Desserts to be Thankful For

Are you still struggling to choose a dessert or two for your Thanksgiving feast?  If you are, I’d like to humbly suggest the following options.  They’re some of my favorites.

Thanksgiving just wouldn’t be Thanksgiving without my pumpkin cheesecake with gingersnap crust and bourbon-sour cream topping.  I first made it for Thanksgiving 2007 and, after her first bite, my sister told me I was going to be bringing it for every family Thanksgiving from then on.  I’m okay with that because I love this cheesecake.

 My other Thanksgiving favorite is this pear pie with maple and ginger.  It uses naturally sweet, seasonal pears, which offer a perfect contrast to maple syrup and warming ginger. 

Pear and apple upside-down gingerbread cakelets are chock full of fall flavors all in one individual cake.  Who doesn’t love getting their own little dessert?

If you’re looking for a new take on pumpkin pie, try this pumpkin tart.  The filling has all the smooth richness you love about pumpkin pie with a more refined look.

Perhaps you’re looking to put together a dessert table so your guests can nibble on several different sweets.  You’ll want to include these pumpkin chai blondies with spiced cream cheese frosting.  They’re out of this world. 

Another great addition to a dessert table would be mini pumpkin cheesecakes with cinnamon crust.  Everyone loves cheesecake and keeping them small means your guests won’t feel so bad reaching for another dessert if you keep everything small.

No dessert table would be complete without cookies, so I recommend these oatmeal, date, and walnut spice cookies.  They are full of flavor without being too sweet.

If dates aren’t your thing, might I suggest these variations on classic pumpkin cookies.  One uses chocolate and walnuts and the other uses dried cranberries and pecans.  How could you possible go wrong?

Quick breads are another Thanksgiving favorite, and one of my all-time favorites is this tasty and fluffy ginger-pear-walnut bread.

This autumn harvest bread is a wonderful and flexible quick bread.  The base is a delicious apple pumpkin bread.  I like to add dried cranberries, golden raisin, chopped apple, and walnuts, but you can add whatever combination of mix-ins you’d like.

I hope these suggestions have helped you out and I hope you and your family enjoy whatever desserts you’ve chosen to make them.