River Small ’26 shares her unique recipe, which incorporates several iconic fall flavors into one cookie cup. 

“It’s a gingersnap recipe with apples, [which] I turned into an oatmeal cookie. In the middle, you put diced apples and cinnamon sugar,” Small said. “They [taste] like nutmeg, clove, cinnamon, pumpkin spice and ginger. It’s very earthy but still sweet. The cinnamon sugar and caramel add [to] it.”

Small explains how the origin of her recipe is inspired by both a family garden and Pinterest. 

“I was looking on Pinterest, and I found these ‘[Fantastic] Mr. Fox’ apple gingersnaps,” Small said. “I tried them, but they tasted like dust. I still had a lot of the batter left, so I made more, but kept tweaking the recipe.”

Recipe:

1. In a medium bowl, sift together three cups of flour and one pinch of both baking soda and salt. Next, sift in all of the spices: three teaspoons of ground cinnamon, three teaspoons of ground ginger, three teaspoons of grated nutmeg, one-half teaspoon of ground cloves, ⅛ teaspoon of ground allspice and one-eighth of a teaspoon of ground star anise. Set flour mixture aside.
2. In a pot, brown two cups of butter, then let it cool to room temperature. Add three cups of old-fashioned oats, one-half cup of granulated sugar, six tablespoons of brown sugar, three tablespoons of molasses and one tablespoon of freshly grated ginger into the cooled butter, mixing until fully incorporated. Next, add two eggs and one teaspoon of vanilla extract.  
3. Fold the flour mixture into the butter mixture until the ingredients are fully incorporated. Set the dough in the refrigerator to chill while you make the filling. 
4. Preheat the oven to 325 ℉.
5. In a bowl, mix one cup of coarse sugar and one tablespoon of cinnamon.
6. Slightly dry the apple pieces with a cloth, then toss them in the sugar mixture until all pieces are evenly coated.
7. Scoop one-quarter of a cup of dough into a lined muffin tin. Use your thumb to create indents in the middle and place a spoonful of the apple filling inside. Bake for 15 minutes, then remove from the oven to drizzle caramel onto the cookies, and sprinkle with more cinnamon if desired. Place them back into the oven for another five minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool in the muffin tin for a few minutes before transferring to a wire rack to completely cool.

Veni Kotev ’26 shares the cultural and familial ties to his favorite fall recipe, a Bulgarian-style apple pie. 

“[The pie] has a very strong cultural connection for me. My mom has been making this ever since I was a young kid,” Kotev said. “It’s part of the recipe book that my grandmother gave my family, [which is] a collection of Bulgarian meals and desserts.”

For Kotev, the recipe’s lasting presence in his family makes it an integral part of his fall season

Kotev describes his favorite aspects of the pie, which go beyond the taste. 

“It smells a bit like apple cider — [the pie is] fresh, not super dry. The bottom side is crispy, and the apples [on top are] mushy,” Kotev said.

Recipe:

1. In a medium bowl, sift together three cups of flour and one pinch of both baking soda and salt. Next, sift in all of the spices: three teaspoons of ground cinnamon, three teaspoons of ground ginger, three teaspoons of grated nutmeg, one-half teaspoon of ground cloves, ⅛ teaspoon of ground allspice and one-eighth of a teaspoon of ground star anise. Set flour mixture aside.
2. In a pot, brown two cups of butter, then let it cool to room temperature. Add three cups of old-fashioned oats, one-half cup of granulated sugar, six tablespoons of brown sugar, three tablespoons of molasses and one tablespoon of freshly grated ginger into the cooled butter, mixing until fully incorporated. Next, add two eggs and one teaspoon of vanilla extract.  
3. Fold the flour mixture into the butter mixture until the ingredients are fully incorporated. Set the dough in the refrigerator to chill while you make the filling. 
4. Preheat the oven to 325 ℉.
5. In a bowl, mix one cup of coarse sugar and one tablespoon of cinnamon.
6. Slightly dry the apple pieces with a cloth, then toss them in the sugar mixture until all pieces are evenly coated.
7. Scoop one-quarter of a cup of dough into a lined muffin tin. Use your thumb to create indents in the middle and place a spoonful of the apple filling inside. Bake for 15 minutes, then remove from the oven to drizzle caramel onto the cookies, and sprinkle with more cinnamon if desired. Place them back into the oven for another five minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool in the muffin tin for a few minutes before transferring to a wire rack to completely cool.