Make These Awesome Fall Sweets To Celebrate National Desserts Day

In honor of National Dessert Day, we've gathered some of our favorite fall-friendly dessert recipes that you can whip up in no time to toast the holiday. Here they are, in no particular order.

Photo via Stella Barra on Facebook
Spicy Gingersnap Cookies: When we first tried Jeff Mahin's gingersnap cookies over at Stella Barra in Hollywood, we were immediately smitten. (He also slangs the sweet little treats in the restaurant's pastry cases over in SaMo.) What makes these cookies so unique is the use of cayenne pepper, which add a wonderful heat to a traditionally super sweet cookie. They sell for $2.95 a piece, but you can get the recipe here.

Pumpkin Pie With Hot Buttered Rum: Whether you like it or not, gourds are everywhere right now. And if you're into pumpkin in it's traditional form—aka PIE!—then you might like to wash it down with some hot buttered rum instead of a super-sweet PSL. You can find the recipe here.

Photo by Krista Simmons/LAist
Gluten-Free Apple Pie With Almond Coconut Crust: Whether you're celiac or just trying to cut back on the gluten, this lovely twist on a classic fall staple is worth a try. It's super easy to make and the crust is impossibly flaky, making it the perfect vessel for the apples that are bursting into season right now. You can find the recipe here.

Easy 6 Ingredient Brownies: Why people buy boxed cakes and brownies is beyond us, especially when you consider how simple it is to bust out brownies like these with just 15 minutes of active prep time. They require six simple ingredients you're bound to have at home—flour, butter, eggs, cocoa powder, salt, and sugar. You can find the recipe here.

Drink Your Dessert In This Pie Cocktail: If you want to take the idea of pairing pies with cocktails a step further, then how about whipping up a pie cocktail. Yes, you heard us right. Pie. Cocktail. This one comes from Ray's & Stark Bar over at LACMA. Here's how it's done.

Photo courtesy of Rao's
Grilled Pound Cake: Who said the grill was just for meat? You can put a pound cake on the grill, especially since we are living in L.A. where there's an endless summer. Just swap out the berries for fall fruits like pomegranates and persimmons, and you're in business. Here's how it's done.

Photo by Krista Simmons/LAist
Citrus and Polenta Pound Cake: We first fell head over heels with rose water backpacking through Northern Africa. The delicate floral flavoring is used around the globe in many applications from Middle Eastern candies like Turkish delight and baklava to Southeast Asian sweets like bandung and Indian rice puddings. This recipe pairs it with citrus for a lovely polenta cake. Here's how it's done.