The Best Thanksgiving Desserts
I was talking with my friend Joy Manning the other day about our mutual dislike of turkey, and she made a very astute point about the underlying food focus of Thanksgiving.
“I think it’s more of a butter holiday, a side dish holiday, a pie holiday,” she said.
Joy, I could not agree more. If I had my way (and lately, this has been possible!), I would just have appetizers, sides, and desserts at my Thanksgiving feast.
This isn’t surprising to anyone who knows me personally, because apps, sides, and desserts are pretty much my thing for every occasion and every day of the year.
Especially at Thanksgiving and Christmas, though, the lineup of potential choices within those three categories is overwhelming.
Who needs a turkey on the table when you could have six sides and three desserts, not counting any cheese straws, stuffed olives, or other pre-dinner nibbles?
And since I’ve already rounded up the best Thanksgiving side dishes on Good. Food. Stories., I now present the best Thanksgiving desserts I have to offer here.
Yes, pie features heavily in any list of Thanksgiving desserts, and this roundup is no exception.
But rather than a plain old pumpkin pie, I’d rather show up with a swirled butterscotch pumpkin chocolate pie that looks like it was baked in a Nightmare Before Christmas kitchen.
And instead of cranberry relish, I’m all about serving a cranberry pie–one that tempers its pops of tart berries with tender pears and tangy cherries.
If pies aren’t your thing, you could always serve some maple cream sandwich cookies alongside a cheese plate or a few scoops of ice cream and call it a night.
There’s never a wrong answer when it comes to the sweet portion of the feast, and that goes double for Thanksgiving desserts. Pick one, pick a few, and save room for the final course.
The Best Thanksgiving Desserts
Thanksgiving desserts are worth saving room for—especially these modern recipes for favorite pies and other holiday sweets.
Who needs the same old pumpkin pie when you can swirl up a seductive pairing of butterscotch pumpkin and bittersweet chocolate custard?
Cherry cranberry pear pie tastes like autumn in every bite - a sweet and tangy combination that will have you falling in love with fresh cranberries.
Adding Brie cheese to classic apple pie might be unexpected, but the hint of creaminess makes this dessert just a little bit more indulgent. Have it with a scoop of vanilla bean ice cream.
Maple buttermilk peanut pie is two desserts in one: a sweet-and-salty Southern peanut pie topped with a Canadian buttermilk maple cake layer.
Sweet potato praline pie pairs creamy custard with a crunchy praline topping for the ultimate Southern Thanksgiving dessert.
Maple cream sandwich cookies are festive and holiday-ready, but still fully autumnal before the season of gingerbread and peppermint arrives.
For those who love the combination of savory and sweet, here's a dessert for you: a pecan maple blue cheese bourbon tart that's the cheese course and the dessert course all in one.
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Casey Barber
Casey Barber is the owner and founder of Good Food Stories LLC and a visual storyteller whose work often focuses on the intersection of food and culture. She is also the author of the cookbooks Pierogi Love: New Takes on an Old-World Comfort Food and Classic Snacks Made from Scratch: 70 Homemade Versions of Your Favorite Brand-Name Treats, and she couldn’t get anything done without the help of her executive assistant cats, Bixby and Lenny. Her favorite color is obviously orange.
