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  1. Home
  2. Holidays and Occasions
  3. The Ultimate Thanksgiving Guide
  4. 20 Brilliant Thanksgiving Dessert Ideas

20 Brilliant Thanksgiving Dessert Ideas

Updated July 26, 2022
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mr-pumpkin pie image update
Credit: Jen Causey, Food Styling: Gordon Sawyer and Tina Stamos, Prop Styling: Lydia Pursell

Our favorite Thanksgiving desserts are sure to be showstoppers. Whether you choose a classic like pumpkin pie, or something easy and different like a no-bake cheesecake, find the perfect dessert to complete your holiday table this year.

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Classic Pumpkin Pie

mr-pumpkin pie image update
Credit: Jen Causey, Food Styling: Gordon Sawyer and Tina Stamos, Prop Styling: Lydia Pursell

Classic Pumpkin Pie Recipe

Refrigerated pie dough makes this classic pumpkin pie recipe simple to prepare. Bake the pie on a baking sheet in the lower third of the oven to encourage a crisp crust.

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Bourbon Pecan Pie

mr - Bourbon Pecan Pie Image.jpg
Credit: Antonis Achilleos; Food Styling: Jennifer Wendorf, Melissa Gray; Prop Styling: Heather Chadduck

Bourbon Pecan Pie Recipe

This is not your average pecan pie. Classic, ooey gooey, rich praline pecan pie filling meets just enough bourbon —think fragranced, without being boozy—in our Bourbon Pecan Pie. This pie may look and taste impressive, but it's deceptively easy.

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Pumpkin Spice Latte Cupcakes

Pumpkin Spice Latte Cupcakes image
Credit: Time Inc. Video Studio

Pumpkin Spice Latte Cupcakes Recipe

Loaded with toasty fall flavors, a batch of these easy PSL cupcakes will have you in sweater weather mode faster than hitting the Starbucks drive-thru.  

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Double-Crust Apple Pie

Double-Crust Apple Pie
Credit: Iain Bagwell; Styling: Mindi Shapiro and Amanda Widis

Double-Crust Apple Pie Recipe

A double crust seals in the apples' natural juices as the pie bakes for full-on apple flavor. Tossing the apples with apple juice keeps them from browning as you peel and slice them, and it adds a boost of apple flavor.

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Spiced Pumpkin Chiffon Pie

Spiced Pumpkin Chiffon Pie
Credit: Becky Luigart-Stayner; Styling: Cindy Barr

Spiced Pumpkin Chiffon Pie Recipe

Celebrate the best of fall flavor with this creamy pumpkin pie. This version of the classic Thanksgiving pie is a fluffier, less dense version of the original, so it's perfect for serving at holiday gatherings when you want a crowd-pleaser.

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Chocolate Fudge Layer Cake with Caramel Buttercream

Chocolate Fudge Layer Cake with Caramel Buttercream
Credit: Victor Protasio

Chocolate Fudge Layer Cake with Caramel Buttercream Recipe

If you're looking for an easy, decadent, and oh-so-yummy chocolate fudge cake, this is the perfect recipe. The key to this layer cake's lusciously messy look? A short spell in the freezer, which allows the ganache to set over the cake layers so that the buttercream can be spread on top of it. Make sure there is enough space in your freezer before you assemble the cake. This recipe comes in handy for birthdays, holidays, and the odd Wednesday pick-me-up.

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White Chocolate and Bourbon Pecan Slab Pie with Caramel Sauce

White Chocolate and Bourbon Pecan Slab Pie with Caramel Sauce image
Credit: Daniel Agee; Prop Styling: Audrey Davis

White Chocolate and Bourbon Pecan Slab Pie with Caramel Sauce Recipe

It doesn't get much better than this decadent version of a Southern classic. White chocolate, bourbon, and caramel give this pecan pie a flavor much more dynamic than the original.

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Raspberry, Sumac, and Almond Pound Cake

mr-Raspberry, Sumac, and Almond Pound Cake
Credit: Annie Campbell

Raspberry, Sumac, and Almond Pound Cake Recipe

The nuanced brightness of sumac matched with warming notes of almond and jammy raspberries takes a classic pound cake construct over the top and into pure wow-worthy territory. While it may seem like a lot between the batter and the pound cake's raspberry-sumac glaze (especially if this is a new seasoning to you), sumac—which is the dried, powdered berries of the sumac bush—is a spice you need not be overly reserved with. Given sumac's delicate tart flavor, a fair amount is needed here to shine within the context of the dense, buttery cake.  

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Tiramisu Cake

Tiramisu Cake image
Credit: Time Inc. Video Studios

Tiramisu Cake Recipe

Everything you love about classic Italian tiramisu, layered into an impressive cake. When you want to serve up something impressive and wow-worthy, the search ends right here. 

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Pumpkin Dump Cake

mr-pumpkin-dump-cake
Credit: Caitlin Bensel; Food Styling: Emily Nabors Hall and Kady Wohlfarth; Prop Styling: Kay Clarke

Pumpkin Dump Cake Recipe

Pumpkin pie and coffee cake's best features unite in this easy dump cake that's perfect for serving to a crowd. 

