apples that soften when cooked but still hold their shape.

Recipe: Farro Salad with Apples, Halloumi, and Herbs

Sweet apples and salty bacon are tossed with frisee and a warm dressing in this simple salad.

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For such a simple, fast recipe, this salad–from chef-partner Steven Redzikowski of Oak at Fourteenth, in Boulder, CO–packs a surprising amount of complexity and flavor. Ichimi togarashi, a Japanese ground red pepper, really makes it pop.

Recipe: Shaved Honeycrisp Apple and Kale Salad

Buckwheat, a hugely popular grain in Eastern Europe, makes a fantastic wintertime salad. Its sweet earthiness links right into the roasted shallots, and the sweet-tangy apples and slightly bitter radicchio give layers of flavor and texture to the dish.

Recipe: Warm Buckwheat Salad with Roasted Shallots, Apples, and Frisee

A sweet Fuji apple takes center stage in this quick and easy apple and endive salad.

This classic salad is best right now, when apples are at their peak, and since it takes less than 25 minutes to prepare, you have no exuse not to serve it at your next fall picnic.

Recipe: Autumn Apple Salad

The secret to a low-calorie salad is a lean, flavorful dressing. This one is based on apple juice and a small amount of heart-healthy walnut oil, providing plenty of autumn-inspired flavor.

Recipe: Apple-Fennel Salad with Walnuts

This fresh take on the classic Waldorf takes only 20 minutes to prepare and works as a side dish, a main course or even a light dessert.

The right apple variety to use: sweet-tart such as Pink Lady, Jonathan, or Piñata.

Recipe: Western Waldorf

Roasting a whole squash takes longer than one that’s cut up, but it can be easier (and safer) to peel and cut the squash after it’s cooked.

Recipe: Spiced Apple Butternut Squash Soup

If you’re not a fan of fruit-based soups, you could easily substitute potatoes or more parsnips for the apples with equally delicious results.

Recipe: Parsnip and Apple Soup

A smooth, silky, understated first course―the Greta Garbo of soups.

Recipe: Fennel apple bisque

The simple addition of caramelized apples and salty blue cheese gives this tasty soup a sophisticated feel.

Recipe: Celery Soup with Apples and Blue Cheese

Apple butter used as a spread makes these grilled turkey sandwiches special, and apple slices add a little crispness.

Recipe: Toasted Turkey, Brie, and Apple Sandwiches

The seasoning blend called Chinese five-spice adds a warm note without pushing the apples into pie territory, and the apples are tart enough to balance the flavor too. Roasting ingredients together on a sheet pan saves time and reduces cleanup.

Recipe: Five Spice Chicken Thighs with Apples and Sweet Potatoes

Warm apple cider is great for sipping on brisk fall days, but ever tried it for brining? You should.

Brine bone-in pork chops for 3 hours in 4 cups cider, 2 cups cold water, 4 tbsp. salt, bay leaves, garlic cloves, and chile flakes.

Sautéed apples makes this the ideal autumn meal.

Recipe: Cider-Brined Pork Chops with Sautéed Apples

No roast is more epic than a goose—it is, after all, the bird Charles Dickens forever immortalized in A Christmas Carol. A goose is all dark meat and very rich. The fat that drips from it is excellent for roasting potatoes and vegetables, and the skin turns golden and crisp, the poultry equivalent of pork cracklings.

Recipe: Roast Goose with Potatoes, Onions, and Apples

Zesty salsa is a Western staple, but come apple season, put a new twist on this classic.

Add some sweet-tart green apple chunks and a splash of fresh apple juice to a mix of onion, bell pepper, cilantro, vinegar, and chili.

Recipe: Chicken with Green Apple-Chipotle Salsa

The crunch of the apples and nuts add nice texture and harmonious flavors to this halibut recipe.

Recipe: Hazelnut-Crusted Halibut with Apple Salsa

A light, no-cook entrée. Bright hits of tart apple and crispy endive make it standout.

Recipe: Endive-Apple Slaw with Smoked Trout

Five sweet Fuji apples, 1/3 cup apple cider vinegar, and 1/3 cup apple juice give this warm crêpe filling all the fall flavor you could ask for.

Recipe: Leek and Apple Crêpes

This sweet potato dish strikes a perfect balance between sweet, tart, and savory. Rather than adding marshmallows for sweetness, we used apples and maple syrup.

Recipe: Roasted Sweet Potatoes and Apples

Nothing on your Thanksgiving menu is easier than cranberry sauce, whether you keep it classic or spice it up—in this case, with dried apples, which add a pleasant texture when simmered till soft.

Recipe: Cranberry Apple Sauce

Forget snackpacks. This warm homemade applesauce on a cool autumn morning satisfies the body and soul.

Keeping the skin on the apples retains their natural flavonoids; pecans and cinnamon are also antioxidant-rich.

Recipe: Raw Spiced Applesauce

Lonnie Spin knew that her experiment of French toast with peanut butter and yogurt was one ingredient shy of a culinary breakthrough.

