Eat Dessert First

A guide to easy, last-minute Thanksgiving sweets

Bored by plain-old apple pie? Think there should be more cake at Thanksgiving? Wonder why there is all that pie when there should be cookies?** Here’s a round-up of some of my most popular Thanksgiving and holiday-time desserts.

For tips on how to make and enjoy these desserts if you’re not having a crowd, see the bottom of the page.

The Recipes

Mollie Katzen’s No-Fail Pie Crust

If Mollie Katzen, the queen of cooking and creator of the Moosewood Cookbooks (along with TK others) says this is no-fail, she means it. She wants you to be happy.

Cranberry Ginger Nantucket Pie

This has more to do with Pi than pie. Like, it’s circular in shape, but other than that, bears no resemblance to a pie. It’s a quaint New England-ism to call this lush spice cake, bright with fresh ginger and topped in gooey cranberries, a pie.

Chocolate Bourbon Pecan Pie

Seems a bit braggy of me, but this is the gold standard of a chocolate bourbon pecan pie. Ask the many people who’ve made this recipe.

Apple-Raspberry Crumb Pie

You can substitute cranberries for the raspberries in this recipe for a classic touch, but you can also throw in a bunch of frozen raspberries and save the cranberries for relish

Pumpkin Spice Snickerdoodles

Was it necessary to bring one more pumpkin spice thing into this world? In the case of these classic snickerdoodles, the pumpkin spice glow up is a resounding yes.

Cranberry-Apple Upside Pumpkin Cake

This hits all the fall flavors, and delivers a sticky caramel topping. Put it on the counter when your guests descend upon you, and they won’t complain about dinner being late. Also, if they know what’s effing good for them, they won’t complain about anything.

Pumpkin Apple Crumb Cake

This will be Thanksgiving Day breakfast. Spicy and studded with apples and loads of crumbly streusel, it pairs very nicely with the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.

Hazelnut Honey Spice Cake

This, and the pear cake below, are elegant, suave cakes that are very easy to make. They demand center stage on a Thanksgiving dessert buffet table. Do not let the Jell-o mold with marshmallows near them. It’s in their contract.

Pear Chocolate Marzipan Cake

I love this cake. I mean, I love all my cakes, but this girl is different and special and we should celebrate that.

Bourbon Pecan Chocolate Chip Cookies

These are chocolate chip cookies with bourbon and toasted pecans in them. They are good.

Lemon Bars

Brighten up the whole affair and bake lemon bars. Everybody loves them, and everyone will eat them, as opposed to, say, pumpkin pie.

Maple Orange Granola,

And I’m going to send my guests home with this Maple Orange Granola, in case they get a little peckish on the way home.

Not having a crowd? Here’s how to enjoy these desserts.

Pie crust: Make and divide into two. Make a smaller pie with the one crust and wrap the other and freeze until it’s time for pie again.

Cakes: All these cakes can be baked, then divided in half or into quarters. Wrap hunks of cake for the freezer, first in aluminum foil, then in either a layer or two of cling film, or a zipper freezer bag. Mark the outside of the package with the contents and date. I guarantee you will not remember what the silver-wrapped chunk is when you’re nosing around in your freezer in a month. Let the cake thaw on counter before eating, or perk up any formerly frozen thing with a quick warm up in the toaster oven.

**To any of my former or current journalism students who I chided for starting an article with a question, I did say there were exceptions. Didn’t I?

Happy Thanksgiving to those who celebrate. And general good vibes to all of us and a wish for peace and sanity in the world.

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