Fall Dishes Part Two The Sweet Side

 One of the best parts of fall is getting back into the baking groove.The cooler air draws us inside to the warmth of a cozy kitchen.We feel more energized too , ready to rake on rolling out dough and whipping up batters and  frostings>Luckily The New York Times has included some yummy dessert recipes in their fall guide. I'ts time to get baking.

Yesterday we covered the savory side of fall cooking, Now here's the treat  - the sweet side that would make the perfect after for those lush and ribsticking meals. These are perfect for ending a Sunday dinner or on a holiday dessert board. Times regular contributor Tejal Rao adapted  San Francisco chef's Elizabeth Prueitt's sweet potato tea cake with a meringue topping. Serve this instead of the usual sweet potato pie at your Thanksgiving dinner. The cake is made like a spice cake with the sweet potatoes married to a blend of spices like cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves. Brown sugar gives the cake a mellow flavor. wile the addition of orange juice gives it some zing. The meringue is the traditional recipe made with egg white, granulated sugar and vanilla.You could sub in aqua faba or chickpea water for the egg white.Another treat to make that requires no baking is apple jelly.Yewande Komolafe contributed this recipe perfect for the apple picking days ahead. Use Granny Smith, Pink Lady, Jonagold, Braeburn or Honey crisp for this. Lemon and sea salt are added to blnce the sweetness. Homemade croissants or brioches would be perfect for this for breakfast or an afternoon snack.

If you want true decadence then go for Samantha Seneviratne's Mississippi Mud pie. This is a toothsome layering of a buttery graham cracker crust topped with a brownie cake rich with cocoa, , dark chocolate , eggs and more butter. a rich chocolate custard tops this. This is an old fashioned custard made with cornstarch and egg yolks. Processed Dutch cocoa and bittersweet chocolate intensify the flavor.Keep in mind that this is a labor intensive pie. The brownie layers requires whisking the yolks and the eggs separately and melting the butter and dark chocolate in a bowl over a pot of barely similar water.It's baked until the crust is set and the middle is fudgy and moist. You can top this treat with freshly whipped cream for more decadence.Even though it's a savory recipe, Julia Moskin's pretzel recipe  adapted from one from Ann Arbor Michigan's Zingerman Bakehouse could easily be served slathered with jam or honey butter for a dessert.These are laugenbrezeln with lard added to the recipe along with barley malt syrup. If you can';t find the syrup use brown sugar instead. You'll also need food grade dipping lye for the initial dipping before baking,Rubber gloves are also needed for this and you'll need plenty of table space for rolling out the unformed pretzels.

Fall will be here and it's time to get baking. Try a decadent pie or cake or just have a warm pretzel with apple jelly to satisfy your sweet tooth. Any of these are perfect for the cool days ahead.