“I kept saying, ‘You know what this needs — it needs apple’,” she said. Sure enough, apples, grown by her uncle and thinly sliced, turned the dish into a family hit.

Recipe: Apple Crisp French Toast

Come autumn, nothing beats the sweet and spicy waffles at Garland’s Oak Creek Lodge in Sedona, AZ. Now you can make them in your own kitchen.

Not only do you get chunks of fruit, but you get a sweet river of apple cider syrup, too. To keep them warm and crisp, put directly on a rack in a 200° oven for up to 40 minutes.

Recipe: Pumpkin Waffles with Apples and Apple Cider Syrup

Reader Ruth Miller, of Eugene, Oregon, sent us this pumpkin pancake recipe. She likes to slice the apples; sauté them in a little butter, sugar, and cinnamon; and spoon them on top. To save time, we skipped the sautéing and put the apples right in the batter.

Recipe: Pumpkin Apple Pancakes

Betty Jean Nichols celebrates Oregon’s apple season with these buns filled with thin slices of fruit.

Set aside about an hour for prep and cook time, but know that the sweet, sticky heaven you’ll pull out of the oven afterward is well worth it.

Recipe: Apple-Pecan Breakfast Buns

Of all the baked goods that her grandmother made using homegrown apples, these caramelized upside-down apple muffins were reader Elsa Kleinman’s favorite.

Recipe: Apple Corn Muffins

Zoe Nathan of Santa Monica’s Huckleberry Bakery tops her pies with a variety of cutout shapes; for this one, you’ll need a 2 1/2-in. apple-shaped cookie cutter (find at globalsugarart.com; $1.99).

Recipe: Caramel Apple Pie with Pastry Cutouts

Portland pasty chef Michelle Vernier cooks the fruit ahead so the pie won’t collapse in the oven.

Recipe: Lattice-Top Apple Quince Pie

When you’re in the mood for a timeless treat, this crisp hits the spot.

Recipe: Classic Apple Crisp

Cardamom and candied ginger add an intriguing flavor twist to this pie recipe courtesy of reader Elaine E. Johnson.

Recipe: Three-Spice Apple Pie

A cream torte is like a cross between a cake, a custard, and a dutch baby. The tender-sweet varieties of apples used here soften more readily than some when baked, making them a better match for the delicate cake.

Recipe: Apple Cream Torte

Basically an open-face pie, this is a great dessert for pie-phobes to make because the crust is so easy to handle.

Recipe: Apple Pumpkin Galette

A classic crisp topping meets its match with a luscious spiced fruit filling.

Recipe: Apple Crisp with Brandy and Spices

A fresh take on mincemeat pie, adapted from a recipe created by Carolyn Beth Weil for Williams-Sonoma Collection: Pie & Tart (Simon & Schuster, 2003; $17).

Recipe: Apple and Dried-Fruit Spice Pie

You’ll need a nonstick 10-in. tart pan; or butter a regular pan and dust with gluten-free baking mix like Cup4Cup (or flour).

Recipe: Apple, Fig, and Honey Tart

This pancake-like cake is great for after dinner or as a breakfast treat. And it comes together in less than 30 minutes.

Recipe: Apple Oven Cake

Tart, grated apples give this moist carrot cake a delicious twist. Mild goat cheese adds a tang to the cream cheese frosting.

Recipe: Spiced Apple Carrot Cake with Goat Cheese Frosting

These sophisticated Halloween party treats are a modern nod to the holiday tradition of bobbing for apples. You get all the satisfaction of a caramel apple in one bite and without a messy chin.

Recipe: Mini Caramel Apples

Studded with tart cranberries and sweet currants, laced with brandy and finished with a buttery, crisp topping, this dressed-up apple pie is a Sunset favorite.

Recipe: Apple-Cranberry-Currant Pie with French Topping

These pretty tartlets make for a special individual holiday dessert. We love them with a big scoop of vanilla ice cream or freshly whipped cream.

Recipe: Apple-Cranberry Mince Tartlets

Planning a fall camping trip for the family? This this easy apple crisp cooks on the grill so you can make it outside your tent.

The recipe makes a generous amount of dessert, but we like having leftovers for breakfast.

Recipe: Grill-Baked Apple Crisp

We recommend using Pink Lady or Jazz (a popular new hybrid) apples, which tend to retain their color and shape better during baking.

Note: You can substitute 1/3 cup golden raisins for the walnuts if you like.

Recipe: Apple-Crisp Baked Apples

Once the leaves start changing color, a crisp apple dipped in chewy caramel is a suitable afternoon snack as far as we’re concerned.

Take it a step further with a layer of chocolate and a sprinkle of coconut. For these gems, we like using Granny Smith and Fuji varieties.

Recipe: Chocolate-Coconut Caramel Apples

Sauvignon Blanc’s characteristic green-apple flavors blend seamlessly with the fruit in this sorbet.

Recipe: Green Apple Sauvignon Blanc Sorbet

If you think French desserts are all about piping pastry cream and fussy meringues, give this rustic, gorgeous, free-form apple galette a gander. As easy as apple pie? Easier. No crust-fluting required.

Recipe: Apple Galette