Happy August, friends! No, there’s no way I’m rushing you into fall, friends. I’m simply preparing my heart for a magical season approaching (and also not letting my fall planners down). Everything autumn-centric sells out quickly and limited stock struggles are real! August means my favorite apple orchard will open, signaling a call to bake delicious apple recipes, toast marshmallows by the fire, and savor nature’s bounty here in Northern Illinois.
At Edward’s Apple Orchard, the apple cider donuts there are legendary, and time is marked by apple varieties emerging through the fall. (Oh, Honeycrisp, I can’t quit you.) While our kitchen renovation is still proceeding, you can bet the aroma of spice cake, apple crisp, and apple muffins will be wafting through these halls! Apples and cinnamon smell like SWEET COZY LOVE to this homebody. So let’s take our tastebuds on a journey while we enjoy a feast of humble fall decor ideas.
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6 Delicious Autumn Apple Recipes + Simple Fall Decorating Tips & Quotes
For the very best results for your autumn apple recipes, get your pretty paws on quality apples. Make mine local, fresh apples that require refrigeration and cost a little extra. Oh, and I always need a few of these:
My Favorite Apple Orchard in Fall!
1. Cinnamon Sugar Apple Cake
You’re gonna love this cinnamon sugar apple cake I tested out for you. Delicious! I subbed coconut oil for the fat and left out the egg (we were fresh out of ’em!), and the cake still held together nicely.
Simple Decorating Idea for Fall
Make a fall wheat wreath (or a wreath with leaves from the yard!)…here’s a tutorial:
2. Apple Cider Doughnut Cake Recipe
If you love the apple cider donuts that appear at fall festivals, flea markets, and at bakeries in autumn…maybe capture the flavor and texture in a bundt cake!
Simple Fall Decorating Tip No. 2
Enjoy the deeply rich fall color in something natural like Indian ear corn.
3. Apple Sangria Recipe
What’s great about serving sangria if you’re entertaining is that it always looks beautiful and festive. Serve it in non-traditional stemware, and save yourself the expense and trouble of stocking a full bar by simply offering a signature drink like this.
In fact, you just may be inspired to christen the season with it as a new tradition.
Simple Fall Decorating Tip No. 3
Enjoy a farmhouse style tobacco basket for the table or a wall.
4. Slab Apple Pie Recipe
I love Elizabeth’s blog Pinecones & Acorns because she always has seasonal goodness baking and brewing on her site along with encouraging words and book recommendations.
Who says pie has to be shaped like a pie?
Simple Fall Decorating Tip No. 4
Not everyone has access to real leaves in gorgeous autumn colors. But everyone can craft a fall wreath or garland with colorful and everlasting faux leaves.
Here are some simple DIY ideas for Fall as well.
5. Apple Muffins Recipe
Back in the fall of 2018, I could tolerate almost no fat at all yet was determined to bake apple muffins.
A season of experimental baking ensued where I substituted yogurt, applesauce, bananas, and various no-fat alternatives.
Oh what a chapter full of fails! Hahahahaha! There are things you can dupe and things you simply canNOT.
I found myself sampling muffins which tasted like…air. AIR! Good to breathe, but not a quality to which a baker aspires for densely rich and comforting old fashioned muffins.
I stopped trying to fake an unhealthy treat and focused instead on consuming delicious whole foods…like LOVELY APPLES straight up or as a topping for yogurt with homemade granola.
Now that I can tolerate more fat in my diet, I can consume small portions of fall yum…ever see my mini s’mores HERE?
Simple Fall Decor Tip No. 5
Try a new candle for fall that has a recyclable and pretty jar like these:
6. Pear Apple Crumble Recipe
A sweet apple crisp is hard to beat, and I’m cuckoo for them. You don’t have to fuss with a fancy, fattening pie crust, and it’s a great excuse to enjoy a little vanilla ice cream for the topping. I recently discovered no-fat frozen vanilla yogurt, and it’s delish.
If sugar isn’t your friend, this crisp isn’t for you. And if you have a terribly unhealthy diet and need gentle nudges to eat more plants, um, this has plants in it.
In the mood for pears? SEE THIS.
For a boozy version of this crumble, substitute Limoncello for the orange juice (find my limoncello recipe HERE).
Simple Fall Decorating Tip No. 6
Is this truly a decor tip or just an idea for better organization? Maybe it’s both…a place to organize mugs or little plates you’ll be reaching for in fall.
Oh, and I’m fully aware that apparently Rae Dunn style artwork and decor (like the dishes above) is soooooo 5 minutes ago. But hey. Give it about a year or two, and folks will be scrambling to collect it again. If you like it, good gracious, it’s okay to like it forever.
In the same spirit of displaying functional everyday items as decor…
Peace to you right where you are.
-michele
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