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Must-Make Thanksgiving Desserts

Easy Pumpkin Pie With Brown Sugar Topping

You can’t put together a Thanksgiving menu and not think about dessert. In my house, some years we’ve had more desserts than people! Have a sweet ending to your Thanksgiving with these must-make desserts.

“This is a relatively quick and easy pie for your holiday table, especially so if you use a refrigerated (prepared) pie crust,” says Cindy Smith Bryson. “I like to use a lattice top to showcase the colorful berries. The yummy taste combination with the tartness of cranberries paired with the sweetness of apples will give your taste buds a tingle!”

I love sweet and tart desserts and this Perfectly Simple Apple Cranberry Pie hit the spot. Apples and cranberries are a fantastic flavor combination. Add the buttery, sweet aroma of the rum and you have one delicious pie. The crispy lattice across the top gives a flaky cinnamon sugar spice to each bite. Top with a dollop of whipped cream and you have a divine slice of pie.

Another fantastic cranberry dessert is Deb Justus’ (The Villages, FL) Cranberry Cake With Warm Butterscotch Sauce.

“I remember my mom making this cake when I was a little girl back in the 50s,” shares Deb. “There’s very little sugar in the batter and the cranberries make it very, very tart. By itself, you probably wouldn’t care for it. But what gives this cake its deliciousness is the WARM butterscotch topping you ladle over the top.”

The cranberries give this cake a bit of tartness. But, the magic happens when you pour the delicious butterscotch sauce on top. It is buttery, sweet and oh so good. Make sure not to scrimp on the sauce.

Pumpkin is awesome with almost anything and it’s especially good in Jolayne Cooper’s (Americus, GA) untraditional Chocolate Pumpkin Tiramisu.

“I was looking for a pumpkin recipe for the holidays and this looked and sounded good,” explains Jolayne. “Of course, I had to play with it and make it my own. I don’t have coffee or liqueur in my home, so that helped necessitate changes as well.”

Chocolate and pumpkin pair so well together. The flavor of spices mixed with cocoa gives this dessert a depth of flavor. Layers of pumpkin cream and chocolate pumpkin cream offer a nice contrast and taste wonderful with the vanilla pound cake. Dusted with cocoa and cinnamon, this will become a favorite.

Is it Thanksgiving without pumpkin or pecan pie on the menu? Not in my mind. Two pies I think are delicious are Sherry Wilkins’ (Cabot, AR) Chocked Full of Pecan Pie and Lori Moore’s (Collierville, TN) Easy Pumpkin Pie With Brown Sugar.

“This is a recipe I adapted from several recipes,” reveals Sherry. “We love pecan pie but my husband complained that in most of the recipes I tried there was too much ‘goo’ and not enough pecans. So, I adapted this from other recipes I had tried.”

If you like your pecan pie heavy on the pecans and light on the “goo,” then this recipe is for you! Full of crunchy pecans, with just enough filling to hold it together, this has all the wonderful flavors you’d expect from a pecan pie. Plus, it’s really easy to make. A great recipe for beginning bakers.

Pumpkin pie a family favorite? Then try Lori’s easy, delicious, and beautiful one.

“This pie pleases even the pickiest pumpkin eaters, including me,” says Lori. The pumpkin filling is sweet and creamy with just the right amount of spices. What makes this special is the brown sugar and pecan topping. It’s sugary, crunchy and perfect. Lori also uses a simple graham cracker crust that’s not only tasty but a time-saver too.

When your guests find out one of these Blue Ribbon recipes are on the menu, they’ll definitely be saving room for dessert. Is there a must-make dessert on your menu each year? Share a link to the recipe below. Happy Thanksgiving and Happy Pinching!