Fall baking season is here, and these are the desserts that get requested again the second they’re gone: caramel apple hand pies, warm apple crisp, pumpkin lava cake with a molten center, pecan pie, cinnamon churro bites and more. Nearly all of them are made in the air fryer, so you’re not heating the whole house for one pan of brownies, and every recipe leans on the three flavors that mean fall: apple, pumpkin and cinnamon.
I’ve split them into apple, pumpkin and cinnamon-and-everything-else so you can find what you’re craving fast. Pick one for tonight and bookmark the rest for Thanksgiving.
Apple Desserts
Air Fryer Old Fashioned Apple Crisp
Warm spiced apples under a buttery brown sugar oat topping, baked in the air fryer until the top is crisp and the filling bubbles. Serve it with vanilla ice cream or a drizzle of caramel. This is the one I make first every September.
Air Fryer Apple Crisp for Two
Same cozy crisp, scaled down to two ramekins and ready in 25 minutes. No leftovers, no oven, and just the right amount for a weeknight dessert.
Air fryer: 350°F, about 15 minutes
Air Fryer Caramel Apple Hand Pies
![Golden air fryer caramel apple hand pies drizzled with caramel sauce]](http://forktospoon.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Air-Fryer-Caramel-Apple-Hand-Pies-11-760x760.png)
Flaky pie crust wrapped around apple pie filling and caramel, air fried until golden and finished with cinnamon sugar and more caramel. They’re portable, they freeze well, and they vanish from any dessert table.
Air Fryer Apple Hand Pies
The classic version: mini apple pies made with premade pie crust and baked in minutes. All the flavor of homemade apple pie, none of the rolling and crimping a full pie takes.
Easy Air Fryer Apple Pie Bombs
Biscuit dough stuffed with apple pie filling, air fried until golden, then dipped in butter and rolled in cinnamon sugar. They’re like apple pie donut holes and they take under 10 minutes to cook.
Air fryer: 350°F, 8–9 minutes
Air Fryer Caramel Apple Danish
![Air fryer caramel apple danish made with crescent rolls and drizzled with caramel]](http://forktospoon.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Air-Fryer-Caramel-Apple-Danish-7-760x760.png)
Crescent dough filled with a cream cheese, chopped apple and caramel mixture, baked until flaky and topped with a caramel drizzle. They look like bakery pastries and take about 8 minutes.
Air fryer: 375°F, 6–8 minutes
Easy Air Fryer Apple Pie Crescent Rolls
An apple slice, butter, cinnamon and sugar rolled up in crescent dough. Five ingredients and the kids can help. Serve warm with caramel and a scoop of ice cream.
Air Fryer Cinnamon Roll Apple Pie
Refrigerated cinnamon rolls flattened into a crust and lattice over apple pie filling, baked in the air fryer and drizzled with icing. It’s two desserts in one and it’s a showstopper for how easy it is.
Air Fryer Olive Garden Warm Apple Crostata
A copycat of Olive Garden’s rustic free-form apple tart: thin-sliced apples with cinnamon sugar in a folded, flaky crust. Serve it warm with ice cream and a caramel drizzle exactly like the restaurant does.
Air Fryer Upside Down Caramel Apple Cake
A buttery caramel and sliced apple layer on the bottom, spiced cake batter on top, and a flip at the end that shows off glossy caramelized apples. It’s moist, it’s beautiful, and it bakes in the air fryer.
Air fryer: 320°F, 20–30 minutes
Air Fryer Apple Pie Pizookie
A giant skillet cookie with a crispy, buttery edge and a gooey apple-packed center, done in about 30 minutes. Put the skillet in the middle of the table with spoons and a pint of vanilla.
Easy Air Fryer Apple Cider Donuts
Soft, cakey donuts with real apple cider in the batter, baked in a donut pan in the air fryer, then dipped in butter and rolled in cinnamon sugar. They taste like the orchard.
Air fryer: 320°F, 10–12 minutes
Crispy Air Fryer Apple Fries
Apple wedges in a crunchy cinnamon sugar coating, air fried until crisp outside and tender inside, with a caramel or cream cheese dip. A state-fair treat with a fraction of the oil.
Pumpkin Desserts
Copycat Cheesecake Factory Pumpkin Cheesecake
![Slice of copycat Cheesecake Factory pumpkin cheesecake with whipped cream]](http://forktospoon.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Copycat-Cheesecake-Factory-Pumpkin-Cheesecake-Recipe-760x760.png)
Ultra-creamy pumpkin cheesecake on a cinnamon graham cracker crust, made with a water bath so it never cracks. It slices clean, holds for days in the fridge, and it’s the showpiece for Thanksgiving.
Air Fryer Pumpkin Lava Cake
Individual pumpkin spice cakes with a molten chocolate ganache center, baked in ramekins in the air fryer. Ten minutes and it looks like something from a restaurant.
Air fryer: 320°F, 8–10 minutes
Air Fryer Pumpkin Layer Cake
Two moist, spiced pumpkin layers stacked with tangy cream cheese frosting, all baked in the air fryer in under an hour. Bake the layers ahead and frost the day you serve it.
Air Fryer Pumpkin Pie With Graham Crust
Classic silky pumpkin filling in a crunchy graham cracker crust, no rolling pin required. It sets fast in the air fryer and frees up the oven on Thanksgiving.
Air Fryer Pumpkin Pie Pop Tarts
Flaky pie crust pockets filled with pumpkin pie filling, topped with a brown sugar glaze and a sprinkle of pumpkin pie spice. Handheld pumpkin pie that’s ready in about 12 minutes.
Air fryer: 350°F, 9–12 minutes
Air Fryer Pumpkin Tarts
Mini pumpkin pies made with pie crust circles pressed into a muffin pan and filled with spiced pumpkin custard. One crust makes about 18 bite-size tarts.
