Hi Reader,

Every year when the first chill sneaks into the air, I’m hit with the same scent—apples and cinnamon—and suddenly I’m thirty-something again, standing in my postage-stamp-size kitchen trying to impress a man I’d met only weeks before. (Spoiler: I succeeded. He’s still here, three decades later, eating the evidence.)

That first autumn, way back in 1993, was our season of Love Food. We knew nothing about cooking or baking, yet we courted with food. The One's braised pork with apples. To hell with Marry Me Chicken! It can't hold a candle to his Shack-Up-With-Me Pork.

I answered yes with a sour cream apple pie—my not-so-subtle way of saying, “I bake, therefore I am... worth keeping.” Together we cooked and ate (and gained weight) like people afraid the spell would break if the oven ever went cold.

To this day, the smell of apples and cinnamon baking short-circuits my brain. Forget Proust’s madeleines—my memory trigger comes in a green Fiesta deep-dish pie plate. One whiff, and I’m back in that tiny kitchen with The One, his cassette player blaring that confounded Kenny G, and apples burbling away in a dish.

It's a foundational memory that has come to define who I am, who he is, and who we are together.

Tell Me Your Food Memories

Do you have memories like that? Reply to this email and let me know. I'd love to post a list of food memories—whether related to childhood, family, love, friends, travel, work, or life. In times like these, we all need a little reminder of the good in the world.

​

How to Bake Aromas That Seduce

1. Choose the Right Apples: Go tart (Granny Smith, Cortland) for pies, sweeter (Honeycrisp, Gala) for cakes. Balance is key.
2. Spice Like You Mean It: Cinnamon is the star, but don’t shy away from nutmeg, clove, or even cardamom for depth.
3. Mind the Moisture: Yogurt, sour cream, or a splash of cider keeps cakes tender while letting the apple flavor shine.
4. Bake Low and Slow: A moderate oven (around 350°F) ensures the aroma lingers longer—and builds anticipation.
5. Serve with Ceremony: A warm slice, a melting scoop of vanilla ice cream, maybe even a drizzle of caramel. Dessert becomes theater.

​

WHAT'S INSIDE...

• ​Apple Rose Tart​
• ​Red Truck Bakery Apple Cake​
• ​Super Moist Apple Cake​
• ​Apple Crumble​
• ​Cheater's Apple Tarts​
• ​Pear-Cranberry Crumble​
• ​Apple Pie With Cheddar Crust​
• ​Apple Coffee Cake​
• ​Apple Spice Muffins With Pistachio Streusel​
• ​Apple Cranberry Crisp​

​Apple Rose Tart​

Sweet, crunchy apples crown this elegant, easy apple rose tart. Because the apples aren't baked, their crisp bite of honey and citrus shine through, and the creamy apple-butter custard adds a luscious mouthfeel.

​☞ ​Try this recipe​

​Red Truck Bakery Apple Cake​

Red Truck Bakery apple cake is loaded with apples, apple cider, sour cream, and warm spices in the batter, sorta like a cross between Bundt cake and coffee cake. Finished with a sweet maple glaze, it's every bit as impressive as you would expect from the famous bakery.

​☞ ​Try this recipe​

​Super Moist Apple Cake​

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 4.82 from 11 votes

This super moist apple cake is made with different baking apples--Granny Smith, Macintosh, and Cortland. Plenty of cream, vanilla, and butter make for one of autumn's best desserts ever.

​☞ ​Try this recipe​

​Apple Crumble​

This apple crumble is made with apples tossed in sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger and covered with an oat and brown sugar top. An easy fall dessert.

​☞ ​Try this recipe​

​Cheater's Apple Tarts​

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 4.91 from 10 votes

This cheater's apple tarts recipe, made with puff pastry, apple slices, cinnamon, lemon, and brown sugar, is an easy dessert baked in muffin tins.

​☞ ​Try this recipe​

​Pear-Cranberry Crumble​

This is a lovely dessert to put together on a fall night, when pears are ripe and the cinnamon adds a deep warmth to the flavors. Serving it warm is most delicious, but if you can’t, no worries—it still tastes great.

​☞ ​Try this recipe​

​Apple Pie With Cheddar Crust​

This Cheddar crust apple pie is made with extra-sharp Cheddar baked into the crust for a surprising savoriness that's the perfect contrast to sweetness of the Golden Delicious apple pie filling. Compliment worthy to the nth degree.

​☞ ​Try this recipe​

​Apple Coffee Cake​

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 4.88 from 24 votes

Apple coffee cake made with sour cream, cinnamon, streusel, and an apple glaze in a Bundt pan is a guaranteed crowd pleaser. Provided, natch, that you're willing to share.

​☞ ​Try this recipe​

​Apple Spice Muffins With Pistachio Streusel​

These apple spice muffins with streusel and pistachios are flecked with grated apple to make them crazy moist and flavorful. And they're topped with a buttery brown sugar and pistachio streusel. Perfect as breakfast or an on-the-go nosh.

​☞ ​Try this recipe​

​Apple Cranberry Crisp​

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 4.77 from 13 votes

Apple cranberry crisp is a warm, comforting, and cozy autumn dessert. Perfect for dinner guests and leftovers make a terrific breakfast the next morning.

​☞ ​Try this recipe​