17 Fall Baking Recipes (No Pumpkin)

This list of 17 easy Fall Baking recipes are full of cozy vibes and flavor despite having no pumpkin in them- from easy cookies and desserts to gluten-free cupcakes, these unique but delicious ideas are great tasty baking inspo.

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Walnuts
Muffins
Cookies
Brown Sugar
Green Tea
Cakes
Savory Snacks
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There's nothing cozier than baking cookies and desserts in fall!

If you're not a fan of pumpkin, try this list of no-pumpkin fall baked goods.

Tip #1: A properly preheated oven needs time- at least 12-15 minutes to get to 350F/ 177C/ 157C fan, give or take depending on the size of the oven. So plan this into your baking schedule!

Walnuts

Holding up a big pieces of Chinese walnut candied with sesame seeds.

EASY Chinese Candied Walnuts (Baked)

These Chinese Candied Walnuts are crunchy, sweet, salty, and delicious. Easy to make, they'll done in one step in UNDER 15 MINUTES. And, they'll save you a ton of money as they're so much cheaper than those outside. Plus, they're healthier as they're baked (traditionally, they're fried, but baked ones taste just as good!)

A tray of homemade candied walnuts with sesame seeds.

Muffins

Matcha Mochi Muffins

Easy Matcha Mochi Muffin recipe

An easy matcha mochi muffin recipe that is naturally gluten-free. It's a perfect no mixer mini cake recipe for those who have celiac disease or who don't overly sweet desserts!

Click here for the green tea mochi muffins.

A tray of Japanese green tea mochi muffins fresh out of the oven.

Black Sesame Muffins

A close-up of black sesame mochi muffins with text above it.

Black Sesame Mochi Muffin (NO MIXER)

This easy Black Sesame Mochi Cupcake recipe is naturally gluten-free and requires no special equipment, not even a mixer! With its crisp exterior and soft chewy interior, it's a great mini cake recipe for those with celiac disease. (Vegan version included.)

Click here for the black sesame cupcake recipe.

5 black mochi cupcakes stacked on an Ikea plate.

Vegan Mochi Muffins

A tray of overbaked matcha and chocolate mochi muffins.

Vegan Mochi Muffins (Hojicha)

A super easy, no-mixer Vegan Mochi Muffins recipe that is naturally gluten-free. These Hojicha Mochi Bites are the perfect sweet-but-not-too-sweet treat for those on a plant-based diet or GF diet. Once you've had them fresh from the oven, the crisp exterior and the soft, stretchy, chewy dough will leave you wanting more!

Click here for the vegan fall bake.

Someone holding a mochi muffin with a bite taken out of it.

Cookies

Black Sesame Cookies with Chocolate

Half-eaten black sesame cookie with chocolate.

Easy Chocolate Black Sesame Cookies (No Mixer)

These easy Chocolate Black Sesame Cookies are delicious but super simple to make in UNDER 30 MINUTES. You simply stir the melted butter into the dry ingredients. (No stand mixer is needed, saving you precious wash-up time!) The nuttiness of the black sesame elevates the chocolate and makes it a more grown-up, not overly sweet cookie, with crisp edges and a soft, cake-like interior.

Click here for the black sesame chocolate cookies.

Close-up of a large, thick chocolate black sesame cookie.

Nutella Cookies

A tray of dry, hard, cracked hazelnut chocolate cookies made with too much flour.

Tip: garnish the top of the cookie with a toasted nut for a great crunch!

3-ingredient Nutella cookies

This delicious easy Nutella cookies only require 3-ingredients and are like a cake in cookie form! They're soft with crisp edges and have the fragrant Nutella hazelnut aroma!

Click here for the hazelnut chocolate cookies.

Close-up of a freshly baked Nutella cookie.

3-ingredient Almond Flour Cookies

Many round almond cookies on a white plate.

3-ingredient Almond Flour Cookies (GF) (DF)

These 3-ingredient Almond Flour Cookies are so easy and delicious, they're life changing! Naturally sweet from the almonds, they're perfect for those who have a sweet tooth! (These bake up into light and chewy cookies with a soft texture, not crispy ones!) (Gluten Free) (Dairy Free)

Click here for the soft almond cookies.

Close-up of a round cookie with a whole almond in the centre.

Walnut Cookies

Serve these traditional Chinese cookies with a nice cup of Jasmine Tea with Milk or Hong Kong Yuan Yang Tea.

Chinese Walnut Cookies (Hup Toh Soh)

Also known as He Tao Su, these classic vegetarian cookies are easy to make at home, using store cupboard ingredients, and can be made vegan as well (info below). Crispy, crumbly and fragrant, they go well with coffee or milk tea!

Try these vegetarian walnut cookies!

Chinese Walnut Cookies with Chinese New Year red packets

Peanut Cookies

These cookies are popular in South East Asia- I don't use eggs in my recipes, just egg yolks to wash the cookies!

