These 21 Recipes Prove Anytime Is the Right Time for Pumpkin Spice

'Tis the season.

By
Sara Bir
Sara Bir
Sara Bir
Sara is a chef, culinary educator, and author of three cookbooks, The Pocket Pawpaw Cookbook, Tasting Ohio and The Fruit Forager's Companion. The latter won a 2019 IACP Cookbook Award.
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Published August 20, 2023
Sara Bir
Stack of Pumpkin Blondies

Simply Recipes / Mark Beahm

Pumpkin spice mania has stood the test of time, enough so that it's now simply part of the passing seasons. There's Spring, Summer, Pumpkin Spice, Fall, and Winter.

And no wonder! Can you think of another scent so evocative of warmth and coziness? Of crisp days and turning leaves? It's not just pumpkin spice lattes. It's pumpkin spice mood.

In the kitchen, a bottle of pumpkin pie spice is your best friend for these 21 recipes for cakes, cookies, desserts, and even sweet potato fries. It's got all the right spices in one handy blend. Make them for a gloriously aromatic kitchen and a burst of comfort whenever you want, regardless of the season.

Subbing Pumpkin Spice

Not all of these recipes call for a ready-to-use pumpkin spice blend. But they are all pumpkin spice ready! To swap pumpkin spice, simply add up the individual spices and use the total amount of pumpkin spice.

  • Pumpkin Cake With Cream Cheese Frosting

    Pieces of pumpkin cake with cream cheese frosting cut from a sheet pan and put on plates
    Marta Rivera

    Cream cheese frosting is such a tempting foil for gently warming pumpkin spice. This recipe uses a whole can of pumpkin, so there's no leftover dibs and dabs to fell guilty about pitching.

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  • No-Churn Pumpkin Spice Ice Cream

    No-Churn Pumpkin Spiced Ice Cream
    Lisa Lin

    Generous scoops of homemade ice cream makes anyone feel special. Sweetened condensed milk, pumpkin puree, and pumpkin spice work magic in the freezer for an ice cream you don't need an ice cream maker to pull off. The freezer does all the work!

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  • Pumpkin Blondies

    Pile of Pumpkin Blondies on a Plate with Fall Decor in the Background

    Simply Recipes / Mark Beahm

    These aromatic blondies get an upgrade with brown butter and white chocolate chips. A pan feeds many people, making these perfect for bake sales or parties or simply people who (rightfully) want to eat a lot of blondies.

    A Pan of These Pumpkin Spice Blondies Will Disappear Like Magic
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  • Pumpkin Scones With Maple Glaze

    Pumpkin Scones on Plate Surrounded by Cups of Coffee and a Bowl of Sugar

    Simply Recipes / Mark Beahm

    These spiced scones get a doubly notable finish of sparkling turbinado sugar and generous drizzles of maple glaze.

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    Continue to 5 of 21 below.

  • Pumpkin Spice Babka

    Pumpkin Spice Babka with Slices Leaning on the Loaf

    Simply Recipes / Micah Siva

    A memorable Seinfeld episode has a plot revolving around the inferiority of cinnamon babka to chocolate babka. But add ginger, nutmeg, and clove to the mix and cinnamon babka gets a major upgrade, enough that it takes a backseat to no babka. Enjoy it with your PSL as you stream your 90s television nostalgia.

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  • Pumpkin Muffins

    Quick and easy pumpkin muffins stacked in a serving bowl with the top one missing a bite.
    Cambrea Gordon

    How many times have you picked up an enticing muffin from a coffee shop, only to bite into it later and encounter a dry, leaden brick? These are not those muffins, my friend. They're moist and dreamy. And no mixer required.

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  • Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins

    Pumpkin swirl cut in half to show the swirls.

    Cambrea Gordon

    For a little something unexpected, add a sweetened cream cheese swirl and crumbly streusel topping to your muffins.

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  • Pumpkin and Coconut Ladoo

    Pumpkin Ladoo on a Tray with Flowers

    Simply Recipes / Karishma Pradhan

    Ladoo are Indian confections that take different forms. These are sweet and rich balls of a nut, pumpkin, and coconut mixture that you cook down on the stove. Make them for Diwali, or just because.

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    Continue to 9 of 21 below.

  • Pumpkin Tiramisu

    Slice of Pumpkin Tiramisu on a Serving Spatula with More in the Pan in the Background

    Simply Recipes / Micah Siva

    All assembly and no baking! This tiramisu is a welcome change of pace from pumpkin pie, and it's perfect for making ahead.

