Martha Stewart’s Fall Menu Just Came to Maman—Here’s a Food Editor’s Ranking of 5 New Items

• What Is It: butternut squash, carrots, comté cheese, red onion, roasted garlic and fresh sage, baked in an all-butter crust
• Price: $11

The crust was sturdy, yet delicate enough to be cut with just a fork. It was also well salted and quite flavorful on its own. The nutty, buttery cheese played so well with the herbaceous sage. The onion turned sweet alongside the other components, while the butternut squash and carrot were cooked to tender perfection. I liked their choice of using small, whole carrots for an elegant presentation. While there were multiple parts I enjoyed, I felt this pick was a bit more one-note than the rest (but hear me out—it was still scrumptious).

• What Is It: sugar-crusted croissantfilled with crunchy caramel cream, topped with cocoa nibs
• Price: $7

I had high hopes for this number, considering the Crème Brûlée iteration was my top pick of the summer lineup and Martha Stewart’s pastries are famous for their heavenly quality. While I preferred the last one, the croissant base was still impossibly flaky and buttery; it genuinely reminded me of the croissants I had in France without that weird, tough-to-break, glossy exterior that so many American equivalents have. The cream on the inside was cloud-like in texture, serving as a mild foil for the robust, thick, dulce de leche-like caramel. Between the salt of the latter and the crunchy, slightly bitter cocoa nibs on top, this fall dessert (OK, or breakfast) checked all the right boxes in terms of both texture and flavor.

• What Is It: roasted chicken, apples, sharp cheddar and candied bacon on multigrain sourdough
• Price: $17

Man, that cheddar was *delicious.* Sharp, salty, durable and paired with tart green apples, it was like having my favorite bite of charcuterie nestled in a sandwich. (As much as I loved it, I can also see gorgonzola or Manchego being stellar alternatives.) The chicken was very tender. The filling had enough mayo for it to be creamy, but not so much that it was messy or heavy. The dressing had a fresh, celery-kissed flavor. I loved how subtly indulgent the candied bacon was. It imparted a touch of balancing sweetness to the sandwich, but it was still equal parts salty and savory, as well as chewy and crunchy. The glazed fat was ridiculously tasty. I also quite enjoyed the bread for its sturdiness, texture and wheaty profile.

• What Is It: hot or iced apple cider steeped with ginger, orange peel, clove and cinnamon, finished with house-made caramel
• Price: from $5

This was a far cry from steamed apple juice (no offense, Starbucks—I still love the Caramel Apple Spice!). As soon as the mug hits your table, you’ll be overcome with the aroma of warming spices. Once you sip, you’ll flood your taste buds with the taste of sweet-tart, almost jammy apple, vibrant citrus and woody clove. You’ll note the tamed sharpness of the ginger in the finish. The caramel just blended in, but perhaps that’s where the drink got its modest sweetness.

• What Is It: Bundt cake finished with rum, butter, vanilla glaze and a hint of lemon
• Price: $5.50

Only someone who really knows how to party—or how to throw one at least—could have created this boozy delight. (I mean you, Martha.) The vanilla was positively singing in every gritty crumb of glaze; imagine you could make the smell of vanilla extract edible, minus the alcoholic burn. The Bundt cake was dense in the center and very tender and sweetly saturated on the top and bottom. The rum flavor was undeniably present, but it was by no means as dominant as the vanilla. This has Christmas dessert written all over it, IMO.

• What Is It: espresso, milk of your choice, house-made honey butter sauce, vanilla bean, sweet corn foam and gluten-free cornbread crumbs, served hot or iced
• Price: from $6

This was exactly as I hoped it would be! It’s not part of the Martha Stewart lineup, but after seeing it on Instagram, I had to make the most of my visit. I ordered it hot for maximum coziness. The espresso was roasty without being bitter or bold; perhaps they use blonde beans? The vanilla specks made it look elevated, and it tasted like vanilla without being bogged down by sweetness. The highlight was no doubt the salty corn foam, which tasted buttery and lightly savory. The crumbs made a beautiful finishing touch, and they offered a bready edge to every few sips.