I love Thanksgiving! It’s my favorite holiday of the year, mostly because I live to eat. The turkey always tastes juicier; the mashed potatoes creamier, and the stuffing melts in your mouth. Having said that, no meal is complete without dessert, right? While pumpkin spice is my jam, I do like to switch it up, especially because many of my family members don’t feel the pumpkin love.
Fruit Desserts: hey if it’s fruit, it’s healthy right?
I love a good fruit salad. In the fall you can incorporate pomegranates, dried cranberries, oranges, pears and apples, with a nice lime-maple dressing. It’s so pretty you can help but want to eat it.
Technically it’s still apple season, and this is a way easier recipe than the traditional apple pie. Yes you still have to make a crust, but if you want another short cut, just buy the Pillsbury pie crust and call it semi-homemade!
I’m excited to try this recommended recipe because it’s gluten free and can easily be made vegan. If you wanted, you could even bake it while cleaning up between the main course and dessert and let the amazing smell draw everyone to help clean. BONUS: It’s also considered a breakfast bake, so if you eat it the next morning for breakfast no one can judge you and your pants will thank you.
Brownies: This is probably my favorite category!
These are AMAZING and melt in your mouth. The Pioneer Woman knows what she’s doing when it comes to brownies. Just be warned, they will actually melt if left out of the fridge too long.
Not to be outdone, Giada De Laurentiis kills it for my Italian family with these brownies. My husband and I have actually arm-wrestled over the last bite. But be careful…these aren’t decaf so they might have to be hidden from the kids.
These are the kids favorites, because well, what kid doesn’t like M&Ms. You could also swap out the butter and candies with dairy free versions, pretty easily, which is nice.
Bars/Cakes/Trifles: The forgotten gems.
You guys, Nigella’s recipe seems so exotic and yet pleasing to everyone’s palette, including my 2 and 6 year olds. I even found a chocolate olive oil at the New Canaan Olive Oil store. They are extremely knowledgeable. I highly recommend visiting, even if it’s just for taste testing. This is another sneaky dairy and gluten free dessert. (You can check them out in the FC Moms Blog holiday gift guide!)
For those who are die hards (like me) and want at least one pumpkin dessert on the table, this is an updated version of the classic pumpkin pie. My favorite part about this recipe is that the crust is an oatmeal cookie.
This is so pretty to serve and you can make it up to two days before Thanksgiving, if you need to knock something off the To-Do list. My secret, I don’t make the custard homemade. Shhh, I just use vanilla jell-o and call it a day!
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