Applesauce

The ultimate use for apples. It's better than anything you'll ever buy in the store and it can be frozen for a great taste of fall, when hunkered down in the winter. Freeze it unsweetened and you can use it as an oil substitute in desserts. This recipe from Smitten Kitchen is perfect, plus great for babies, and who doesn't love babies? Here's a sweetened version from Simply Recipes.

And now that you have wonderful, fresh applesauce, here's some delicious recipes that call for just that:

Apple Muffins

These muffins from Ellie Krieger are the perfect alternative to boring breakfast food, with great fall flavors like cinnamon and brown sugar, plus they pack good nutritional heat with whole wheat flour and buttermilk. 

Applesauce Cake with Caramel Glaze

A decadent spin on the classic applesauce cake. They had me at caramel glaze. From the genius that is Food52.

Applesauce Squash Cake

When I was tweenager I spent many hours at my BFF's house, eating her parents' food and swimming in their pool. Amongst the culinary memories is an amazing zucchini bread that I've never been able to recreate, which is to say I recommend using as much zucchini as possible in this recipe with the hope that you will get close. Plus, it's from Alstede Farms, which is local and great fun for the kiddies. 

French Apple Tart

Veering from our applesauce theme for a good cause: The Apple Tart. The perfect seasonal dessert to take to a dinner party, and you can even let the kids layer the apples. From Ina Garten. If you want to feel a little more French about the whole thing, you can go the Tarte Tatin route. It's quite an effort though! Again, from the gurus at Smitten Kitchen. 

Fig Preserves

I promised you figs and this recipe from Food Network magazine looks mighty tasty. Try it and tell us in the comments how it worked out! I love putting things up, as my mother used to say, so a good preserves recipes is always useful. 

Crafts and Other Leafy Activities

Before the weather gets rainy and dark, it's a gorgeous time to be outside. Consider collecting some old clothes from your donation pile and making a scarecrow with leaves instead of straw, or arranging your piles of leaves into a maze. 

The Native Plant Society of New Jersey has useful information about local foliage. You can make a book of the leaves and go on a scavenger hunt — just avoid the poison ivy! 

Once you've collected the leaves and other little bits of fall, there's several ways to preserve and display them. 

Finally, when you go apple picking, take one of these bags homemade by the little hands of your little ones. 

Enjoy.