I celebrated an exciting first this Halloween season: I visited my very first apple orchard!
We don’t have many apple orchards in Houston – I would assume because our climate is too warm – so when I got the chance to visit one during my trip to Wisconsin, I was thrilled. I was dreaming of my first real frozen apple cider, donuts and dancing through the orchard.
While it didn’t quite look like that (thanks, COVID), it DID look a little something like this:

My parents and I picked Cortland apples out the orchard – I had some serious flashbacks to this scene in “The Wizard of Oz” and kept expecting the trees to swat at me. Then we filled up on Honeycrisp apples already picked in the orchard’s shop and brought home our bounty. I immediately made these apple crisp cookies, which were amazing. The rest of my apples came home to Texas, and I’ve been enjoying them with meals. I still have a few left, so it might be time to try one of the recipes in this post.
If you’re looking for a way to beat those post-Halloween blues, cooking up a recipe or two with some of our favorite fall flavors is the perfect solution! You can check out my previous two pumpkin recipe posts here and here.
For today…give me ALL the apple recipes!
Sweet Apple Recipes:

Apple Crisp Cookies
When I asked for apple recipe suggestions on Instagram after visiting the orchard, apple crisp was one I heard over and over. I decided to take it a step further and make cookies. And they were DELICIOUS. GET THE RECIPE

Baked Apple Cider Donuts
You can’t go wrong with a classic! Check out this super easy recipe to make your own at home. GET THE RECIPE

Caramel Apple Cinnamon Roll Lasagna
If that photo doesn’t have your mouth watering, the recipe name surely will. How amazing do you bet this tastes hot out of the oven? GET THE RECIPE

Caramel Apple Bark
Bark recipes are some of my favorites because they are so easy and almost impossible to mess up. Plus, I love all the tastes and textures you can combine! GET THE RECIPE

Apple Pie Bread Pudding
Bread pudding is one of those rich, decadent desserts I absolutely love and never enjoy often enough. Make it apple-flavored and add vanilla ice cream? I’m in heaven. GET THE RECIPE
Savory Apple Recipes:

Apple Grilled Cheese
Sure, you’ve had the classic grilled cheese sandwich with American cheese…but what about a fancy one with gouda and apple slices? GET THE RECIPE

Apple Cider Meatballs
Go savory with these apple cider-flavored meatballs. Sound just strange enough to work, right? Plus, this is a slow cooker recipe which makes it super easy to throw together. GET THE RECIPE

Caramelized Onion & Cheddar Crostinis with Prosciutto Wrapped Apples
Need an appetizer that looks fancy but is actually easy to put together? These crostinis with prosciutto wrapped apples are to-die-for and just went on my “to make” list for Thanksgiving. GET THE RECIPE

Bacon Bleu Cheese and Apple Flatbread
Apples are the perfect balance of sweet and tart to mix with salty and yes, even slightly funky ingredients…like this flatbread. GET THE RECIPE

Savory Stuffed Apples
Apples can also be the perfect cooking vessel, like these ones filled with a sausage stuffing. YUM! GET THE RECIPE
Apple Recipes: Drinks

Apple Cider Margaritas
This one is from right here on Spooky Little Halloween! For my 2018 Halloweenie Roast, I made a trio of fall-flavored margaritas, and this apple cider recipe makes its return to my glass every fall. GET THE RECIPE

Apple Cider Moscow Mule
I usually think of Moscow Mules as a spring or summertime drink, but – much like my own margarita recipe – I love this fall spin on it! GET THE RECIPE

Apple Cider
Nothing is better in the late fall than the warm scent of apple cider wafting through the air. Learn how to make your own apple cider in a slow cooker. GET THE RECIPE

Caramel Apple Sangria
Sangria is one of those things that sounds and feels fancy…but is SO easy to make. This one uses caramel-flavored vodka, pinot grigio and apple cider. GET THE RECIPE

Apple Cider Mimosas
And finally, the perfect cocktail for a fall brunch. These are one of my favorite alternatives to traditional mimosas. GET THE RECIPE
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What’s your favorite apple recipe?
Share a link in the comments or let me know which one of these apple recipes you’re now dying to try.
Happy haunting,




Kristen
Hey Miranda,
These recipes look amazing! I can’t wait to try out making your apple crisp cookies! Thank you for the newest additions to my fall recipe boxes! (I have two boxes in my kitchen dedicated to fall recipes, “Treats” for desserts and sweets and “Tricks” for savory recipes; I saw the idea on Pinterest somewhere and fell in LOVE with it.)
Miranda | Spooky Little Halloween
Ha! I love the idea of splitting them between tricks and treats. :) Let me know what you think of those cookies when you make them.
Autumn Zenith
What a lip-lickingly marvelous array of apple recipes. Yum-yum!
You would likely adore our corner of Canada. We at the northernmost tip of BC’s Okanagan, which has been one of the country’s largest apple (and pear, peach, apricot, wine grape, etc) growing hubs for well over a century now. Plenty of orchards offer pick-your-own apples and they abound at local produce stands during the late summer and on through the fall.
As well, in some areas (including our own neighbourhood), some apple trees have gone rouge over the years and now grow wild. I harvest some each year. They’re sweet and juicy, a touch tart and – though this might just be my imagination – somehow taste more old-fashioned than most commercial varieties. I’m getting hungry just thinking about it! 😄
Autumn Zenith 🎃 Witchcrafted Life
Miranda | Spooky Little Halloween
How magical to have all that fresh produce available from local farms. :)