These Thanksgiving desserts span traditional pies to a few unexpected surprises, like ice cream and poached fruit, to make sure the end of your holiday meal is just as delicious as the beginning. Tryptophan be damned!
While I may be the family aficionado of marvelously carb-y Thanksgiving side dishes, The One takes the cake when it comes to the dessert table.
Literally.
His favorite dessert is my pumpkin cake with maple-cream cheese frosting. I’ve been making it for 29 years, ever since I developed it for the Los Angeles Times. And whenever we host Turkey Day, he orders me to soft pedal offering guests Thanksgiving dessert doggie bags.
He wants it all for himself!
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He adores pumpkin so much that I’ve made glazed pumpkin pound cake, pumpkin pie babka, and pumpkin-swirl cheesecake bars throughout autumn and winter for him.
The one dessert he forbids me to bake? Classic pumpkin pie. None, he says, compares to those sold at (bangs head on keyboard)…Costco.
But The One cannot live by pumpkin alone, which is why we’ve included cranberry crostata, pecan pies, cheesecake, and, yes, a pumpkin ice cream below. But this is a cold play on our pumpkin meringue pie–pumpkin ice cream, marshmallow swirls, and shards of pie crust. (The One made me do it.)
This pecan pie is extraordinarily simple and quick to prepare, and it has a perfect balance of flavors. It isn’t overly sweet, and the subtle vanilla custard goes beautifully with the pecan topping. It’s ideal for the holiday season. I’ll be adding it as a new Thanksgiving favorite.–Naomi
I have made this cranberry cheesecake recipe for several years, and it is excellent. Foolproof and so festive for the holidays. Orange in the filling is just perfect. Cheesecakes are the perfect dessert for a party as they can be made ahead and really are very easy.–Linda
Thanksgiving Dessert FAQs
How many desserts should I serve at Thanksgiving dinner?
It depends on the number of people at your table, but we suggest at least two, even for a small gathering. To be safe, plan on two slices of dessert per person. A pie usually has eight slices in it, so plan to have one dessert for every four people.
What can I make for my gluten-free, dairy-free, or vegan guests?
Ideally, you want to have a dessert that everyone can enjoy, without making anyone feel singled out. We love poached pears because they can be served to almost anyone, and can even be topped with a dollop of coconut whipped cream.
Our indulgent pumpkin pots de crème are gluten-free if served without the cookie crumbles. Making a pear-cranberry crumble with vegan butter is also a great choice if you’ve got dairy-free or vegan guests.
How should desserts be stored?
If they contain eggs, milk, or cream, store them in the fridge before and after serving. Other desserts can usually be stored at room temperature.
Desserts are arguably the most important (or at least most anticipated) part of the Thanksgiving meal. They often can be made a couple of days in advance, making them also one of the least stressful parts of hosting Thanksgiving dinner. So, pick a couple of the above Thanksgiving dessert recipes, get baking, indulge, and let the accolades roll in. You deserve it.
Do you have any keto recipes?
We do have keto recipes on the site, Donna. You can find them by clicking on the magnifying glass on the search bar, which will take you to our advanced search, where you can search by diet. For quick reference, this link will take you to the keto search results.
I’m using a digital scale. What exactly should one cup of flour weigh? Do different types or brands of flour weigh differently? I like to weigh ingredients when baking and wish that more recipes included the weights, both for cooking and baking. I look forward to your recipes each day.
Thank you,
Linda D.
Thank you, Linda! We appreciate you taking the time to say that! For our recipes, we use the standard of 135 grams/cup (4.75 oz/cup) for all-purpose flour. You will find that recipes that include weights generally use a weight of anywhere from 120 g/cup to 140 g/cup for all-purpose, however, we had our testers weigh flour extensively and this was the average weight. Other types of flour will have different weights (ie. whole wheat and bread flours are a bit heavier, whereas cake flour will be a little lighter). We do include weights on all of our recipes, and you can switch to a weight by using the US/Metric toggle switch above the ingredient list on the recipe. Happy baking!