Planning ahead for Thanksgiving? Don’t forget about dessert! Get a head start on your holiday preparations by saving your favorite EatingWell desserts to the MyRecipes app. With plenty of delicious options to choose from, you can easily keep track of the recipes you want to make for the big day. Try our Cranberry-Apple Streusel Bars and Pumpkin Trifle for festive desserts you’ll want to add to your Thanksgiving menu year after year.
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Cranberry-Apple Streusel Bars
Photographer: Fred Hardy, Food Stylist: Emily Nabors Hall, Prop Stylist: Lindsey Lower.
These fruity streusel bars are a standout dessert for holiday gatherings. The crust and crumb topping—made with a blend of all-purpose and whole-wheat flours—adds a nutty depth and sturdy bite that pairs beautifully with the sweet and tangy cranberry-apple blend.
Poached Pear Cake
Photographer: Robby Lozano, Food Stylist: Marianne Williams, Prop Stylist: Christina Daley
This elegant Poached Pear Cake looks like it came straight from a bakery window but feels right at home on your table. Fragrant Bosc pears are gently poached in spiced apple cider, then nestled upright into cake batter. As it bakes, the cake rises around the pears, creating a stunning centerpiece that slices beautifully to reveal the fruit within. Add a drizzle of maple glaze for a glossy, sweet finish. For the best results, use pears that are most symmetrical and uniform so they bake evenly and stand tall in the loaf.
Pumpkin Trifle
Photographer: Morgan Hunt Glaze, Prop Stylist: Lydia Pursell, Food Stylist: Jennifer Wendorf
We think this pumpkin trifle is the best dessert you’ll enjoy this fall, combining layers of pumpkin spice-flavored cake and a creamy pumpkin filling that captures the season perfectly. As a time-saving shortcut, we use vanilla pudding mixed with canned pumpkin and pumpkin pie spice for the filling, making it both easy to prepare and delicious. This festive dessert is sure to be a hit for the holidays or at any autumn gathering!
Cranberry Nut Bread
Photographer Victor Protasio, Food Stylist Sally McKay, Prop Stylist Hannah Greenwood
This cranberry nut bread brings together the tartness of fresh cranberries with the crunch of walnuts, all wrapped in a moist, tender loaf. Whether enjoyed as a breakfast, snack or dessert with coffee, cranberry nut bread offers a little bit of holiday cheer in every bite. To make it a little sweeter and to bring out more citrusy flavor, drizzle it with the optional orange glaze before slicing and serving.
Flaky Apple Pie Bars
Photographer: Jake Sternquist, Food Sylist: Kelsey Moylan, Prop Stylist: Breanna Ghazali
Grab your box of puff pastry for these easy and delicious apple pie bars. You can use any kind of nut you want, like almonds or pecans. These bars are a great choice for a fall dessert and would be ideal for a Thanksgiving meal.
Yellow Pumpkin Frame (Pumpkin Cake)
Photographer: Jake Sternquist, Food Sylist: Sammy Mila, Prop Stylist: Breanna Ghazali
This Indonesian bingka labu kuning, or pumpkin cake, is a wonderful alternative to pumpkin pie on Thanksgiving. A versatile cake, bingka’s core ingredient can comprise assorted root vegetables, from cassava to sweet potato and, yes, pumpkin. Once baked, it has a firm outer skin and a rich, custardy filling. Roasting your own pumpkin flesh is preferred, but you can use canned pumpkin in a pinch.
Puff-Pastry Apple Turnovers with Brown Butter
Photographer: Fred Hardy, Food Stylist: Jennifer Wendorf, Prop Stylist: Shell Royster
The filling of these flaky apple turnovers is made with browned butter, giving it a nutty flavor. Granny Smith apples offer a nice balance of sweet and tart, plus they hold their shape when cooked for a pleasant texture. If you want your turnovers sweeter without increasing the sugar, swap them out for a sweeter apple like Gala or Honeycrisp.
2-Bite Mini Pumpkin Cheesecake Tarts
Photographer: Rachel Marek, Food stylist: Holly Dreesman, Prop stylist: Gabriel Greco
These mini pumpkin cheesecakes are a festive dessert for any gathering, especially Thanksgiving. Feel free to sprinkle a little extra cinnamon on top to amp up the warm, cozy flavors. If you don’t have pumpkin pie spice, you can make your own with a mix of cinnamon, ginger, cloves and nutmeg. Use leftover pumpkin puree in muffins, soup and more.
The Best Easy Pumpkin Pie Recipe
Jacob Fox
This easy pumpkin pie recipe comes together in minutes, plus you only need six ingredients to make it. Using a store-bought pie crust makes it even simpler to prepare, but if you’d prefer to make yours from scratch, we have two foolproof recipes that are worth trying.
The Best No-Sugar-Added Apple Pie
Photographer: Jen Causey, Food Stylist: Rishon Hanners, Prop Stylist: Julia Bayless
This no-sugar-added apple pie gets its natural sweetness from antioxidant- and fiber-rich dates. Cider vinegar helps to enhance the flavor. We like Gala apples for their sweetness and crisp texture, but any sweet, firm apple will work well. If you like your apple pie on the tart side, add a Granny Smith to the mix. We use frozen pie crusts for the bottom and top of the pie. The dough should release easily from the tin for the top crust within about 10 minutes out of the freezer. If not, let it sit out a bit longer until it releases easily.
Purple Sweet Potato Pie
This purple version of classic sweet potato pie contains a shot of brandy, which adds another layer of seasonal flavor. Serve with a dollop of lightly sweetened whipped cream.
Sweet Potato Bundt Cake with Maple Glaze
This sweet potato pound cake started out as a way to use up leftovers from Thanksgiving dinner, but quickly became its own reason to make sweet potatoes. The cake gets better as it sits, so it’s a great make-ahead candidate for any occasion.
Fresh Apple Squares
One batch of dough does double duty as both the crust and streusel topping to make one of the easiest desserts around.
Sweet Potato Pie with Cream Cheese Swirl
This creamy sweet potato pie recipe is seasoned like a pumpkin pie with plenty of cinnamon and nutmeg and gets nice ginger flavor from the gingersnap crust. For the best results, roast sweet potatoes in the oven; in a pinch, microwave them instead.
Fried Apple Pie Rolls
In this healthy take on apple pie, egg roll wrappers stand in for pie crust, saving you calories and the headache of rolling out dough. We like to use Granny Smith apples because they hold their shape and provide tart balance to the sweet filling. Try dipping these handheld crispy treats in whipped cream.
Cranberry Crumble Bars
Jake Sternquist, Food Stylist: Holly Dreesman,Prop Stylist: Natalie Ghazali
These cranberry-orange bars freeze well. Make a batch on a free afternoon and pop them in the freezer so you’ll always have a healthy dessert on hand when company calls.
Pear Custard Pie
A velvety, light custard surrounds ripe pears in this healthy pear pie recipe. Serve with a dollop of vanilla whipped cream.