Monday, December 8, 2025

20 Greatest Thanksgiving Desserts – Recipes by Love and Lemons


Our greatest Thanksgiving desserts! Starting from basic pies to non-pie concepts like desserts and bars, these scrumptious recipes will wow your vacation visitors.



Have you ever chosen your Thanksgiving desserts but? I’m nonetheless deciding. I would go the basic pie route, or I would go pie-free, making a Thanksgiving dessert desk with fall crisps, festive desserts, or perhaps a show-stopping pumpkin tiramisu.

In case you’re on the fence too, I’ve rounded up our greatest Thanksgiving dessert concepts beneath. You’ll discover recipes for conventional vacation pies like pumpkin and apple, plus loads of non-pie Thanksgiving desserts. Choose one path, or make a mixture of each. Regardless of which you select, these Thanksgiving desserts will probably be successful!

Basic Thanksgiving Desserts


best Thanksgiving desserts - pumpkin pie


Greatest Pumpkin Pie

Pumpkin pie has at all times been one among my favourite Thanksgiving desserts. I particularly love this model, with its richly spiced filling and nutty pecan crust.


best Thanksgiving desserts - homemade cherry pie


Home made Cherry Pie

This basic cherry pie will add a pop of shade to your vacation dessert unfold! The filling is ruby pink perfection—tart, velvety, and scented with almond extract.


best Thanksgiving desserts - apple pie


Apple Pie

Good luck resisting a second slice of this selfmade apple pie! It stars an all-butter pie crust and a mouthwatering filling made with cinnamon, brown sugar, and a great deal of tender apples.


Best Thanksgiving desserts - vegan pumpkin pie


Vegan Pumpkin Pie

When you don’t inform visitors this pie recipe is vegan, they’ll by no means know. Made with a custardy coconut and pumpkin filling, it’s simply as scrumptious because the basic sort.

Thanksgiving Desserts That Aren’t Pie


best Thanksgiving desserts - pumpkin tiramisu


Pumpkin Tiramisu

Transfer over, pie! This no-bake tiramisu is much more spectacular. Layers of chai-soaked ladyfingers alternate with a luxe pumpkin cream.


Easy pumpkin cake with cream cheese frosting


Simple Pumpkin Cake

In relation to straightforward Thanksgiving desserts, you may’t beat this pumpkin cake. It’s ultra-moist, warmly spiced, and topped off with tangy cream cheese frosting. Nobody will miss the pie one bit!


best Thanksgiving desserts - easy apple crisp


Apple Crisp

Shhh, don’t inform, however I’d take apple crisp over pie any day. It’s simpler to make, it captures the identical caramel apple flavors, and the brown sugar and oat topping is healthier than pie crust.


Cranberry orange bread


Cranberry Orange Bread

Moist, vibrant with orange, and full of contemporary, juicy cranberries, this straightforward loaf cake is an ideal vacation dessert. Leftovers (in case you have any) are nice for breakfast!


Easy Thanksgiving desserts - soft pumpkin cookies


Smooth Pumpkin Cookies

Love & Lemons reader Catie described these cookies as “so good I’ve no phrases to clarify.” They’re like miniature pumpkin desserts. Company will love them!


Easy Thanksgiving desserts - one-bowl apple cake


Apple Cake

This one-bowl dessert recipe is sort of extra apples than cake. Don’t count on leftovers—moist, tender, and deliciously spiced, it disappears fast!


Best Thanksgiving dessert ideas - candied pecans


Candied Pecans

These bite-size treats are glazed with cinnamon and brown sugar. I like setting them out alongside different Thanksgiving desserts for visitors to munch on.


Homemade vanilla ice cream


Home made Vanilla Ice Cream

Degree up your Thanksgiving dessert desk by serving selfmade ice cream as an alternative of store-bought! Pair it with pie, or skip the crust and make sundaes with apple pie filling.


Easy Thanksgiving desserts - snickerdoodle cookies


Snickerdoodle Cookies

Roll these crowd-pleasing cookies in pumpkin pie spice as an alternative of cinnamon for an additional increase of fall taste.


Homemade pumpkin bread


Pumpkin Bread

This basic fast bread is one among our hottest Thanksgiving desserts—and fall desserts typically. It couldn’t be simpler to make!


Thanksgiving dessert ideas - applesauce cake with cream cheese frosting


Applesauce Cake

Applesauce makes this straightforward spice cake splendidly moist. We find it irresistible with a thick layer of cream cheese frosting on high.