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  • Pumpkin Spice Cinnamon Rolls With Cream Cheese Frosting

    A pan of Homemade Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls are being frosted.
    Marta Rivera

    Yes, these flaunt pumpkin spice, but they are still cinnamon rolls in form. There's pumpkin puree in the dough and irresistible cream cheese frosting on top. You can assemble them the night before, refrigerate, and bake the next morning for a heavenly scent that'll rouse the whole gang from their slumber.

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  • Roasted Pumpkin Seeds

    Roasted Pumpkin Seeds
    Elise Bauer

    There's a better way to make this post-pumpkin-carving favorite than just tossing the goopy seeds with spices and oil. First, boil the seeds, which not only de-goops them, but helps them crisp up better in the oven. And of course throw some pumpkin spice and a little sugar into the mix.

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  • Pumpkin Cookies

    Pumpkin cookies on a counter with a glass of milk
    Elise Bauer

    These are soft and cake-like and appealing for their humble nature. Switch up the mix-ins to your liking.

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    Continue to 13 of 21 below.

  • Basque-Style Pumpkin Cheesecake

    Basque-style cheesecake with slices cut out of it.

    Simply Recipes / Karishma Pradhan

    Visually impressive, this beautifully burnished cheesecake recipe is a take on the innovative one launched by Spain's La Viña restaurant. It breaks all the rules of cheesecake land: you bake it at a high temp, get the top and edges brown, then allow it to collapse. It's a striking dessert to present when you are otherwise cheesecake-impaired. And there's not even a crust to bother with!

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  • Pumpkin Pie Bars

    Pumpkin pie bars cut into portions and topped with whipped cream rosettes
    Sarah Fritsche

    Why even bother with the trad crust on pumpkin pie? It always gets soggy. Not so with these shareable bars, which have a pat-in-the-pan crumb crust. The candied ginger whipped cream is optional.

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  • Chocolate Chip Bread Pumpkin Bread

    Pumpkin chocolate chip bread sliced on a cutting board.
    Cindy Rahe

    Little chocolate chips freckle this loaf in the most charming way. But heck, you can bump it up to chocolate chunks for totally different character.

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  • The Best Pumpkin Bread

    Two loaves of vegan pumpkin bread on a cooling rack
    Sara Bir

    Don't tell, but the best pumpkin bread just happens to be vegan. It's super-moist, loaded with pumpkin spice, and amazingly like the pumpkin bread you get at Starbucks. This makes two loaves, so you can freeze one and devour the other.

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    Continue to 17 of 21 below.

  • Oven Baked Sweet Potato Fries

    Side view of a platter of homemade sweet potato fries.

    Simply Recipes / Eliezer Martinez

    Blur the boundaries between dinner and dessert by tossing the sweet potatoes with some pumpkin spice (and sugar, if you like) before you pop them into the oven.

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  • Instant Pot Pumpkin Cheesecake

    Instant Pot Pumpkin Cheesecake
    Coco Morante

    Wait, you've never made a cheesecake in an Instant Pot? Drop everything and make this right now. You'll get a cute little cheesecake without messing with water baths sloshing around. I make this to rave reviews every time.

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  • Homemade Pumpkin Pie

    Slice of Old Fashioned Pumpkin Pie Held on a Pie Server with the Rest in a Pie Dish Below It

    Simply Recipes / Cambrea Gordon

    We couldn't get away with a list like this and not include the classic pumpkin pie. It's the thing from which pumpkin spice was born! This one is everything you're looking for in a pumpkin pie: creamy, with just the right level of spice. It's a fixture on Simply Recipes. Every November, people all over the world make this recipe and now you can, too.

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  • Pumpkin Waffles

    Pumpkin Waffles on a plate with applesauce
    Elise Bauer

    This stir-together batter is a great destination for a partially used-up can of pumpkin puree. Throw them together on a weekend morning and freeze leftovers for a winning weekday.

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    Continue to 21 of 21 below.

  • Pumpkin Pie Spice Blend

    Overhead view of small bowls of individual spices set on a wooden cutting board to show how to make pumpkin pie spice.
    Cambrea Gordon

    Make your own pumpkin spice blend? Why not! It's fun to do and takes the flavor of your bakes and desserts from 2-D to 3-D. Quite likely you already have these spices on hand, anyway.

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