FYI: We don't use peanut butter in traditional Chinese cookies! If you really must substitute, make sure it's a pure nut butter. If not, the extra shortening etc will wreak havoc on your cookie's texture!

Tip: if you can't make your own ground peanuts, you can get ground peanuts from the Asian supermarkets.

Chinese Peanut cookies

If your friend likes peanut cookies, she'll love these traditional chinese ones- they're so good someone once ordered 22 jars of them in a go! The recipe was developed after baking over 2000 cookies, as can be seen from the different versions shown in the photo!

Check out these old-fashioned Chinese peanut cookies.

12 types of Chinese peanut cookies made from 12 different recipes on a plate

Buttery Almond Cookies

6 American style Chinese walnut cookies on a Peranakan plate.

Like fortune cookies, these "Chinese" cookies were created by immigrants in America not China! Use high quality almond extract and almond flour (not almond meal) for extra almond flavor.

P.S. In case you've not guessed, I'm a huge fan of nuts. Hence, I have this sweet and savory nut recipes round-up on my blog!

Chinese Almond Cookies 2023 (Buttery)

These Chinese Almond Cookies are the Asian-American version: they have a sweet, buttery and crisp texture, making them utterly delicious!

Click here for the American Chinese cookies!

Close-up of a hand picking up a Chinese almond cookie.

Brown Sugar

Easy 3-ingredient Brown Sugar Cookies

Buttery, crisp but flaky and not-too-sweet, these deliciously easy 3-ingredient Brown Sugar Cookies are the perfect Holiday Bake for fall and winter! Lots of flavor for very little work, they're the perfect bake for when you're feeling lazy and don't have eggs.

Click here for the easy brown sugar cookie recipe!

Someone dipping a brown sugar cookie into a cup of tea.

Green Tea

12 bright green matcha cookies on a wire rack.

If you're a green tea fan with lots of matcha powder on hand, here are some some delicious matcha recipes that may interest you, such as this Starbucks inspired hot matcha latte, this oat milk matcha and these matcha muffins.

Easy Matcha Cookies 抹茶クッキー (4-ingredients)

These delicious and Easy Matcha Cookies 抹茶クッキー (4-ingredients) are a green tea shortbread that is soft and chewy. They have a beautiful green color, taste wonderful and are so easy you can make them perfectly the first time! (Matcha is expensive so I have also added a budget friendly option.)

Click here for the matcha tea cookies.

Matcha cookies with white chocolate on a white plate.

Pineapple Tarts

These are 1 of the most popular cookies in Singapore and Malaysia.

I used to sell pineapple cookies every Chinese New Year but the homemade pineapple jam is a PAIN. I would have to stir the pineapple jam for hours! (I don't like using store bought pineapple paste as it's too sweet and doesn't taste as good.)

Tip: Use unripe pineapples. We need to add a lot of sugar to preserve the jam and if you use a ripe pineapple, your jam becomes too sweet. If you're making open-face tarts, you need to bake the cookies first then add the jam half-way. If not, the jam becomes too dry!

Note: if you love pineapples, why not try this pineapple matcha drink? The 2 flavors go together surprisingly well.

Cakes

Butter Mochi

Butter Mochi Cake

This easy Butter Mochi Recipe is a delicious, soft, chewy cake that requires no mixer and is SUPER easy to make. (You can make it perfectly from the first time!) If you like Japanese mochi or Chinese New Year Cake, you'll LOVE this Hawaiian Butter Mochi Cake Recipe which is extra fragrant thanks to the caramel-like flavor of the butter, brown sugar, and vanilla! Plus the main ingredients are all readily available so you don't have to trek to the Asian Markets.

Click here for the Hawaiian cake recipe.

Cutting a Butter Mochi Cake with a plastic knife.

Matcha Cake

The ingredients for homemade matcha cream cheese pound cake.

Easy Matcha Pound Cake (with Cream Cheese)

This Easy Matcha Pound Cake, made with cream cheese, is delicious on its own, no need to fuss with frosting or buttercream! Plus, it's made from 6 simple ingredients that you can find in most supermarkets.

Click here for the green tea cake recipe.

Savory Snacks

Baked Samosas

Don't forget to serve with these Samosa sauces and side dishes. If you don't like potatoes, here are other samosa filling ideas.

Cheese Balls

Close-up of a half-bitten mochi cheese bread ball.

Cheese Mochi Bread

This delicious Cheese Mochi Bread Recipe is crisp on the outside and soft and oozy on the inside! It's also a super easy recipe: you just mix everything and bake. Plus no sugar is used so you don't have to feel guilty about snacking! (Baked) (Air Fried)

Click here for the cheese balls recipe.

Which of these Asian Cookie Recipes was your favourite? Tag me on social media (@greedygirlgourmet) if you make any of these!