Pumpkin recipes are synonymous with fall foliage, warm spices, and two of our favorite holidays: Halloween and Thanksgiving. From pumpkin cakes and pies to muffins and tarts, we’re sharing a selection of tasty pumpkin dessert recipes that will carry you through fall.
When shopping for pumpkin in the grocery store, choose canned purée pumpkin, rather than pumpkin pie filling, which contains sugar, flavor, and other additives that can affect the flavor and texture of your pumpkin dessert. You can also make pure pumpkin purée using fresh pumpkin; the kind you find in the store is simply cooked and puréed raw pumpkin, so it will add natural flavor, moistness, and color to your recipes.
Deep-Dish Pumpkin Icebox Pie
No pie dough here! We’ve turned up the volume on a classic graham cracker crust by swapping in gingersnap cookies. The extra tall filling is made with pumpkin puree, Marsala wine, gelatin, and spices, and sweetened with sugar.
Pumpkin-Orange Bread
The batter for this bread comes together in just 15 minutes and gets its flavor from pumpkin purée, nutmeg, and allspice, while grated orange zest works to brighten the dessert. Top it off with a sprinkling of pepitas for a welcome crunch.
Pumpkin Cupcakes
Create the sweetest pumpkin patch ever! Garnished with handmade marzipan pumpkins, these moist cupcakes are perfect for Halloween parties at school or work.
Perfect Pumpkin Pie
Consider this your tried-and-true pumpkin pie recipe—once you make this version you’ll never need another one again. Follow our test kitchen’s method to prevent sinking and cracks.
Citrus-Glazed Pumpkin-Carrot Cake
This pumpkin and carrot cake mash-up combines two favorites into one dessert. Baked in an angel food cake pan, this easy treat is made for a crowd, which means it’s perfect for holiday dinners.
Ruffled Pumpkin Milk Pie
This love letter to milk pie—a custard tart pastry—makes baking with phyllo a breeze. The pumpkin-infused batter is poured over the unleavened dough, which has been brushed with clarified butter and scrunched into accordion-like shapes.
Pumpkin-Spice-Latte Cake
Turn your favorite seasonal coffee drink into a delicious cake. Instant espresso powder blends in seamlessly to create a latte flavor. It’s a rich, divine dessert that tastes like autumn.
Pumpkin Crunch Pie
Can’t decide between pumpkin or pecan pie for Thanksgiving? Now you don’t have to. This cream cheese and pumpkin-based pie topped with a crunchy pecan crumble offers the best of both worlds.
Pumpkin Snickerdoodles
Sugar, spice, and everything nice. This twist on snickerdoodle cookies features canned pumpkin—why haven’t we been doing this all along?
Pumpkin Bars
A mix between pumpkin sheet cake and bars, this tender dessert is finished off with a delightful cream cheese frosting. It’s easy to slice and serve to a crowd.
Pumpkin-Chocolate Cheesecake
Give cheesecake a richer bite by opting for a chocolate crust, instead graham cracker. The filling is flavored with pumpkin and topped with a drizzling of stove-top chocolate-caramel glaze for a glossy, impressive finish.
Pumpkin Roulade with Mascarpone and White Chocolate
The key to a perfect pumpkin-shaped cake is using a jelly roll pan, which helps create an even roll, sans breakage. It’s filled with a light-as-air mascarpone and white chocolate filling—don’t expect there to be any leftovers.
Pumpkin Cheesecake Crunch Bites
Wish you could have just one more bite of cheesecake? Now you can with these mini pumpkin cheesecake bars, topped with a pecan crunch.
Pumpkin-Gingerbread Ice Cream Sandwiches
Chewy chocolate-molasses gingerbread cookies enclose homemade pumpkin ice cream in this make-ahead Thanksgiving dessert. If you don’t have an ice cream maker, you can use store-bought pumpkin ice cream instead.
Deep-Dish Pumpkin-Meringue Pie
Dress up your pumpkin pie for a special occasion with a glorious mountain of meringue. Make the crust and filling up to one day in advance to save prep time on Thanksgiving (if that’s when you plan to serve it), then top it off with meringue right before serving.
Pumpkin-Chocolate Whoopie Pies
Hand-held whoopie pies are a great dessert for kids—but with a rich chocolatey filling between two soft pumpkin-flavored cookies, grown-ups will want these treats, too.
Gluten-Free Pumpkin Bread
Everyone can enjoy this sweetly spiced fall favorite. Buttermilk keeps it rich and moist and a good ratio of sugar to eggs creates an airy filling.
Brûléed Pumpkin Pie
The filling for this pie is covered with a thin layer of superfine sugar, which turns into a beautiful, brittle sheet of caramel when brûléed with a small kitchen blowtorch.
Pumpkin Cheesecake
We keep things traditional with a graham-cracker crust, but the filling takes things up a notch. Pumpkin purée creates an ultra-rich and creamy cheesecake that is sure to be a crowdpleaser at holiday dinners, potlucks, and more.
Mile-High Pumpkin-Pecan Pie
An instant classic, this delicious hybrid is both impressive and irresistible, you’ll want to make it again and again.
Pumpkin Cream Pie
An easy gingersnap crust sets this pumpkin pie apart. The silky-smooth custard filling is cooked on the stove top.
Pumpkin Doughnut Muffins
With a cake-like interior and sugar-coated exterior, these treats capture the essence of doughnuts without the mess of deep-frying. Buttermilk and pumpkin purée make them melt-in-your-mouth soft.
Pumpkin Layer Cake
Cinnamon, nutmeg, and fresh ginger deepen the flavor of this pumpkin-buttermilk cake. The combination of cream cheese and goat cheese in the frosting gives it a unique, tangy twist.
Pumpkin Icebox Pie
This pumpkin icebox pie is an easy solution to Thanksgiving dessert. Rather than the usual baked custard filling, this pie gets its silky texture courtesy of cream cheese and gelatin. The only baking needed is for the graham-cracker crust.
Maple Pumpkin Tart
Maple syrup and lemon zest give a nuanced sweetness to the filling of this seasonal tart. Fold fresh breadcrumbs into the pumpkin custard before baking for a unique texture.
Pumpkin Cream Pie
An exceptionally creamy spiced-pumpkin filling is the centerpiece of this pie. The whipped cream topping is stabilized with gelatin so it doesn’t collapse, making it possible to assemble the entire pie the day before you need to serve it.
Pumpkin Swirl Brownies
Rich chocolate brownies are made extra-tender with swirled layers of spiced pumpkin. The brownie batter is made with bittersweet chocolate and a touch of cayenne pepper to appeal to sophisticated palates.
Five-Spice Pumpkin Pie with Phyllo Crust
Give classic pumpkin pie a unique twist by baking the filling, which uses recognizable flavors like maple syrup, into a flaky phyllo crust.
