For many people, the dipped apple is a treat as synonymous with fall as changing leaves and unearthing sweaters from the back of the closet.
At Norman’s Apple Tree Chocolate, 754 Asp Ave., the seasonal treat is on full-time display, and it’s one of the few places in the Oklahoma City area to get the confection.
“Dipped apples were something my wife and I enjoyed, but we noticed that it wasn’t really a thing in Norman, so we found a great spot and opened up about three years ago,” said Scotty Jackson, who operates the Campus Corner store with his wife Ashley.
The shop sells caramel and chocolate-dipped apples in addition to fudge, barks, cake dots and more. In autumn, they sell pumpkin spice-dipped apples. In the winter, they switch to peppermint.
Jackson said business picks up in the fall, which is good for the store because apple prices drop then, during peak picking season.
“Some people think of treats as a summertime thing, but for us, just like ice cream sells more in the winter, we sell more stuff in the winter too. People like treats when they’re all cooped up,” Jackson said.
The store celebrates its three-year anniversary in January, and the couple is nearly ready to debut a refurbished Tulsa-built 1948 chrome Spartan trailer to take their business on the road to Oklahoma City, Edmond and Tulsa.
At OKC and Tulsa-based store Pinkitzel, 150 N. E.K. Gaylord Blvd., chocolate and caramel dipped apples are sold from mid-October through Valentine’s Day.
Pie rush
At the Plaza District’s Pie Junkie, the brainchild of friends Leslie Coale-Mossman and Darcy Schein, the coming of fall represents the beginning of the busiest time of the year, which hits a crescendo just before Thanksgiving, a time Schein jokingly refers to as “Black Pieday.”
“Thanksgiving isn’t complete without pie, and it’s an honor to be included at the table for so many family celebrations,” Schein said.
Pie Junkie offers a rotating menu of seasonal pies in addition to traditional fall favorites like pumpkin, pecan and apple crumble. This fall, Pie Junkie will sell a pumpkin crumble, orange bourbon pecan and apple cranberry crumble, all of which can be topped with a maple bourbon whipped cream.
In the winter, the store adds holiday mint and red velvet cream pies.
Baked treats
Open for a year and a half, Oklahoma City’s Belle Kitchen, 7509 N May Ave., has earned the distinction as Oklahoma’s best doughnut from national outlets like BuzzFeed and the Travel Channel.
Belle Kitchen’s doughnut is a brioche dough, so it has a higher egg and butter content, which gives it an edge over traditional dough. Owner Cheryl Davenport said she will rotate seasonal flavors until the end of the year.
It means the appearance of pumpkin cheesecake-stuffed doughnuts, pumpkin-spiced macarons and an apple crumble-topped doughnut. An apple and arugula grilled cheese and a farmer’s crêpe with arugula will make appearances on the cafe’s special board too.
“Fall means harvest time,” Davenport said. “It means more root vegetables on the cafe side.”
Davenport said business usually picks up in September when temperatures start dropping. She said the business supplements the slower summer months by offering cooking and baking classes.
At Norman’s Crimson & Whipped Cream Bakery, 331 White St., owner Ashleigh Barnett is eagerly gearing up for the fall — she said October is her favorite month.
“It’s the best time of year and my favorite season,” Barnett said. “It means hockey season, pumpkins and Halloween.”
Crimson & Whipped Cream offers a rotating menu of fall treats, but pumpkin spice lattes, pumpkin whoopie pies and pumpkin bread are currently available. Throughout the season, the bakery will offer seasoned applesauce cake, pumpkin cupcakes with brown butter frosting, pumpkin pie, pecan tassies, apple cider doughnuts and pumpkin snickerdoodles.
Print headline: Sweet treats; One of the most exciting things about fall is desserts sweetened with apple and flavored for the season.
