There is nothing more exciting than watching the leaves slowly change colors and enjoying fall favorites like hot apple cider or pie. This year, gather your family and friends and head to your favorite orchard or local shop to stock up on fresh-picked apples and put your apron on. We’re diving into fall flavors and unique techniques for making the most of the baking season!
Not sure which apples are best for your recipe? We’ve taken the guess work out of choosing the perfect apples for you. Differences in texture, flavor, and sweetness make some apples better for snacking, and others ideal for baking. Read below to find out which trees you should be picking from this season.
Granny Smith
Known for their tart flavor, Granny Smith apples are crisp with a sour kick. Their flavor is best paired with something sweet to cut the bitterness. You’ll often find these apples in pies, crisps, and tarts. However, they also make a good snack or addition to a salad.
Honeycrisp
Honeycrisps are versatile, sweet, and classic. True to their name, they have a crisp skin layer and a juicy center with a honey-sweet flavor. Their texture is guaranteed to stay firm through baking, and its distinctly juicy crispness shouldn’t cook down much, making them the perfect for pies, tarts, dumplings, bars, or as a standalone snack.
Golden Delicious
Not too sweet and not too tart, some may say Golden Delicious are the perfect apple. They are an excellent choice for almost any recipe including salads, snacks, desserts, beverages, sauces, and freezing. As a bonus, this all-purpose apple stays fresh longer than other varieties when sliced.
Cortland
Cortlands are a combination of sweet and tart with a juicy center. Like Golden Delicious apples, they are slow to brown, making them an excellent choice for use in fresh apple preparations like salads, snacking, and sandwiches.
Braeburn
Braeburn apples have a complex, aromatic flavor with notes of spice, pear, nutmeg and cinnamon. Due to the spiced flavor, this variety is best for apple cider and sauce. They are also excellent for baking in desserts.
Best Apples for Pies and Cakes
Crisp apples are more likely to hold their shape when baked so they’re good for things like pies and cakes since their texture is guaranteed to stay firm through the baking process. It is best to avoid soft apples for pies because they don’t hold their texture or shape through baking. Some of our top favorites for baking include:
Best Apples for Cobblers and Crisps
Tart and flavorful apples are best for cobblers and crisps. The acidity tones down the sugar, lending to a more balanced dessert. Try:
Best Apples for Sauces and Cider
Any soft and juicy apple works well in a sauce or cider, because they are easy to mush. Try apples with sweet, strong and tangy flavor. We recommend:
Best Apples for Salads and Snacking
Apples that are slow to brown are an excellent choice for use in fresh apple preparations like salads and snacking. Our favorites are:
Best Apples for Freezing
If you are freezing sliced apples for later, hardy apples with a s lightly thicker skin and solid structure will hold up best. Additionally, apples with stronger flavors will keep best. For best results try:
Here are some of our favorite apple recipes to bake with! Let us know which you’re baking up and what your favorite apple type is using #NielsenMasseyInspires.
Apple Recipes to Try:
Sign up to receive Nielsen-Massey news, recipes, promotions and more.
