8 classic fall spices you NEED to have in your pantry

Lots of people consider fall their favorite season! The crisp autumn air, the colder temperatures, the comforting dishes like pulled pork, pumpkin pie, cardamom cookies, or baked cinnamon apples– it all feels like a warm hug. 

Many, if not all, fall desserts are made with a medley of spices. Here are 8 of these absolute classic fall spices to include in your baking for the next few months!

Cardamom

Best in baked goods like gingerbread and shortbread. It goes great with cinnamon, chocolate, vanilla, and cloves. It’s mostly used in colder areas of the world, like Northern Europe, in Middle Eastern cuisine, and just generally in hot drinks to keep extra warm during the winter.

Allspice

Dried, unripe fruit with a flavor and aroma reminiscent of a combination of the three major fall spices: nutmeg, cinnamon, and cloves. It goes well in cookies, pumpkin pie, spice cake, sausages, and ham glazes. If you don't have any allspice, just mix some cinnamon, ground cloves, and ground nutmeg–and voilà! Allspice.

Cinnamon

Made from the inner bark of numerous tree species. It has a subtly sweet flavor and is excellent in lots of baked goodies, including cookies, cakes, cupcakes, crumbles, and many other desserts.

Ginger

Used to make the popular fall dessert, gingerbread! This spice has a strong flavor that adds a nice kick to both sweet and savory dishes. It’s a simple ingredient that elevates baked goods and hot drinks to fall mode.

Cloves

These blossom buds are perfect for spicing up your food and creating a more autumn-y vibe. Cloves can be used in a wide variety of things, including chocolate cake, citrus cookies, sweet potato dishes, and different kinds of bread.

Pumpkin spice

Rich, comforting and complex, the perfect balance of sweetness and spice, the epitome of fall! It's a combination of allspice, cinnamon, cloves, ginger, mace, and nutmeg. It's a great fall spice that works well in both sweet and savory dishes, complementing baked goods like cookies, muffins, and pies and hot beverages like the all-time fall favorite, pumpkin spice latte.

Nutmeg

Its smoky, sweet flavor enriches sauces, baked goods like cookies and pies, and vegetables like spinach and squash. Nutmeg can be bought whole and ground, but it tastes best when freshly grated, adding a toasty touch to any recipe.

Vanilla 

The most essential in baking! It’s the foundation of all baked goods. It enhances and brings out every flavor in your recipes. Mexican vanilla is the original version: perfect to pair with warm autumn spices such as cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice. 

Now that you know a little more about the 8 classics, here's a recipe for spiced cookies for you to bake with these delicious fall spices!

Recipe By Humboldt Sweets Bakery

Ingredients for the cookies:

1 ½ cups of sugar

½ cup of butter 

½ cup of vegetable shortening

A big splash of Vainilla Molina

2 eggs

2 3/4 cups of all-purpose flour

2 tsp of cream of tartar

1 tsp of baking soda

¼ tsp of salt

1 tsp of cinnamon

3/4 tsp of nutmeg

½ tsp of ginger

½ tsp of allspice

Ingredients for the cinnamon glaze:

½ tsp of cinnamon

2 cups of powdered sugar

2 tbsp of water 

Directions: 

1. Preheat the oven to 350 °F.

2. Using a mixer, cream the sugar, butter, vegetable shortening, Vainilla Molina, and eggs on medium-high.

3. Add the flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, salt, and spices.

4. Mix for 30 seconds until well combined.

5. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Scoop mixture, spacing cookies about 2” apart. 

6. Bake in the oven for 9 minutes.

6. Remove cookies from the oven and press down slightly, let cool the cookies on a baking sheet. 

7. For the glaze, whisk all ingredients together, adding a 1/2 tsp of water at a time as needed to get a drizzling consistency. 

8. Once cool, drizzle each cookie with the cinnamon glaze and enjoy.