Fall is synonymous with baking season, so there’s no better time to bake with fresh produce, warm spices and comforting ingredients. We’re talking crisp apples, tart cranberries, tender pumpkin, earthy cinnamon, decadent caramel and beyond. But there’s one seasonal flavor we tend to neglect (until we’re about to dig into a stack of pancakes, that is): maple. Whether you’re using maple extract, maple sugar or maple syrup, its sweet, toffee-like qualities will infuse your baked goods with all the autumn magic. Read on for 40 maple desserts that will wow your guests on Thanksgiving (or any old Tuesday).
40 Maple Desserts That Taste Like Autumn Bliss
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Published Oct 16, 2023
- Time Commitment: 1 hour and 30 minutes (plus chilling time)
- Why We Love It: crowd-pleaser, special occasion-worthy
Swapping traditional corn syrup for maple syrup not only keeps the pie from tasting sickly sweet, but it also infuses the filling with lots of fall flavor. We call that a win-win.
- Time Commitment: 3 hours and 10 minutes (includes chilling time)
- Why We Love It: make ahead, beginner-friendly, crowd-pleaser
Bookmark the recipe now to impress at the holiday cookie swap later. You can even prepare and chill the dough ahead, so all you’ll have to do the day of is slice and bake the cookies.
3. Baked Pears with Maple Syrup and Almond Crumble
- Time Commitment: 35 minutes
- Why We Love It: crowd-pleaser, gluten free, beginner-friendly
Why should apples have all the fun? This fork-tender pear dessert comes together in just 35 minutes. Best of all, it's crowned with whipped cream and an almond-oat crumble.
4. Aran Goyoaga’s Peanut Butter-Banana Cookies
- Time Commitment: 30 minutes
- Why We Love It: vegan, gluten-free, crowd-pleaser, <10 ingredients
Believe it or not, these handhelds are vegan, gluten-free and sweetened with maple syrup and coconut sugar instead of refined white sugar. We're betting you already have most of the necessary ingredients, too.
5. Dorie Greenspan’s Miso-Maple Loaf
- Time Commitment: 1 hour and 5 minutes
- Why We Love It: crowd-pleaser, special occasion-worthy, make ahead
This recipe is proof that you should always have white miso on hand. Its salty, umami-laced flavor makes it a prime pairing with maple syrup. The crumb is ridiculously moist, too, thanks to buttermilk in the batter.
- Time Commitment: 30 minutes
- Why We Love It: crowd-pleaser, <10 ingredients, gluten free, beginner-friendly
Usually, cookies fall into one of two camps: They’re either healthy or they actually taste good. Luckily, this five-ingredient recipe checks both boxes. Even picky kids will scarf 'em down.
7. Pumpkin Scones with Maple and Molasses Glaze
- Time Commitment: 30 minutes
- Why We Love It: make ahead, crowd-pleaser,
The light, sweet glaze on top calls for maple extract, but you can make it bolder and more decadent by substituting molasses. (Heck, go ahead and use them both.)
8. Nutty Maple Glazed Cookie Bars
- Time Commitment: 50 minutes
- Why We Love It: vegan, gluten free, make ahead, crowd-pleaser
Thanks in part to tapioca and almond flours, these bars are vegan, Paleo-friendly and gluten-free. But you don’t need to be on a special diet to thoroughly enjoy these chewy gems, trust.
9. Buckwheat Apple Galette with Maple Walnut Frangipane
- Time Commitment: 1 hour and 30 minutes
- Why We Love It: gluten free, make ahead, crowd-pleaser
Buckwheat flour in the pie dough offers toasty, nutty flavor to every bite, while maple sugar *and* maple syrup up the seasonal ante. If you don’t serve it with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, you’re doing it wrong.
10. Brown Sugar Maple Chocolate Pecan Pie Bars
- Time Commitment: 1 hour
- Why We Love It: crowd-pleaser, make ahead, special occasion-worthy
So. Much. Butter. Dark brown sugar, maple syrup, vanilla extract and bourbon unite to create the ultimate fall dessert. You can skip the bourbon in the pecan filling if you'd prefer (but we wouldn't).
- Time Commitment: 40 minutes
- Why We Love It: crowd-pleaser, kid-friendly, make ahead
We can’t decide what we love more—the light-as-air cookies (or are they cakes?) or the pillowy maple-cream cheese frosting. Guess we'll need to eat a second one to decide.