Baked apples


Baked Apples

Topped with a nutty brown sugar crumble, these baked apples are like single-serve apple crisps. Serve heat with vanilla ice cream!


Brown butter blondies


Blondies

Brown butter provides butterscotch-y taste to those chewy dessert bars. Exchange the walnuts with pecans to make them much more festive for Thanksgiving. You can add dried cranberries too!


Thanksgiving desserts - pumpkin pudding


Pumpkin Pudding

These little parfaits are the cutest approach so as to add some pumpkin spice to your Thanksgiving dessert desk! Vegan and gluten-free, they’re nice for visitors with dietary restrictions.


Easy Thanksgiving desserts - cranberry cookies


Cranberry Cookies

A festive spin on common chocolate chip cookies, these guys are mushy, chewy, and loaded with cranberries and chocolate.


Apple crumble


Apple Crumble

This recipe is one among my favourite make-ahead Thanksgiving desserts. You possibly can prepare dinner the cinnamon apples and prep the topping prematurely. Simply assemble and bake earlier than serving!

Extra Thanksgiving Recipes

Need assistance planning the remainder of your vacation feast? We now have loads of savory Thanksgiving recipes too! Try these posts to get began:

Greatest Thanksgiving Desserts: Apple Pie

Prep Time: 1 hour 15 minutes

Cook dinner Time: 1 hour 15 minutes

Complete Time: 2 hours 30 minutes

Serves 8

This selfmade apple pie is one among our favourite Thanksgiving desserts!

  • cup packed brown sugar
  • cup cane sugar
  • 1 tablespoon Apple Pie Spice
  • ¼ teaspoon sea salt
  • 4 kilos good baking apples, comparable to Granny Smith or Honeycrisp, peeled, cored, and thinly sliced
  • 1 tablespoon contemporary lemon juice
  • 3 tablespoons water
  • 2 tablespoons cornstarch
  • ½ teaspoon lemon zest
  • ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 recipe Simple Pie Crust, chilled not less than 2 hours
  • 1 giant egg
  • Coarse sugar, non-compulsory
  • Vanilla ice cream, for serving

Forestall your display from going darkish

  • In a big pot, whisk collectively the brown sugar, cane sugar, apple pie spice, and salt. Add the apple slices and lemon juice and toss to coat. Put aside for half-hour to attract among the juices out of the apples. 

  • In a small bowl, stir collectively 2 tablespoons of the water and the cornstarch till easy.

  • Set the pot with the apples over medium-low warmth. Cook dinner, stirring, till the apples soften barely, about 5 minutes. Elevate the warmth to medium and pour the cornstarch combination over the apples. Cook dinner, stirring, till the apple juices bubble and thicken, about 30 seconds. Take away from the warmth and stir within the lemon zest and vanilla. Enable the filling to chill fully.

  • Once you’re able to assemble and bake the pie, organize an oven rack within the backside third of the oven. Place a baking sheet on the rack and preheat the oven to 425°F with the baking sheet inside it.

  • Make the underside crust. Place 1 disk of chilled pie dough on a frivolously floured floor. Mud the highest with flour and use a rolling pin to roll it out into a big 11- to 12-inch circle. Switch it to your pie plate and press it firmly into the underside and up the perimeters, permitting any extra dough to hold over the perimeters. Loosely cowl with plastic wrap and chill within the fridge.

  • In the meantime, make the highest crust. Roll out the remaining pie dough into an 11- to 12-inch circle.

  • In a small bowl, whisk collectively the egg and the remaining 1 tablespoon water. Put aside.

  • Take away the underside crust from the fridge and pour within the cooled filling, mounding it barely within the middle of the pie. Gently roll the highest crust over your rolling pin, then unroll it over the crammed pie. Crimp the perimeters of the pie crust to seal, trimming away any extra dough if essential.

  • Brush the highest crust (however not the crimped edges) with the egg wash and sprinkle with coarse sugar, if utilizing. Use a pointy knife to chop a number of steam vents within the crust.

  • Place the pie on the recent baking sheet within the oven. Bake for 20 minutes, then scale back the warmth to 375°F and bake for 45 to 55 minutes, or till the crust is golden brown and any seen juices are effervescent. You probably have a glass pie pan, test the colour of the perimeters of the pie. They need to even be golden brown. If the crust is getting too brown earlier than 45 minutes, tent it with foil and proceed to bake.

  • Enable to chill fully earlier than slicing and serving, not less than 3 hours.

  • Serve with vanilla ice cream.

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