Our Best Thanksgiving Desserts
Top off your Thanksgiving feast with our recipes for pumpkin pie, apple crisp, pumpkin cheesecake, praline layer cake and other holiday favorites.
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Pecan't Pie
Gerard Klass, chef and co-owner of Soul Bowl in Minneapolis, created this genius sweet-and-salty pie. It calls for pretzels, so the nut allergy folks at the table can finally have in on the goodness of pecan pie.
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Hazelnut Pumpkin Cheesecake
Trot this one out at Thanksgiving and watch those pies quake in their aluminum plates. Gingersnaps in the base and tangy sour cream topping balance the pumpkin-spice sweetness.
Related: Rich and Creamy Cheesecakes
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Pumpkin Chiffon Pie
A whipped-cream-based spiced filling creates a lighter-tasting version of traditional pumpkin pie; the gingersnap crust adds more kick than classic crusts. "This is a fantastic recipe," writes one of our website reviewers. "You get the wonderful pumpkin in a light chiffon pie! A holiday must!"
Related: Favorite Holiday Pie Recipes
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Paradise Pumpkin Pie
A cheesecake layer and nut topping help this pumpkin pie stand out from its peers. This recipe was a winner at the Morton, Illinois, Pumpkin Festival baking competition.
Related: Perfect Pumpkin Pies
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Brown Butter Apricot Bars
These deceptively delicious bars deliver the perfect, rich balance of sweet-tart fruit and buttery pastry.
Related: Our Best Bar Cookies
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Mommy's Pumpkin Pie
"This recipe is adapted from my mother's classic pumpkin pie," says Linda Hundt, owner of Sweetielicious Bakery Cafe in DeWitt, Michigan. "I added cream to make it a bit richer and orange zest for flavor." The result is a dark, mahogany pumpkin pie with ginger-cinnamon-clove spiciness.
Related: Pumpkin Recipes We Absolutely Love
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Caramel-Pecan French Silk Pie
Caramel and pecans form a gooey base for this chocolate dream pie. Make this decadent pie at least a day ahead so it has plenty of time to chill before guests arrive. Leaf-shape pastry bits create a festive finishing touch.
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Triple Pear Pie with Walnut Crust
You can't mistake the fruit in this cardamom-spiced beauty. Pear nectar and dried pears complement thick slices of fresh, juicy Bosc pears.
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Pumpkin-Pecan Tassies
These tiny pies, baked in a muffin tin, showcase the flavors of pumpkin and pecans in a one- or two-bite dessert.
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Apple Butter Pumpkin Pie
Apple butter lends extra sweetness and a slightly softer texture to classic pumpkin pie. The streusel topping adds crunch.
Related: Make Your Best Pie Ever
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Pumpkin-Praline Layer Cake
This nutty layer cake has a whipped cream topping over a moist filling of pumpkin, brown sugar, pecans, butter and more whipping cream. "What a beauty! Very impressive and pretty easy, too," writes one reviewer. "The praline layer is awesome!"
Related: Ultimate Cake Recipes
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Gooey Pecan Pie Bars
Not into pie? These sweet, nutty and oh-so-buttery bars are a guaranteed showstopper on any cookie tray.
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Red Velvet Cheesecake
We took the red velvet cake that we love and gave it a creamy twist. Don't let the red color fool you: The flavor is all chocolate.
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Cornmeal Pumpkin Cake with Dried Fruit Compote
Riesling-poached fruit and billowy whipped cream crown a dense spice cake inspired by ingredients from the first Thanksgiving.
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Crumb-Topped Apple Trio Pie
Crisp on top, sweetly tender inside, this quintessential Thanksgiving dessert blends tart and sweet apples-Granny Smith, Jonagold and Braeburn-with sugar and cinnamon under a brown-sugar and walnut crumb topping.
Related: Favorite Apple Pie Recipes
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Danish Pastry Apple Bars
This recipe for Danish Pastry Apple Bars comes from an Indiana teacher. "Excellent recipe!" says a reviewer. "It's just like apple pie in a cake pan."
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Pumpkin Cheesecake
This creamy, cool cheesecake is lightly flavored with pumpkin and spices, perfect with a cup of coffee after your Thanksgiving meal. The recipe comes from a Seeley, Wisconsin, restaurant.
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Melt-in-Your-Mouth Pumpkin Cookies
Top cake-like pumpkin cookies with a smooth brown sugar and butter frosting, then dust with cinnamon for a bite-size Thanksgiving treat.
Related: Holiday Cookie Recipes to Treasure
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Chocolate Cream Pie
The filling of this chocolate-crust pie is luscious, but not too rich. (Think old-fashioned chocolate pudding.) A bit of sour cream in the whipped topping balances the chocolate perfectly.
Related: Decadent Chocolate Desserts
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Cider-Spiked Apple and Pecan Tart
Apples are gently cooked in butter, then arranged in a prebaked crust and brushed with jelly. The result is an edible work of art.
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Caramel Heavenlies
Graham crackers form the base for this bar cookie with layers of marshmallows, brown sugar, almonds and coconut. It's a holiday favorite from Georgine Simmonds of Genesee, Michigan.
Related: Favorite Family Holiday Recipes
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Double Chocolate-Espresso Truffle Pie
Do you have a chocoholic in your family? Give them something to love with this ĂĽber-rich pie. For pretty chocolate curls, warm a bar of milk chocolate in your pocket or hand, then shave with a sharp vegetable peeler.
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Pumpkin-Chocolate Cheesecake Bars
This make-ahead bar cookie offers an irresistible stack of flavors: sweet graham cracker crust, rich chocolaty cheesecake, spicy pumpkin cheesecake and a topping of sour cream.
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Fantasy Chocolate Pie
Dream about all the ingredients you'd like to see in a dessert, and you'll see why we named this Fantasy Chocolate Pie. It's made with three kinds of chocolate pieces (milk chocolate, semisweet, and semisweet-and-white- chocolate swirled)—plus coconut, pecans and almonds. For extra indulgence, top with whipped cream and chocolate curls.
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Ginger-Cinnamon Apple Crisp
"This is a twist on a popular dish and is one of my personal favorites," says April Osburn from the Clabber Girl Bake Shop in Terre Haute, Indiana. Thinly slice the apples so they get done in the allotted baking time.
Related: Cobbler and Crisp Recipes