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Cinnamon-Apple Cake

Cinnamon-Apple Cake
Credit: Becky Luigart-Stayner

Cinnamon-Apple Cake Recipe

This 5-star cinnamon apple cake is one of our best-ever recipes and can be served as dessert or a breakfast coffee cake. The cream cheese in the batter gives the cake lots of moisture, while the cinnamon sugar topping is dense and crumbly. The cake is best warm out of the oven, and will keep for a week after you've baked it. Toss in walnuts or pecans to the batter for an added nutty crunch.

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No-Bake Pumpkin Cheesecake

mr - No-Bake Pumpkin Cheesecake Image
Credit: Antonis Achilleos; Food Styling: Jennifer Wendorf, Melissa Gray; Prop Styling: Heather Chadduck

No-Bake Pumpkin Cheesecake Recipe

Looking for an easy, crowd-pleasing holiday dessert that won't take up any precious oven space? Our No-Bake Pumpkin Cheesecake is ultra creamy with a nice pumpkin flavor, and not overly sweet. 

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Five-Spice Cookies

Five-Spice Cookies
Credit: Greg DuPree

Five-Spice Cookies Recipe

Look for five-spice powder on the spice aisle or with the Asian foods in your grocery store. We love the sparkle of sanding sugar used to coat the outside of the cookies; you'll find it in craft stores. Supermarket turbinado works well, too.

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Brown Velvet Cake

Brown Velvet Cake image
Credit: Time Inc. Video Studio

Brown Velvet Cake Recipe

This decadently moist chocolate cake is similar to red velvet, but skips using an entire bottle of red food dye. Crumbling the cake trimmings for garnish is an easy and elegant way to decorate. Spread the crumbs out on a baking sheet and let them dry out for a while to make them easier to apply to your frosted cake.

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Sugardoodle Cookies

Sugardoodle Cookies
Credit: Beth Branch

Sugardoodle Cookies Recipe

Girl Scout cookies are great, but these cookies are better! Tip: for consistent measurements when rounding and shaping your dough, use a mini ice cream scoop for the perfect size every time.

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Classic Chess Pie

MR_051019_chesspie27.jpg
Credit: Jen Causey; Food Styling: Tori Cox and Gordon Sawyer; Prop Styling: Audrey Davis

Classic Chess Pie Recipe

If you've got baking staples in your kitchen, then you probably have everything you need for a classic chess pie. This old-fashioned pie typically has two distinctive ingredients, cornmeal and vinegar, plus other on-hand ingredients such as sugar, flour, eggs, milk and vanilla. This version is made easy with the use of refrigerated pie crusts.

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Brown Butter Cake with Cocoa

Brown Butter Cake with Cocoa
Credit: Justin Walker

Brown Butter Cake with Cocoa Recipe

A good bit of salt enhances all the flavors here. Chocolate lovers will absolutely adore this easy and rich chocolate cake.

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Kahlúa Cookie Dough Bites

Kahlúa Cookie Dough Bites image
Credit: Time Inc. Video Studios

Kahlúa Cookie Dough Bites Recipe

If you're only going to have "a bite" of dessert, this is the bite to have. Easy to make and easy to eat, these bite-sized treats are sure to be the life of the party.

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Cranberry Cookies With Orange Glaze

mr-cranberry-cookies-orange-glaze
Credit: Caitlin Bensel; Food Styling: Emily Nabors Hall and Kady Wohlfarth; Prop Styling: Kay Clarke

Cranberry Cookies With Orange Glaze Recipe

Oh, so festive! These cakey cranberry cookies are a perfect Christmastime snack, dessert, or even breakfast.

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Easy Pumpkin Pie Squares

Easy Pumpkin Pie Square-image
Credit: Meredith Food Studios

Easy Pumpkin Pie Squares Recipe

Pumpkin pie, meet dump cake. These pumpkin bars taste like pumpkin pie with a sweeter, slightly crunchy crust. They're slightly rich, so they're perfect after a big meal, and make the perfect bite. Best of all, they're way easier to make than pie and the perfect treat for a crowd.

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    1 of 20 Classic Pumpkin Pie
    2 of 20 Bourbon Pecan Pie
    3 of 20 Pumpkin Spice Latte Cupcakes
    4 of 20 Double-Crust Apple Pie
    5 of 20 Spiced Pumpkin Chiffon Pie
    6 of 20 Chocolate Fudge Layer Cake with Caramel Buttercream
    7 of 20 White Chocolate and Bourbon Pecan Slab Pie with Caramel Sauce
    8 of 20 Raspberry, Sumac, and Almond Pound Cake
    9 of 20 Tiramisu Cake
    10 of 20 Pumpkin Dump Cake
    11 of 20 Cinnamon-Apple Cake
    12 of 20 No-Bake Pumpkin Cheesecake
    13 of 20 Five-Spice Cookies
    14 of 20 Brown Velvet Cake
    15 of 20 Sugardoodle Cookies
    16 of 20 Classic Chess Pie
    17 of 20 Brown Butter Cake with Cocoa
    18 of 20 Kahlúa Cookie Dough Bites
    19 of 20 Cranberry Cookies With Orange Glaze
    20 of 20 Easy Pumpkin Pie Squares

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