Fall baked goods: (From left) pumpkin whoopie pies, apple cobbler and pumpkin roll.
Photos and graphic by Dani Ramirez
By Dani Ramirez
Ever since I was around the age of four, I have loved baking sweet treats. I started baking with boxed desserts, like cakes, brownies and cupcakes, often topping them with store-bought frosting. In December of 2022, I decided to try something new. I was in the Christmas spirit and wanted to make gingerbread people; however, I wasn’t a huge fan of gingerbread flavor. I still wanted to bake something similar, so I thought sugar cookies were the next best thing. Since then, I have learned to make many kinds of baked goods from scratch. Not only is the process fun and sometimes chaotic, but in the end, I get to eat a sweet treat I made with my own hands and creativity. My favorite sweets to bake are sugar cookies because I can cut them into any shape I want, either with a cookie cutter or freehand with a knife. For me, baking is like making edible art, which is why I enjoy frosting cookies so much because it is like drawing on a cookie canvas.
Dani, at the age of four, learning to bake banana bread in the kitchen
Photo courtesy of Dani Ramirez
Sharing what I bake has always been one of the highlights of my holidays. I also love watching holiday baking shows on the Food Network; these shows fuel my passion for baking and inspire me to try different recipes. Along with sharing my baked goods with friends, I also enjoy sharing the recipes that I have found over the years. Below are three of my go-to recipes that will help sweeten your fall season, as well as some tips I use while baking. I also included photos of how my desserts came out after using each recipe that you can use as inspiration when plating your own.
Pumpkin Roll
Last fall, my aunt showed me this recipe from Tastes Better From Scratch. I am a huge fan of cream cheese filling and was super excited to see how it would taste with pumpkin rather than my usual red velvet cake. I instantly became hooked on the recipe. My favorite part is sprinkling the powdered sugar on at the end!
Dani’s Tips!
• This goes for all the recipes I share, but do not hesitate to add extra vanilla! I often add an extra tablespoon for more flavor.
• One thing I recommend when rolling the cake is to make sure you do not wait too long, or else it may crack.
• When adding the cream cheese filling, make sure the cake is completely cooled, or the frosting will start to melt. If this happens, you may not end up with the swirl you were hoping for.
• Before you put your pumpkin roll in the refrigerator, make sure it is tightly wrapped in plastic wrap so that it does not come undone while chilling.
• Lastly, if you wish to take photos of what you created, make sure to take them quickly as the powdered sugar will start to melt into the roll due to moisture.
Graphic by Dani Ramirez
Apple Cobbler
I found this recipe by A Cork, Fork & Passport in high school during the COVID-19 lockdown. I enrolled in a culinary class my senior year, and for an assignment, we had to choose a recipe to add to a recipe book we had been creating throughout the semester. It was during the fall season, and after searching through a few websites, I decided to make apple cobbler because I had all of the ingredients in my pantry, and it seemed fairly simple.
Dani’s Tips!
• For this recipe, I used Granny Smith apples; not only are they my favorite, but I feel the sour-tart flavor is a nice balance to the sweet dessert. However, if you are not a fan of tart flavors, feel free to use another kind of apple.
• I cut my apples smaller than 1 inch, so that they are more bite-sized.
• When choosing the right baking dish, make sure it is both deep and wide enough. During the baking process, the cobbler will expand and may overflow if you use a dish that is too small. I’ve baked this recipe using both an oval and a rectangular dish; while the rectangular dish did fine, the oval one caused the cobbler to slightly overflow in the oven.
• For the ice cream, I enjoy pairing the cobbler with a classic vanilla flavor.
Graphic by Dani Ramirez
Pumpkin Whoopie Pies
This is a recipe I found last year in a Christmas cookie magazine by Better Homes & Gardens. Out of all the recipes in the magazine, I leaned towards these because they most resembled macaroons, which I’ve loved making in the past. Unfortunately, humidity plays a big part in macaroons baking successfully, so I thought the whoopie pies would be a good alternative for when I’m craving something similar.
Dani’s Tips!
• When prepping my baking sheet, I place a gridded silicone baking mat on top, so the grid ensures my pies stay relatively the same size. I recommend a silicone baking mat because it is flexible, which can also make removing the pies easier.
• When dropping the dough onto the sheet, I like using a piping bag. It makes things less messy and allows you to easily control the dough to get those perfect circles.
• When making the filling, you should mix until it reaches stiff peaks; this means when you lift your mixer, it should form what looks like little gnome hats.
• When adding the filling, work from the center out, but do not add too much. When you sandwich two pieces together, if you add too much filling, it will spill out.
• I enjoy these mini whoopie pies chilled; pop them in the refrigerator for a couple of minutes for a nice cool treat.
Graphic by Dani Ramirez
During the fall months, I enjoy making recipes that include pumpkin and apple, along with fall-themed sugar cookies. Baking has always been a fun experience for me and I look forward to baking more sweets this season. If you enjoy baking, give these recipes a try or look for others that might interest you. If you are not already a baker, I hope that these inspire you to give baking a try!
