The Best Apples for Baking + Fall Recipes

It’s fall y’all! I know, sorry for the classic Pinterest cliché, but when fall arrives, I get very excited (and no, it’s not because of Pumpkin Spice Lattes). This time of year is my favorite for a few different reasons:

1. My red hair and freckly, fair skin enjoys the cooler weather (and lack of constant sunburn from summer).
2. It’s absolutely gorgeous outside – which is a given.
3. Creating delicious dishes with the best apples for baking is an acceptable weekend task, every weekend, all fall long.

Fall and baking are like oven mitts and baking sheets – they go hand in hand (pun not intended). And during this time of the year, apples become a very popular ingredient, but it can be difficult to narrow down what variety to use. To help you this fall season, we narrowed down the best baking apples and shared a few of our favorite apple recipes. Happy Fall!

Golden Delicious: The Golden Delicious is an apple that works well for both cooking and baking. This mellow, sweet apple is thin-skinned and crisp, with a nice, silky texture, perfect for pies as it won’t break down too easily in high temperatures. Try a Golden Delicious in this Classic Apple Pie recipe because can you ever go wrong with Apple Pie?

Pink Lady^®: Whether you’re a fan of the tart apple or not, it’s hard to deny she does well in the oven. Due to her dense flesh, she deals well in high heats making her a top contender in the kitchen. Plus her sweet-tart flavor adds a unique taste to any dish. The Pink Lady^® apple would be great in this Slow Cooker Apple Sauce recipe. Plus, you can make the sauce pink-hued by cooking the whole apple instead of peeling the skin (the skin has the most nutrients too!).

Granny Smith: It’s no secret the Granny Smith apple made this list. Known for its tart flavor, the Granny Smith is popular among chefs and bakers alike due to its dense flesh, tolerance for very high cooking temperatures and high acidic levels. It’s ideal for any recipe. We like the Granny Smith best in this Irish Apple Cake recipe. The apples and the Whiskey Hard Sauce is a perfect combination.

Piñata^®: The Piñata^® apple is a newer apple variety ideal for the chopping block. Piñata^® apples are crisp, juicy and have classic apple flavors with a tropical twist. They are a dense apple allowing them to withstand high cooking temperatures. One of our favorite recipes with Piñata^® apples is this delish Caramel Apple Cheesecake – a dessert perfect for the holidays.

Fuji: Known for being one of the sweetest apples around, the Fuji variety works well in the kitchen. They are very crisp and juicy, and their flavor resembles that of freshly pressed apple juice, which is why we love the Fuji apple in this Homemade Apple Cider recipe.

So tell us, what are your best baking apples this fall season?