3 Desserts To Add To Your Autumn Baking Agenda

Fall is the perfect time for baking with friends, stress baking during midterm season... or both! Whatever the reason, banana bread, chai and cinnamon cupcakes, cranberry oatmeal cookies, are musts for anyone's fall baking agenda!

First on the Fall Baking Agenda... Banana Bread!

Banana bread is always a classic for everyone's go-to baking list. I always find it so exciting to taste and try different versions because every type of banana bread is so unique. Some even have tasty add-ins or crispy baked crumbles on top! The textures always vary from being bread-like to cake-like to anywhere in the middle. I believe that the one thing that every banana bread lover has in common is a stash of overripe frozen bananas in their freezer. At this point, I have so many in mine, but the more the merrier!

This banana bread recipe is best warm or eaten within a day. It can easily be made gluten-free or vegan too! I made mine gluten-free and vegan by replacing the all-purpose (AP) flour for King Arthur's Measure for Measure Flour. This recipe can also be used in any small pan or tin that you have available. It was surprisingly super fluffy and light for gluten-free and it had a nice balance between all the flavors. 

Banana Bread

• Prep Time:20 mins
• Cook Time:15 mins
• Total Time:35 mins
• Servings:4
• Easy

Ingredients

• 1 1/4 cup AP flour
• 2 tablespoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 large ripe banana
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/3 cup milk or non-dairy substitute + 2-3 tablespoons for glaze
• 1/3 neutral oil vegetable avocado or coconut
• 2 tablespoon maple syrup
• 1 cup powdered sugar
• splash vanilla

• Step 1

  Preheat oven to 375° F. Mix flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt in a medium bowl.

  

• Step 2

  In a separate bowl, mash the banana. Add brown sugar, milk, neutral oil, and maple syrup to the bowl with the mashed banana.

  

• Step 3

  Add the dry ingredient mixture to the banana mixture bowl and fold until incorporated. Be careful not to overmix!

  

• Step 4

  Fill muffin tins, mini bundt cake pans, or mini loaf pans with batter about 3/4 of the way full.

• Step 5

  Bake for 12-15 minutes until you put in a toothpick and comes out clean, then cool on cooling rack.

  

• Step 6

  Create a powdered sugar glaze by combining powdered sugar, milk, and splash of vanilla in a small bowl. Drizzle on top of cooled muffin, bundt cake, or mini loaf. Enjoy!

Next Up on the Fall Baking Agenda: Chai Cupcakes with Cinnamon Frosting

These cupcakes are the perfect treat for any fall festivity or when you just want your kitchen to smell of delicious spices. About a year ago, my friend @stephanieeatsfood shared this recipe with me. It definitely had a pumpkin bread taste even though there was no pumpkin in it whatsoever. The cupcakes themselves were very light and airy, and also super good for fall and thanksgiving time!

This recipe can also be made gluten-free or vegan depending on your dietary restrictions. To make it gluten-free, replace the AP flour with a measure-for-measure gluten-free flour. To make it vegan, replace the egg with an extra half cup of applesauce and replace the butter with the same amount of coconut or neutral oil for the batter and vegan butter for the frosting. For the frosting, you can use the recipe below, but I recommend following the Vegan Buttercream Frosting Recipe by Minimalist Baker. 

Chai Cupcakes with Cinnamon Frosting

• Prep Time:30 mins
• Cook Time:30 mins
• Total Time:1 hr
• Servings:24
• Medium

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups AP flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon + 1 teaspoon for frosting
• 3/4 teaspoon cardamom
• 1/2 teaspoon ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon cloves
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup butter + 1 cup for frosting
• 3 eggs
• 1/4 cup apple sauce
• 1 cup milk or non-dairy alternative
• 4 chai tea bags
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 4 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar

• Step 1

  Preheat oven to 350°.

• Step 2

  In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, cardamom, ginger, nutmeg, and cloves.

• Step 3

  In a small saucepan, warm milk until it just simmers (watch carefully). Remove from heat and add tea bags. Steep for 10 minutes and cool to room temperature.

• Step 4

  In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar until fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, mixing in between. Add applesauce and mix until just incorporated.

• Step 5

  Pour 1/3 of dry ingredients and 1/3 of milk mixture and mix. Continue this until all ingredients are incorporated.

• Step 6

  Line muffin tin with wrappers and fill with batter until around 3/4 of the way full.

• Step 7

  Bake for 14-16 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool on a cooling rack.

  

• Step 8

  To make the frosting, cream together powdered sugar, vanilla, and butter until smooth and fluffy. Add a tablespoon of milk if the frosting is too stiff.

• Step 9

  Decorate and enjoy!

Last But Not Least on the Fall Baking Agenda...Cranberry Oatmeal Cookies!

This is one of the easiest cookie recipes I know! You can either make the dough the day of, OR ahead of time. 

To destress from midterm season (something everyone deserves to do), @stephanieeatsfood and I made the cookies together to celebrate. They can be easily modified to be gluten-free or vegan as well! To make it gluten-free, either replace the AP with a measure-for-measure gluten-free flour. To make it vegan, substitute the 2 eggs with 2 flaxseed eggs (1 tablespoon ground flaxseed + 3 tablespoons water = 1 flaxseed egg) and the butter for vegan butter.

For this recipe, you can also add in dark chocolate chips, chopped nuts, other dried fruit, and more. The possibilities are endless!

Cranberry Oatmeal Cookies

• Prep Time:30 secs
• Cook Time:10 secs
• Total Time:40 secs
• Servings:24
• Easy

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup butter
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 1/4 cup AP flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 3/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves optional
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 3/4 rolled oats
• 1 cup dried cranberries

• Step 1

  Preheat oven to 375°.

• Step 2

  In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar until fluffy. Add in vanilla. Mix in one egg at a time.

  

• Step 3

  In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt.

• Step 4

  Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix until combined.

  

• Step 5

  Stir in oats and cranberries (if you are adding any other mix-ins add them now!).

  

• Step 6

  Roll dough into 1 inch balls and place on cookie sheet 2 inches apart.

  

• Step 7

  Bake for 8-10 minutes, cool, and enjoy!