Fall

In dessert making, sweet potatoes are best known as the filling for a rich, dense, single-crust Southern pie. Yet they become surprisingly light when baked in a soufflé. Here, layers of paper-thin phyllo dough overlap to form a crisp pie shell, which stands tall as the filling cools and sinks (this is one soufflé that’s supposed to fall).

Usher in fall with a half dozen rustic yet refined tartlets. Over a wonderfully sweet “applesauce” made from the roasted fruit and Calvados, two layers of paper-thin apple slices are brushed with butter and sprinkled with sugar to help them caramelize as they bake. The tartlets are delicious still warm from the oven or at room temperature, especially with a snifter of Calvados served alongside for sipping.

What’s more appealing than a batch of fresh-baked, half-moon-shaped pies filled with rich homemade apple butter? Nothing, except maybe a batch of hand pies filled with an assortment of colorful, tasty fruit butters (try peach, plum, apricot, or pear). If you are making your own apple butter, choose eating apples, such as Mutsu, Gala, or Golden Delicious.

Here’s a great weeknight dessert option—no rolling pin required. The cream cheese dough comes together quite easily, and is simply patted into a thin round. A single pear is thinly sliced, then tossed in a bowl with pear brandy, sugar, and lemon juice. The mixture is then fanned out over the dough before baking. Whipped cream makes a nice accompaniment, as does a snifter of pear brandy, naturally.

Invented by the Tatin sisters, who owned an inn in the Loire Valley, this dessert is popular all over France, especially in Paris. The tart is baked upside down in a pan in which the apples have been sautéed. When inverted, the finished tart boasts a layer of golden, caramelized fruit atop a base of flaky puff pastry. A copper Tatin pan is made specifically for this purpose; its two handles are designed for easy unmolding. However, any oven-safe skillet, such as a cast iron pan, will work. You can also easily substitute pears for the apples. For the ultimate in flavor and texture, make your own puff pastry from scratch; see the recipe on page 334. Otherwise, choose a good-quality, all-butter brand such as Dufour.

Apple pie is the best-known example of a fruit pie, and for many, it serves as an introduction to double-crust pie-making. To begin, you’ll need a big bowlful of tart, firm apples; use a mix of varieties for the best flavor. The apples are tossed with lemon juice, sugar, spices, and flour, the last of which thickens the juices. Keeping the dough cool as you work is crucial; refrigerate it between steps and before baking to promote a flaky crust and help the pie maintain its shape. A few vents in the top crust will allow steam to escape. For shine and sparkle, brush the top with an egg wash (see page 327) and sprinkle with sanding sugar. Flute or crimp the edges as desired, and feel free to embellish the top crust with cutouts made from scraps of dough. Finally, resist the temptation to cut into the pie before it has completely cooled (about 3 hours); otherwise it will not have time to set properly.

Brussels sprouts are one of the highlights of the fall market. If you’re lucky you can buy them attached to the stalk. When roasted, the outer leaves become nicely browned, and in this recipe the flavor is intensified by the addition of apples and onions. The honey-roasted pecans add a wonderful sweet and salty crunch and are a bonus recipe here—you can snack on these with a cocktail too. And while we keep the veggies all vegetarian at the Shop, if you want to, roast a little bacon or pancetta along with them. The results will speak for themselves.

We serve this comforting and nostalgic Thanksgiving favorite throughout the fall and winter months. Yams are sweet on their own, so you don’t want to overdo it with the marshmallows. Here we provide just enough to give you a sweet taste every few bites. Candied yams are a natural for the Gobble, Gobble Balls (page 39), of course, but try them with the Spicy Pork Meatballs (page 21) too.

Season: winter. It may seem somewhat unnecessary to preserve dried fruit, but I love having a few jars of this compote on the shelf. The once-shriveled fruits become plump and luscious and are quite delicious served alone for breakfast or with yogurt or crème fraîche as a dessert. I like to make this in early November, when newly dried prunes, figs, and apricots are available. Keep on the lookout for small, dried wild figs, which will plump up perfectly to their original shapely selves. The glistening black prunes from the Agen area in southern France are also key players–I prefer to use these un pitted because they infuse the compote with an almondlike essence. A simplified version of the oven method is used–everything is cooked and hot to start with, so the jars don’t need to be heated for an extended time in the oven.

You’re guaranteed to get a bit of brown butter–flecked icing in every bite of these pillowy spice cookies. Offer them at a Halloween party or as part of a Thanksgiving dessert buffet.

A few leaves make a pretty garnish when scattered on top of a cake for Thanksgiving; you can also serve them anytime with bowls of ice cream or fresh fruit. You will need a leaf stencil, available at crafts-supply stores, to form these tuiles.

Crisp, sugar-dusted leaves and acorns celebrate the autumn months, but these cookies can be made any time of year. Cut them into other shapes and sizes if you wish. Score them with a paring knife to add stylized details and adjust the baking time if the size of the cutter is different.

These leaf-shaped chrusciki (khroost-CHEE-kee) are adapted from Martha’s mother’s classic Polish recipe. The dough is kneaded for a while, to incorporate lots of air into it and keep the finished cookies light and delicate. If you’re storing fried cookies, wait until just before serving to dust them with confectioners’ sugar.

We’ve rolled two New Orleans classic pies into one to make a rich, deep, and satisfying dessert. It’s a real restaurant favorite that has been known to make visitors from the South go wild.

The original recipe for these cinnamon cookies is written on an index card in my sister Beth’s earliest cursive handwriting, and it is probably the first recipe I remember her making when we were girls. She still makes them every Halloween.

Sweet Potato Pie is always served at Thanksgiving at my house. I used to think there wasn’t much of a difference between Sweet Potato Pie and Pumpkin Pie, but this recipe made me change my mind. It’s just sweet enough, and it’s so smooth and creamy. Hmmm … I need to think of more holidays to make this for, so I can eat it more often!

This is a nice variation on regular sweet potatoes for a Thanksgiving side dish. It’s almost a dessert, it’s so sweet!

Cornbread dressing is my absolute favorite part of the Thanksgiving meal. In fact, I have been known to make this recipe in July because I just can’t bear the thought of eating it only once a year! The recipe was never written down until Beth and I demanded that Mama show us how to make it. She came up with the ingredient amounts and demonstrated the mixing technique. (Hint: You’ve gotta get your hands in it!)

We call these butterbeans in Georgia. I serve them with Baked Ham with Brown Sugar Honey Glaze (page 88) and Potato Salad (page 53). In college I had a friend named Tina, who is from Mississippi. When I would go home with her for the weekend, she would put mayonnaise in her butterbeans. Don’t try this at home, because you will love it and it’s more added fat that none of us need! (Okay, try it once!)