12. Sticky Rolls with Pecan Bourbon Maple Filling and Eggnog Glaze
- Time Commitment: 1 hour and 50 minutes
- Why We Love It: special occasion-worthy, crowd-pleaser
These pillowy, glaze-topped buns have Christmas morning written all over them. Use vanilla bourbon in the filling for a more nuanced flavor.
13. Soft Pumpkin Cookies with Salted Maple Icing
- Time Commitment: 55 minutes
- Why We Love It: make ahead, kid-friendly, crowd-pleaser
Most pumpkin cookies are crowned with a layer of cream cheese frosting, but these are finished with an easy four-ingredient icing instead. Finish the cookies with chopped nuts or flaky salt if desired.
15. Healthy Peanut Butter Rice Krispie Treats
- Time Commitment: 30 minutes
- Why We Love It: crowd-pleaser, <10 ingredients, gluten free
Peanut butter takes over for marshmallows to bind the treats together, while maple syrup holds down the fort on the sweetness front. To turn the treats into a post-workout snack, add protein powder to the mix.
- Time Commitment: 20 minutes
- Why We Love It: <10 ingredients, beginner-friendly, kid-friendly, <30 minutes
File these under: surprisingly unfussy. Canned biscuit dough is used in place of homemade dough, so the confections will be ready to eat in 20 minutes flat.
- Time Commitment: 2 hours and 25 minutes (includes resting time)
- Why We Love It: crowd-pleaser, make ahead, special occasion-worthy
Complete with fresh maple meringue and maple-infused sweet potato filling. Might we suggest using a store-bought pie crust to cut down on prep time?
- Time Commitment: 30 minutes
- Why We Love It: crowd-pleaser, beginner-friendly, make ahead
These guys are bursting with fall flair, courtesy of pumpkin pie spice, cinnamon, canned pumpkin purée and maple syrup. Use non-dairy milk for the maple glaze to make the recipe totally dairy-free.
19. Peanut Butter and Jelly Oatmeal Bake
- Time Commitment: 40 minutes
- Why We Love It: crowd-pleaser, gluten-free, one pan
Maple syrup is used as a better-for-you sweetener in this nostalgic dessert. Feel free to use whatever jam you have on hand to finish the bake; we're partial to raspberry.
20. Maple Chestnut Pudding Chômeurs
- Time Commitment: 40 minutes
- Why We Love It: crowd-pleaser, special occasion-worthy, gluten free
You'll adore this traditional winter treat that hails from Quebec. This rendition stars a chestnut flour cake drizzled with brown butter coffee-maple sauce.
- Time Commitment: 2 hours and 30 minutes (includes chilling time)
- Why We Love It: make ahead, crowd-pleaser, kid-friendly
Crisp edges, chewy centers and a generous drizzle of maple icing: What's not to love? Chill the cookie dough a day ahead so they don't spread in the oven—and so you can hit the ground running when you're ready to bake.
22. Sweet Potato Bundt Cake with Maple Icing
- Time Commitment: 50 minutes
- Why We Love It: crowd-pleaser, make ahead, beginner-friendly
Sweet potatoes are just as overlooked as maple when it comes to fall dessert ingredients. Give this 50-minute masterpiece a chance and you’ll never forsake spuds again.
- Time Commitment: 45 minutes
- Why We Love It: crowd-pleaser, make ahead, beginner-friendly
Classic blondies get a long-overdue makeover in the form of chopped walnuts, maple syrup and a hefty glug of bourbon. The secret to their deeply nutty, caramel-like flavor, you ask? Brown butter.
24. Brown Butter Chewy Maple Brown Sugar Cookies
- Time Commitment: 40 minutes (includes chilling time)
- Why We Love It: beginner-friendly, crowd-pleaser,
Bless these cookies and their toasty, brown sugar-y flavor. Psst, their supremely moist texture and bold autumnal flavor that's equal parts sweet and tart come courtesy of apple butter.
25. Brown Butter Maple Chess Pie
- Time Commitment: 4 hours and 50 minutes (includes chilling time)
- Why We Love It: make ahead, crowd-pleaser, special occasion-worthy
Chess pie is a type of custard pie that’s super popular in the South. This one is best topped with a simple flurry of confectioners' sugar and a dollop of fresh whipped cream.
