This fall treat yourself: spend a crisp, golden day at an apple orchard.

Reach up into a tree laden with candy red apples and give it a hard twist. Rub that apple on your sleeve until shiny and fragrant and then sink your teeth into that fresh fruit, licking the juices as they run down your chin.

Apples… so elementary, so deliciously rewarding. Simple pleasures are the best!

As National Dessert Day is upon us, what could be more American than Apples? Roasted, fried, dried, or baked into cakes and pies, crisps and bars, added to salads and roasts – The apple reigns supreme in our culinary traditions.

Whether you crave the more traditional apple pie or unique apple rosettes, there is an apple recipe to satisfy your cravings.

Once you decide on a recipe, make sure to consider the flavor, texture, and type of apple best suited for your choice. Here is a resource to aid in your selection:

Guide to the Best Apples for Baking & Cooking.

If possible, support your local growers by purchasing local apples at your farmers’ market or at your favorite apple orchard (where you can pick up some tangy-sweet apple cider too!). Your apples will be fresher and more flavorful with the added bonus of keeping longer.

So now that you have your apples… Here are a few suggestions to satisfy those fall cravings:

1.    Apple cider doughnuts - Taste of Home

2.    The perfect apple pie - Smitten Kitchen

3.    Baked apples - Leite’s Culinarua

4.    Apple slab pie - Smitten Kitchen

5.    Fancy apple crumb cake - Half Baked Harvest

6.    Cinnamon applesauce - King Arthur Baking Company

7.    Apple cinnamon french toast - Food52

8.    Harvest apple challah - King Arthur Baking Company

9.    Apple chips - Food52

10.  Applesauce bread - Leite’s Culinaria