Cider, Pies, Donuts & Lattes: The Best Fall Treats in the Sacramento Area

When the weather cools and the leaves start falling, many locals have one thing on their mind: fall treats. Sure, cozy sweaters and crackling fires are nice, but there’s nothing like an autumn-spiced sweet treat to warm you up.

Pumpkin spice lattes get much of the attention this time of year (and rightly so), but there are plenty of other fall treats to be had as well. Many local bakeries start turning out autumn-themed desserts, and you can find everything from seasonal ice cream to donuts.

Of course, no discussion of fall treats is complete without mention of the many goodies you can find in Apple Hill. Apple pie is, naturally, the main draw, but there are also apple fritters, apple turnovers, apple cobblers, apple muffins, and just about every apple delicacy you can think of. Apple cider donuts are also popular, especially when they are still warm and sprinkled with cinnamon sugar. You can find them at Rainbow Orchards, High Hill Ranch, and Boa Vista Orchards.

But down here in the flatlands, there’s no shortage of fall treats to be had. Following are some options.

Pumpkin Spice Lattes in the Sacramento Area

Photo Courtesy of Temple Coffee | IG: @templecoffee

You can skip the big corporate brands and instead grab a steaming cuppa from one of the region’s small, locally owned coffee shops, including:

• Temple Coffee Roasters in Sacramento, Davis & Folsom: With multiple locations in the region, this popular coffee roaster offers gingersnap lattes with house-made ginger syrup and house-made ginger whipped cream.
• Steady Eddy’s Coffee House: This quaint stop in Winters offers all types of coffee drinks plus great food. Their fall lineup includes hot or iced pumpkin spice lattes and pumpkin cold brews.
• Mishka’s Café: This art-centric café-slash-bakery in Davis has a range of delicious fall treats, including a cinnamon maple latte, spiced apple cider, and a snickerdoodle latte.
• Pachamama Coffee in Sacramento, Placerville & Davis: With three locations to choose from, this fair-trade-centric roastery offers a pumpkin cardamom latte and a maple brûlée latte just for fall.
• Chocolate Fish Coffee Roasters in Sacramento & Folsom: This small local coffee shop has a pumpkin chai latte and a latte flavored with apple butter, which, incidentally, you can also spread on waffles or toast.
• North Fork Chai: Located in Newcastle, this cute shop produces its own chai spice, which you can buy to go. They also make various drinks with the spice blend, including a pumpkin chai latte and apple pie chai.
• Julian’s Patisserie & Café in Roseville and Folsom serves up French-style pastries and café favorites, offering both sweet and savory bakery items alongside decadent coffees like the pumpkin spice latte and pumpkin chai topped with pumpkin cold foam.

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The Best Pies & Cakes in the Sacramento Area 

Real Pie Company | Sacramento

This neighborhood bakery specializes in both sweet and savory pies made from ingredients from local farms. For October, they offer a Pink Lady and Granny Smith Galette, a Delta Bartlett Pear Tart, and a Bourbon-Walnut Pie.

Photo Courtesy of I Love Pie Bakeshop

I Love Pie Bakeshop | Carmichael

Sure, they offer apple pie and pumpkin pie, but you can also go wild and try the salted caramel Dutch apple pie, bourbon pecan pie, even a cranberry lemon pie, all of which are perfect for your holiday table.

Upper Crust Baking | Davis & Winters

The delectable desserts offered at Upper Crust Baking scream fall! They make a pumpkin cheesecake with toasted walnuts, a caramel nut tarte with a buttery caramel custard, and an impressive caramel apple entremet, a layered mousse dessert with a cashew Butterfinger base and a bright green apple mirror glaze.

Freeport Bakery | Land Park

Freeport Bakery just released its harvest menu, and it does not disappoint! It features a pumpkin cheesecake, ginger harvest cake, spiced cupcakes, cinnamon pumpkin coffee cake, and of course, pumpkin and apple pies.

Ikeda’s | Auburn & Davis

Ikeda’s has been turning out delectable pies for decades, so it comes as no surprise that they were voted the No. 1 pie shop in America by USA Today! Ikeda’s is known for their fresh fruit pies, especially their apple pies, as well their seasonal pumpkin and pecan pies.

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Other Fall Treats in the Sacramento Area

Photo Courtesy of Dunk N Run Donuts

Dunk N Run Donuts | Auburn

Fall has arrived in Auburn! Dunk n Run donuts offers a caramel apple donut that tastes like pie, not to mention a salted caramel donut and a pumpkin spice brûlée donut.

Babe’s Ice Cream and Donuts | Midtown

Vegan and gluten-free diners should be able to indulge in fall treats too! This shop in midtown offers a vegan apple fritter donut and a vegan candy apple butter donut, as well as vegan apple chai ice cream.

Photo Courtesy of Estelle Bakery & Pâtisserie | IG: @estellebakery

Estelle Bakery & Patisserie | Sacramento & Davis

This French patisserie creates exquisite desserts, including pecan tarts and pumpkin tarts. Their seasonal Golden Apple is an apple-shaped work of art filled with apple compote and vanilla ganache, covered in chocolate.

Ginger Elizabeth Chocolates | Sacramento & Folsom

This gourmet chocolatier in midtown is offering a pumpkin frozen macaron sandwich, a pumpkin cream cheesecake, and pumpkin spice soft serve. But what really takes the cake is their fall chocolate collection, which includes flavors like roasted caramel apple, pear cardamon tart, and pecan pie.

Photo Courtesy of Gunther’s Ice Cream

Gunther’s Ice Cream | Curtis Park

Located in Sacramento’s Curtis Park neighborhood, this longstanding ice cream parlor has handmade pumpkin ice cream and a pumpkin ice cream oatmeal cookie sandwich.

Enjoy Fall Treats in the Sacramento Region

Whether you enjoy classic fall treats like apple pie or one-of-a-kind treats like a salted caramel apple donut, the greater Sacramento region has something to satisfy your craving. There are plenty of spots in the region turning out delicious fall treats, or you can make a day of it and head up to Apple Hill to try apple cider donuts or apple pastries. But act fast — these seasonal delights won’t last long.