- Time Commitment: 30 minutes
- Why We Love It: crowd-pleaser, make ahead, beginner-friendly
Leave a plate of these out for Santa and you'll definitely be in for the gift haul of the century. Drop the dough balls onto a plate of coarse sugar and roll them before baking for a crispy, crystallized look and texture.
- Time Commitment: 50 minutes
- Why We Love It: crowd-pleaser, beginner-friendly
Use a variety of sweet-tart apples to intensify the dessert’s flavor. (We’re partial to Granny Smith, Pink Lady, Gala and Honeycrisp apples, since they hold their shape as they bake instead of turning to mush.)
28. Maple Pecan Bars with Sea Salt
- Time Commitment: 40 minutes
- Why We Love It: crowd-pleaser, make ahead, beginner-friendly, air fryer recipe
These easy bars bake to gooey perfection in the air fryer. We love that you won’t have to worry about the goopy middle setting like you would with a round pie.
30. Maple Cheesecake with Boursin Maple Bourbon Cheese
- Time Commitment: 8 hours and 40 minutes (includes chilling time)
- Why We Love It: make ahead, crowd-pleaser, special occasion-worthy
BRB, diving headfirst into the Insta-worthy maple-pecan topping. The crust is just as drool-worthy, since it's mostly shredded coconut, pecans and butter.
31. Baked Pumpkin Doughnuts with Maple Glaze
- Time Commitment: 35 minutes
- Why We Love It: crowd-pleaser, beginner-friendly, make ahead
Alexa, add two doughnut pans to our cart please. These beauties offer all the satisfaction of a farm-fresh fall treat—minus the messy frying.
32. Peach Fritters with Maple Glaze
- Time Commitment: 2 hours and 20 minutes (includes resting time)
- Why We Love It: kid-friendly, crowd-pleaser, special occasion-worthy
Black Friday breakfast has never looked better. Feel free to use canned, drained peaches, since fresh ones are out of season in the fall.
34. Healthy 5-Ingredient Cake Batter Freezer Fudge
- Time Commitment: 35 minutes
- Why We Love It: <10 ingredients, vegan, beginner-friendly
Even your low-carb-leaning relatives can get in on this confection, since it’s free of refined sugar and made mostly from cashew and coconut butters. Go ahead and go wild with the rainbow sprinkles.
- Time Commitment: 4 hours and 5 minutes (includes chilling time)
- Why We Love It: crowd-pleaser, special occasion-worthy, make ahead
Candied ginger adds a spicy je nais se quoi to this seasonal stunner. If you want the heat to be even more intense, add some freshly grated ginger to the filling, too.
- Time Commitment: 6 hours and 40 minutes (includes chilling time)
- Why We Love It: make ahead, crowd-pleaser, <10 ingredients
Maple sugar is made by evaporating all the liquid out of maple syrup, a process that leaves behind tiny granules of fall-flavored magic. While it's usually used as a finishing touch, here, it's the main ingredient (yum).
- Time Commitment: 2 hours (includes chilling time)
- Why We Love It: <10 ingredients, gluten free, make ahead
These slender minis are easy to nibble on at any holiday shindig and come studded with chopped hazelnuts for a fancy textural element. They’d made a great homemade Christmas gift, no?
- Time Commitment: 5 hours
- Why We Love It: crowd-pleaser, beginner-friendly, make ahead
Not only is there bacon fat in the batter, but these cupcakes also taste just like pancakes. Don’t even get us started on the maple buttercream and the candied bacon topper.
39. No-Bake Salted Tahini Cookie Dough Fudge
- Time Commitment: 20 minutes (plus chilling time)
- Why We Love It: crowd-pleaser, make ahead, <10 ingredients, no bake
This is one no-bake recipe you'll want to keep your back pocket for whenever you sweet tooth is acting up. The fudge will keep in the freezer for up to three months—but we doubt it’ll last an hour.
40. Chai Pumpkin Pie with Maple Whipped Cream
- Time Commitment: 1 hour and 45 minutes
- Why We Love It: crowd-pleaser, special occasion-worthy, make ahead
Don’t look now, but the roast turkey is getting super jealous of this Thanksgiving treasure. Blame it on the festive pie crust decorations on top (and the maple whipped cream).
