29 Pumpkin Desserts to Bake This Fall
While pumpkin is delicious in many forms—filled with cheese, melted into pumpkin pasta— desserts are where the winter squash really shines. The ingredient is so synonymous with fall that we’re even drawn to the flavors associated with it when pumpkin isn’t even present. (Why else do you think pumpkin pie spice, a combination of warm spices such as cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and ginger, has found its way into everything from Oreos to ice cream?) It just makes us humans feel good. It makes us feel cozy. Frankly, it makes us feel cradled in a warm embrace.
Okay, enough about our feelings. Here are our best pumpkin desserts.
Photo by Chelsie Craig, Food Styling by Kate Buckens1/29Pumpkin Bread With Salted Maple Butter
One of the all-time classic pumpkin desserts—or breakfasts, or sweet snacks for any time you need a dose of comfort—is, of course, pumpkin bread. What makes this recipe unique? You’ll get a dollop of maple syrup-infused butter for every slice of “bread” (we all know it’s cake) to which you treat yourself.
Photograph by Alex Lau, food styling by Sue Li, prop styling by Sophie Strangio2/29Pumpkin Spice Chocolate Chip Cookies
Chewy like the best snickerdoodles, but with crunchy pecans, dark chocolate (or milk chocolate or white chocolate, if you prefer), this cookie recipe will get you the pumpkin chocolate chip cookies of all of our dreams.
Photograph by Isa Zapata, food styling by Judy Kim, prop styling by Beth Pakradooni3/29BA’s Best Pumpkin Pie
Photograph by Isa Zapata, Food Styling by Liberty Fennell, Prop Styling by Suzie Myers4/29Pumpkin Spice Crumb Cake
With a ratio that’s nearly half spiced pumpkin cake to half streusel topping, this dessert delivers on the promise of its name. And if you like that, try combining two great fall desserts in one with our Pumpkin-Apple Streusel Cake next.
5/29Brûléed Bourbon-Maple Pumpkin Pie
It’s hard to name the best pumpkin dessert, but this surprising chocolate–pumpkin mashup is a strong contender. It’s so good, in fact, that you don’t even have to follow the brûlée step if you don’t want to. It’s a fully realized dessert before that final flair.
Photo by Isa Zapata, Food Styling by Cyd McDowell, Prop Styling by Paige Hicks6/29Ultra Fluffy Pumpkin Pancakes
If you want pancakes for dessert, than you shall have pancakes for dessert. (We’ve been known to snag a pumpkin muffin off the counter for a last-ditch dessert too.) Go ahead and top it with some coffee ice cream and a brown butter glaze. Heck, add a Pumpkin Spice Latte while you’re at it.
Photo by Travis Rainey, Food Styling by Kaitlin Wayne7/29Pumpkin Chiffon Pie
Eating this light-as-air dessert is like biting into a pumpkin-spiced cloud. The crust uses Biscoff cookies, but you could easily swap in any crispy cookie that suits your fancy.
Photo by Laura Murray, Food Styling by Micah Morton8/29Spiced Chocolate-Pumpkin Cake With Pumpkin Glaze
If you want to bake pumpkins, extract their flesh, and purée it in a blender for this recipe, you go ahead and do that (don’t forget to strain it for a few hours). We’ll be over here with our can of Libby’s pumpkin purée.
Photograph by Elliott Jerome Brown Jr., Prop styling by Christina Allen, Food Styling by Emilie Fosnocht9/29Fun-Size Halloween Cupcakes
Christopher Testani10/29Pumpkin-Caramel Tart With Toasted-Hazelnut Crust
Talk about fall flavor, sheesh: There’s pumpkin purée, brown sugar, caramel, ginger, cinnamon, and hazelnuts. This ingredient list couldn’t get more autumnal.
Photo by Alex Lau, food styling by Susie Theodorou, prop styling by Kalen Kaminski11/29Pecan-Rye Pumpkin Pie
You can use either rye flour or all-purpose flour for the pie crust in this “twofer” holiday pie recipe; just manage your expectations. Know that rye flour will make the crust look darker than your standard pie dough.
Photo by Alex Lau, styling by Rick Martinez13/29Pumpkin Cheesecake
When cheesecake enters the brain, a graham cracker crust usually isn’t far behind, but you can make a cookie crust with nearly any kind of cookie. This recipe deploys a gingersnap crust for warm flavors that lift the earthy pumpkin. Looking for something a little more casual? Check out this recipe for Marbled Pumpkin-Cheesecake Bars from Epicurious.
15/29Pumpkin Spice Cake With Caramel and Cream Cheese Frosting
If you want something impressive-looking that doesn’t take as much time as this layer cake, our friends over at Epicurious have an equally delicious spiced pumpkin Bundt cake that only needs a dusting of powdered sugar or the ascribed buttermilk glaze once cool.
Chelsie Craig17/29Pumpkin Sheet Cake With Toasted Marshmallows
If there weren’t already marshmallows topping the sweet potato casserole served during your main course, then this should be your Thanksgiving dessert. (Give people what they want! They want marshmallows!)
18/29Pumpkin Flan
Flan is an elegant choice to close out any meal. This pumpkin version is perfumed with orange zest, cardamom, star anise, and cinnamon, making it a wonderfully creamy gluten-free dessert option.
21/29Four-Layer Pumpkin Cake With Orange-Cream Cheese Frosting
It’s giving classic, American diner-style carrot cake—but with pumpkin instead. (Frankly, we’ll take a store-bought can of pumpkin purée instead of grating carrots until we scrape our knuckles.)
22/29Pumpkin-Pear Crisps
All the fall greats are here: pumpkin, yes—meat and seeds—but also butternut squash, pears, and golden raisins. This is not to mention the maple syrup, cinnamon, and cloves.
25/29Pumpkin Cheesecake
26/29Vegan Pumpkin Spice Cinnamon Rolls
Honestly, we prefer to call these pumpkin-roll cinnamon rolls since there’s pumpkin purée in the dough, pumpkin spice blend in the filling—and more pumpkin spice in the maple buttercream, to boot.
Alex Lau27/29Pumpkin Bread With Toasted Coconut
Make sure your eggs and coconut oil are at room temperature for this pumpkin bread recipe: Cold eggs can cause the to oil seize, making the batter uneven. (This is a tip you can apply to any oil-based cake.)
28/29Brown Sugar Pumpkin Crème Brûlée
You’re going to be using egg yolks for this crème brûlée—for any crème brûlée—so what about the whites? Don’t throw them in the trash; they’ll stay fresh for up to two days in the fridge and they can be turned into so many things.
29/29Pineapple Upside-Down Pumpkin Gingerbread
The title of this pumpkin dessert is all you really need to understand why we saved it for last: It’s a pineapple upside-down cake and pumpkin cake and gingerbread all in one.
