Calling all Thanksgiving Desserts!
My most favorite food holiday of the year is almost here!
I love everything about Thanksgiving. I mean it. Everything.
Turkey. Gravy. Every carb imaginable (especially the stuffing and the sweet potatoes). Green bean casserole. Cranberry sauce.
But what’s my favorite part?
(Really, need you even ask?)
DESSERT IS MY FAVORITE! It is a socially acceptable time to have multiple pieces of dessert, and I couldn’t be happier about it.
Today, I’d like to share with you some of my favorite Thanksgiving dessert recipes. There is pie, of course. There is cake. There is also crisp. Pumpkin crisp!
Tomorrow, I’ll share my absolute, hands-down, 100% super duper most favorite Thanksgiving dessert of all time. Hint: it’s in the photo above. Drool. Stay tuned!
But for now, keep reading to start the sugar stupor.
First things first: pie crust. A pie cannot be a good pie without a great pie crust.
My go-to all-butter pie crust recipe is Serious Eats’ Easy Pie Dough Recipe. It does require the use of a food processor, but that’s a-ok with me. I’ve made all-butter pie crusts using a pastry cutter and this one is the clear winner. I love how tender, flaky, and flavorful this crust turns out.
What if I want a dairy-free pie crust?, you may wonder. What if I’m dedicated to my mom’s tradition of using shortening in a pie crust? I like The Pioneer Woman’s Perfect Pie Crust in this situation.
But, you may say, that crust has an egg in it, and I want a vegan crust! In that case, I suggest using the Serious Eats’ Easy Pie Dough Recipe linked above and substitute Earth Balance Buttery Sticks for the butter. It’s delicious! I promise!
We’ve got the pie crust figured out. Now, what about the actual pie?
First, there’s the most requested pie that I make: Crumb Top Bourbon Apple Pie. This pie turns people who don’t like apple pie into apple pie lovers. Plus, bourbon. I love bourbon in baked goods. It adds a delicious and rich depth to them.
Second, there’s the apple pie variation that’s perfection if you want to bring one dessert to feed a crowd: Apple Slab Pie (with Browned Butter Frosting, omggggggggg).
Third, there’s the much more restrained and elegant version of apple pie: Smitten Kitchen’s Simplest Apple Tart (I like to use the Serious Eats’ Easy Pie Dough in place of the suggested crust in this one).
Hmmm. I’m noticing a theme. These are all apple pies.
A girl knows what she likes. A girl likes apple pie.
But a girl also likes chocolate and has children who looooooove chocolate. So for the children (really, FOR THE CHILDREN ONLY, I swear), I recommend the Toll House Chocolate Chip Pie from A Family Feast. I skip the walnuts for picky palates, and all turns out well. I’ve also made this pie in a dairy-free version substituting Earth Balance Buttery Sticks for butter, and it was splendid.
Hey now! There’s something missing! Where’s the pumpkin pie?
Remember how a girl knows what she likes, and how a girl likes apple pie?
A girl does not particularly like pumpkin pie and cannot be bothered to make it unless absolutely required to do so. (You may spy a pumpkin pie in one of the photos on here. All I can say is that my family made me do it).
Pumpkin crisp, on the other hand…
I tasted this Pumpkin Crisp with Walnut Crisp Topping recipe when my sister-in-law made it for me after I had my first baby. It was delicious. My mom then started making it too, and it is now her go-to pumpkin dessert for Thanksgiving. You get the Thanksgiving-ness of pumpkin without the fuss of making a crust, AND there’s none of that “how do I know when it’s done oh no it got cracks in it” business that goes on with pumpkin pie. So many wins here. I do prefer this pumpkin crisp’s texture best when it’s served cold. So plan accordingly! Bake it in advance and refrigerate until ready to serve.
But cake was mentioned! What about that cake?
Cinnamon Apple Cake (Yup, back at it with the apples again. I do not apologize one bit).
What I love about this cake is that it easily can serve double duty as both legitimate post-meal dessert and acceptable breakfast dessert. To be clear: I am not someone who objects to eating leftover pie for breakfast. But if you’re feeding someone who does, this cake does feel slightly less indulgent than, say, a slice of that Tollhouse Chocolate Chip Pie with a scoop of ice cream. On a related note: leftover cold Pumpkin Crisp makes awesome breakfast too, particularly with a dollop of plain yogurt.
I’d love to hear from you. What are your favorite Thanksgiving desserts? Your go-to recipes? The sweets that simply must be on the table for it to feel like Thanksgiving?
And be sure to check back tomorrow for the most deliciously decadent Thanksgiving dessert I know how to make. Is it time to eat yet?!?!?