Written by Morgan Chicchelly + Jackie Hunter, Des Moines Girl Contributor
What’s better than fall and baking? Fall and baking and football? Fall and baking and bonfires? All of the above? Yes, all of the above. Here’s your guide to baking this fall with local ingredients – from where you can find the perfect apples to local pumpkin spice and fresh eggs. We asked around (well slid into the DMs) of some of our favorite bakers in the Des Moines community and asked where they get some of their secret ingredients. Keep scrolling for our favorite orchard and pumpkin patch recommendations!
Flour + Butter
Ok let’s start with the basics. Don’t overthink these key ingredients. Local flour and butter can take a bake from being great to being the best you’ve ever had. Head over to Campbell’s Nutrition or Dogpatch Urban Gardens for Early Morning Harvest Flour. According to Chelsa, the owner of the incredible Bread by Chelsa B., this is a great Iowa grown and milled option based in Panora, IA. Want to go all in? Browse all the flours and baking goodies offered by Breadtopia in Fairfield. Breadtopia is open for online orders and pick-ups!
As for the butter, both Campbell’s Nutrition and Dogpatch will have you covered. If you’re lost, stick with WW Homestead Dairy’s butter at Dogpatch Urban Gardens.
Eggs
The home bakers AND professional bakers in the know have told me that there’s no better place for farm fresh eggs than Sweet Tooth Farm. Monika is a force in the Des Moines community advocating for food equity and social justice while urban farming on her plot of land in the River Bend neightborhood called Sweet Tooth Farm. She operates a donation-based community fridge, is a board member of Supply Hive, and is the President of Junior League of Des Moines. Check out all the cool projects she’s up to and how you can get involved here.
As market season winds down, you can email her at sweettoothfarm.dsm@gmail.com or slide into her DMs to place an order of eggs any time you need them. Same day pickup is available Monday – Friday!
Honey
We love adding local honey to coffee, bakes, and teas for soothing seasonal allergies. It’s also just a great alternative to other forms of sugar if you’re going for an “all local” bake (which if you do, please send us a pic!).
Hidden in one of our favorite coffee shops in the East Village is an amazing assortment of local honey from apiarist Daniel, who also happens to be the owner of Daisy Chain. The name Daisy Chain? Actually a reference to honeycomb. Daniel’s honey placed in the 2021 Iowa State Fair and will be a lovely addition to your bake.
On the north side or need an excuse to go? Pop into DSM Mercantile for a Muth Jar of Iowa Honey from Honey Hollow Apiary out of Indianola. You can browse some other fabulous local honeys in the last few weeks of the Downtown Farmer’s Markets.
Pumpkin Pie Spice(s) + Extracts
There’s only one place for spices and extracts in Des Moines and that’s All Spice Culinarium. We know it’s hard to remember to make an extra stop when you can buy spices and extracts easily in the grocery store, but we pinky promise that the difference in quality is astounding. Plus, the prices can often be CHEAPER. No, for real. Go check it out in the East Village ASAP. You can browse and place an order online as well for an easy pick-up, but we recommend spending a few minutes in there taking in the smells.
Get Them Apples + The Perfect Pumpkins
There’s some great places within just one hour of Des Moines where you can get your local, organic apples and baking pumpkins. Spend the time picking up the ingredients or use it as a day with your kids or girl friends. Here are our top five!
Wills Family Orchard
- Saturdays, 9 a.m. – 6 p.m. & Sundays, 12 – 6 p.m. in September & October
- 33130 Panther Creek Road, Adel, Iowa 50003
Located on 60 acres of farmland west of the metro in Adel is the Wills Family Orchard. The farm hosts Fall Festival days on weekends in September and October. Tickets for farm fun activities – corn pools, duck races, pedal tractors, slides, and more – are $6 for adults and $8 for children. Other activities on the farm include u-pick pumpkins, apple picking, hayrides, barnyard animals and gourd painting. Visit their store for some yummy donuts and warm up with cider.
