Everything I actually cook for the Thanksgiving table. pies worth heating up the oven for, sheet cakes that feed twenty people without fuss, and ones you can make days in advance so Thursday isn’t a disaster.
Here’s to Thanksgiving desserts. Everyone acts like it’s supposed to be a pie, and then four pies appear and no one has room. So I’ve ranked this by the decision you actually make, not what’s in it.
The pies, if you’re making a pie
Sweet Potato Pie that is, I would put it on the table before the pumpkin, and I will not ask questions. A classic French silk pie my favorite non-pumpkin thing on the whole table – silky and cool and not too sweet. Fluffy Cranberry Cream Pie is beautiful, astringent to all that wealth. And if someone at your table wants something bright at the end, Lemon Meringue Pie with Citrus Spiced Sugar Cookie Crust does the job beautifully.
What to cook if you don’t want to make a pie?
Sheet cake. Indeed. Brown Butter Pumpkin Texas Sheet Cake it’s huge, delicious, and travels smooth, which is important when you’re hauling desserts around town. Apple Cinnamon Texas Sheet Cake is the apple version of the same idea. And Pumpkin Spice Tiramisu There’s no need for an oven at all, which is a pretty great value at Thanksgiving.
Comfortable people that no one argues about
Sit down and stay a while Apple Crisp This is the recipe I make most in the fall, crunchy oat topping and no fuss. Pumpkin bread with walnuts kept for days and doubles as brunch on Fridays. Bread and Butter Bread Pudding it’s what I make when I want the kitchen to smell like something and I don’t want to think too hard.
Cookies for the table (and for people who don’t like pie)
They exist, and the cookie plate is the quiet hero of the dessert table because it travels and holds. Taylor Swift’s Chai Sugar Cookies are comfortable and a bit popular. Brown Butter Oatmeal Apple Cookies are the ones I have on repeat this time of year. The new classic Snickerdoodle! is that it makes the whole house smell like autumn.
What can I cook for Thanksgiving?
Most of it, honestly, and that’s the real trick. Loaf cakes are the most indulgent. Cranberry Orange Loaf Cake and: Gingerbread Swirl Bundt Cake both are better on the second day, and Perfect Cinnamon Bundt Cake! keeps it nice. The cookie dough is freezing, so you can scoop it up now and bake it Thursday morning. Custard pies want to be made the day before and the crisp is the only thing I would bake fresh because the hot crisp is the whole point.
How much dessert do I really need?
Two or three things, not five. One pie, something that isn’t a pie, and something to choose from with coffee afterwards. That’s the whole formula, and it means you have to sit at your own table.