Air Fryer Copycat Starbucks Pumpkin Bread
The dense, moist, spiced pumpkin loaf from the Starbucks pastry case, topped with pepitas and baked in the air fryer. Slice it for dessert, breakfast, or both.
Air Fryer Copycat Starbucks Pumpkin Scones
Tender pumpkin scones with the signature double glaze: a white icing base and a spiced drizzle on top. They look exactly like the coffee shop version.
Air Fryer Pumpkin Oatmeal Cookies
![Soft and chewy air fryer pumpkin oatmeal cookies on a cooling rack]](http://forktospoon.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Apple-Cinnamon-Oatmeal-Cookies-9-760x760.png)
Soft, thick, chewy cookies made with real pumpkin, oats and warm spices. Add chocolate chips or chopped pecans if you like. They’re a great cookie for a fall cookie tray.
Air Fryer Canned Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls
Trader Joe’s or Pillsbury pumpkin spice rolls, air fried in under 15 minutes and drizzled with pumpkin spice icing. Zero effort, maximum fall.
Cinnamon, Pecan and Cozy Bakery Desserts
Cracker Barrel Cinnamon Roll Pie
Cracker Barrel’s seasonal favorite: cinnamon rolls baked into a flaky pie crust and drizzled with cream cheese icing. Warm, gooey, and it works for brunch or dessert.
Air Fryer Pecan Pie
A rich, gooey pecan pie made with a handful of simple ingredients and baked in the air fryer. It’s the holiday dessert people expect, without tying up the oven.
Air Fryer Cinnamon Churro Bites
Puff pastry squares air fried for 4 minutes, then tossed in cinnamon sugar. Serve with caramel or chocolate sauce. Ten minutes from start to finish.
Air fryer: 400°F, 4 minutes
Air Fryer Homemade Snickerdoodle Cookies
Soft, tangy snickerdoodles with cream of tartar and a cinnamon sugar coating, baked in the air fryer in 4 minutes a batch. The most-made cookie on the site for good reason.
Air fryer: 340°F, 4 minutes
Air Fryer Snickerdoodle Muffins
Tender cinnamon muffins with a sparkling sugar top that taste exactly like the cookie. They’re a fall breakfast that doubles as dessert.
Air fryer: 320°F, 12–15 minutes
Air Fryer Cookie Fries
Snickerdoodle dough cut into fry shapes and air fried until crispy outside and soft inside. Serve with frosting or chocolate sauce for dipping. Kids lose their minds over these.
slow cooker Copycat Starbucks Coffee Cake
Cinnamon swirl coffee cake with a thick brown sugar streusel and chopped pecans on top. Light, buttery and made for a cup of coffee on a cool morning.
Air Fryer Copycat Starbucks Banana Nut Bread
Moist banana bread with a crunchy walnut top, baked in the air fryer. A little cinnamon in the batter makes it taste like fall.
Air Fryer Copycat Starbucks Vanilla Bean Scones
Petite glazed scones flecked with real vanilla bean, baked in the air fryer in 10 to 12 minutes. The bakery-case treat that goes with every fall latte.
Air fryer: 330°F, 10–12 minutes
Copycat Starbucks Double Chocolate Brownies
Dense, fudgy brownies with chocolate chunks scattered over the top, made in one bowl and baked in the air fryer in about 30 minutes. For the person at the table who doesn’t want pumpkin.
Air fryer: 310°F, 28–34 minutes
Air Fryer Cinnamon Baked French Toast
Cubed bread soaked in cinnamon custard and baked until the top is crisp and the inside is soft, like a bread pudding. Dust with powdered sugar and serve warm for a cozy brunch-for-dessert.
Air Fryer Pumpkin French Toast
Thick bread dipped in a pumpkin spice custard and air fried until golden. Top with whipped cream and maple syrup and it’s every bit as much a dessert as a breakfast.
Fall Baking Tips
- Blot your pumpkin. For cookies and scones, press canned pumpkin between paper towels first. Less moisture means chewy, not cakey.
- Use firm apples. Granny Smith and Honeycrisp hold their shape in crisps, cakes and hand pies. Softer apples turn to sauce.
- Parchment in the basket. Anything with sugar or filling that can leak (hand pies, bombs, danish) goes on parchment so it doesn’t stick.
- Bake at a lower temperature than the oven. Most air fryer desserts bake at 310°F to 330°F so the outside doesn’t brown before the middle sets.
- Don’t overcrowd. Cookies, bombs and churro bites need space for air to circulate. Batches are faster than one crowded basket.
- Make ahead. Crisps, cheesecake, coffee cake and loaves all hold beautifully for a day or two. Hand pies and bombs are best warm; reheat in the air fryer at 300°F for 3 minutes.
Fall Dessert FAQs
What are the most popular fall desserts? Apple crisp, apple pie in any form, pumpkin pie, pumpkin cheesecake, pecan pie and anything with cinnamon sugar. All of them are on this list.
Can I make these desserts in the oven instead of the air fryer? Yes. Bake at 350°F and add about 25 percent more time, checking with a toothpick or by looking for bubbling edges.
Which fall desserts can I make ahead for Thanksgiving? Pumpkin cheesecake (up to 2 days), pecan pie (1 day), pumpkin bread and banana bread (2 days), coffee cake (1 day) and apple crisp (assemble ahead, bake day of).
What fall desserts freeze well? Hand pies, apple pie bombs, cookies, brownies, scones and quick breads all freeze for up to 3 months. Cheesecake freezes well too if wrapped tightly.
What’s the easiest fall dessert on this list? Canned pumpkin cinnamon rolls, apple pie crescent rolls and cinnamon churro bites are all under 15 minutes with 5 ingredients or fewer.