Why we love it: Their crops are mindfully managed using biologically sustainable farming practices. Fruit crops are certified organic & the decorative pumpkins and gourds are minimally sprayed.
Best for: The perfect organic apple with your girls!
PURCHASE FARM FUN ACTIVITIES HERE.
Center Grove Orchard
- Daily through November 7th, 9 a.m. – 7 p.m.
- 32835 610th Ave, Cambridge, Iowa 50046
About 30 minutes north of the metro area is Center Grove Orchard in Cambridge. Between the apple orchard, pumpkin patch, farmyard, country store and sunflower meadow (expecting to be blooming until mid-October) there’s tons of attractions for the whole family! The giant corn pool is always a big hit as are the jumping pillows, super slides, apple slingshot and of course, bottling feeding the baby goats. Tickets at the gate are $14.95 Monday through Thursday and $19.95 on Fridays and the weekends.
Why we love it: You can easily make a whole day out of a visit to Center Grove! It’s definitely worth the drive!
Best for: Families, Insta-worthy shots
SAVE ON GATE ADMISSION BY PURCHASING ONLINE.
Iowa Orchard
- Pumpkin Patch: Tuesday-Sunday 9 a.m. – 6 p.m. from late September through Halloween
- Family Fun Zone: Weekends only 10 a.m. – 6 p.m. from late September through the last week of October
- 9875 Meredith Dr, Urbandale, Iowa 50322
Smack dab in the middle of the Des Moines area is the Iowa Orchard. At their Meredith Drive location in Urbandale, you can visit the Iowa Orchard’s pumpkin patch and pick out your pumpkin from the pre-cut selection. All the reward without any of the messy work! For the price of the $5 admission, you can take part in the family fun zone which includes a hay rack tractor ride through the orchard to the play area with giant legos, hay slides and the corn box. Unfortunately, the apple crop was damaged by a hail storm this year so there won’t be any apple picking available at their Granger location.
Why we love it: Location, location location! It’s very convenient.
Best for: Those with super busy lives that still want to have all the fun fall experience or those with little kids!
Rose Farmstead
- Friday | 9 AM-1 PM
- Saturday | 9 AM-1 PM
- Sunday | 1-5 PM
- 197 43rd Ave, Norwalk, IA 50211
We can’t get enough of Rose Farmstead in ANY season. Whether you’re going for a girl’s day, a cooking class, story time, sunrise yoga, or a photo shoot, this is the perfect little getaway for a weekend refresh. Check out their Instagram for the latest lineup of events. No matter what you’re there for, stop into the Shoppe for more local ingredients and, of course, pumpkins!
Why we love it: Rose Farmstead offers amazing events all year round, but is the perfect easy stop for a girl’s day afternoon.
Best for: Your next Instagram or TikTok.
Howell’s Pumpkin Patch
- Daily, 10 a.m. – 6 p.m. year round
- 3145 Howell Court, Cumming, Iowa 50061
Howell’s Pumpkin Patch – just 10 minutes south of Des Moines in Cumming – is a local legend. General admission is $11 per person for those over 2 years old and discounted to $9 for Seniors 65+ and military personnel. Activities included with general admission include a bathtub train, hamster wheel, push pull go karts, a chalk farm and SO much more! Other activities for an additional cost include a pumpkin cannon, corn cannon and a zipline that Howell’s added back in 2019.
Why we love it: It’s the quintessential pumpkin patch experience and there’s something here for everyone!
Best for: Large groups. Experiences at Howell’s can be booked for group events, corporate events, birthday parties and school field trips.
GET YOUR ADMISSION TICKETS HERE.
Did you end up baking with local ingredients? Did you decide instead to just order amazing vegan, gluten free goodies from Thistle’s Summit? No judgment. That’s just as good. Tell us how you liked the experience. Did your bakes taste better? What was your favorite part?
