Autumn treats: Fall flavors of Blacksburg

The nights are cooler, the days are shorter and the leaves are starting to turn. That can only mean one thing: Fall is just around the corner. With autumn’s inevitable return comes a plethora of seasonal treats in the Blacksburg area, both on and off of Virginia Tech’s campus.

This month, Bruegger’s Bagels in Turner Place debuted their new pumpkin bagel and pumpkin cream cheese. They are an exciting addition to an already abundant and unique selection of bagels and schmears: sesame, cinnamon sugar and rosemary olive oil bagels, along with honey walnut, onion chive and sriracha honey cream cheese, to name a few.

“Trying the pumpkin cream cheese at Bruegger’s Bagels was a life-changing experience for me as a pumpkin spice lover myself,” said Bruegger’s employee and senior cybersecurity management and analytics major Elizabeth VanGilder. “It tasted like a pumpkin was exploding in my mouth. I thoroughly enjoyed it and will be eating it again soon.”

Another on-campus option for students in search of fall-inspired drinks is Starbucks, or Corner ‘24 Coffee Shop, located inside of Squires Student Center. Customers can choose from a wide selection of options, ranging from a nutty pecan crunch latte to the iconic pumpkin spice latte. An expanse of pumpkin options, including pumpkin cream cold brew, pumpkin spice chai latte, iced pumpkin cream chai and pumpkin spice crème frappuccino, compose both fall menus. In the coming months, any drink may be topped with pumpkin spice cold foam, a play on traditional cold foam, blended with real pumpkin puree and finished with a dusting of pumpkin spice topping.

For students looking to venture a little further out of campus in pursuit of seasonal snacks, Our Daily Bread offers an array of pastries and sips worth the trip. ODB has a variety of seasonal autumn offerings, including pumpkin bread, pumpkin cinnamon chip scones, pumpkin chocolate chip muffins, pumpkin cheesecake, pumpkin strudels, apple cider raisin bread pudding, salted maple brown sugar cookies and fall-decorated sugar cookies. They also have a fall drink menu with eight different seasonal drinks, including espresso drinks, lemonade and chai.

When asked about fan favorites, Hannah McCoy, co-owner of Our Daily Bread, listed a few fall must-tries. 

“Staff and customer favorites are pumpkin cheesecake, which we carry every autumn, salted maple brown sugar cookies, peach cobbler latte and caramel apple chai,” McCoy said. "And of course, our pumpkin chocolate chip muffin, which is vegan and served all year round.”

Those with a sweet tooth will appreciate the assortment of chocolate truffles and ice creams that Sugar Magnolia provides. Located on Main Street, Sugar Magnolia is a comfortable, family-friendly spot, known for their decadent chocolate treats and ice cream scoops, as well as a curated gift shop.

This fall, seasonal truffle flavors include s’mores and apple pie, which are available in pumpkin and turkey shapes. Ice cream flavors that customers can look forward to include apple crisp, black cherry and chocolate peanut butter, with more to come later in the season.

On North Main Street, students will also find Halwa Bakery & Cafe, a woman-owned establishment with a culturally-inspired twist on traditional goodies. This autumn, Halwa features flavors such as pumpkin spice, brown butter, butter beer and candy apple, which may be added to any latte or chai, iced or hot. Stop by to try pumpkin chocolate chip muffins and pumpkin loaves, baked daily.

With countless autumnal options around Blacksburg, there is something for everyone. Whether it be an early breakfast pumpkin bagel from Bruegger’s, a pecan latte to sip on while studying or a post-dinner sweet treat at Sugar Magnolia’s, Blacksburg offers plenty of ways to ring in this fall season.