Our 32 Best Thanksgiving Desserts

By Food & Wine
Updated October 08, 2020
John Kernick

Whether you prefer pumpkin or apple pie, dessert may be the best part about Thanksgiving. From apple crisp to a salted-caramel cheesecake, any one of these stunning desserts will be a beautiful, well-loved addition to your holiday table.Related: Ultimate Thanksgiving Guide

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Brown Butter Pecan Pie with Espresso Dates

Credit: John Kernick
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At Sofra Bakery & Cafe in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Maura Kilpatrick is known for her ingenious blending of American and Middle Eastern flavors. Here she balances sweet Medjool dates with bitter espresso and toasty brown butter for a pie that might look familiar but is surprisingly complex.

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Gluten-Free Pumpkin-Ginger Cupcakes

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These supermoist, gluten-free cupcakes have terrific pumpkin flavor and an irresistible topping of fluffy, creamy frosting and golden caramel sauce.

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Quince Tarte Tatin

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Chef Michael Tusk uses fresh quinces from California to make this twist on the classic French upside-down apple tart. Quince is more dense than apple, so it retains a bit of firmness even after it's cooked.

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Buttermilk Cake with Riesling-Poached Pears

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“We get these crazy organic pears that are ugly as sin,” says Tory Miller of the Moon-glow variety he uses throughout the cold winter months. Peeling them, though, reveals a fruit so beautiful and juicy that he prefers a minimalist approach, either serving them raw or poaching them in wine, such as the Riesling he uses here.

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Vanilla-and-Cider Panna Cottas with Spiced Ginger Cookies

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Shawn McClain tops his cinnamon-and-vanilla-flavored panna cotta with an elegant apple-cider gelée. He equates the dessert to a Creamsicle because it successfully combines creamy and tangy flavors.

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Apple Tart with Almond Cream

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The thin, crisp pastry shell is filled with a layer of almond cream made from both finely ground and coarsely chopped nuts that give the tart layers of texture. The thinly sliced apples on top caramelize as the tart bakes.

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Pear Tarte Tatin with Red-Wine Caramel

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Instead of apple pie, Shawn McClain ends his Thanksgivings with this stunning tarte Tatin. Because the recipe calls for store-bought puff pastry, it’s quite easy to prepare.

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Lemon-Cranberry Pie Bars

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A beautiful alternative to the classic Thanksgiving pie, this sweet and tangy bar has a simple press-in crust and a lemon curd filling swirled with cranberry puree.

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Vanilla Ice Cream Bread Pudding with Whiskey Caramel

Credit: John Kernick
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This genius bread pudding is made with melted vanilla ice cream, eliminating the need to make a custard.

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Marbled Pumpkin Cheesecake with a Brownie Crust

Credit: © William Meppem
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Thanksgiving Make-Ahead Tip: The baked cheesecake can be refrigerated in the springform pan for up to 4 days.

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Apple Brown Betty

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Michael Symon usually doesn’t make dessert for holidays. Still, his version of this classic is great after a big meal because it isn’t too sweet or too heavy. He layers brioche bread crumbs with sliced apples and a cinnamon-citrus sugar, baking everything together so it becomes wonderfully soft.

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Lattice-Topped Apple Pie

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Greg Patent likes to use an assortment of tart and sweet apples in this dense, apple-packed pie. Some varieties to look for are Greening, Cortland, Winesap, Braeburn, Jonamac and Granny Smith.

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Apple Crostada with Brown Butter Streusel

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Ginger and Pear Upside-Down Cake

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Thanksgiving Make-Ahead Tip: The unmolded cake can be refrigerated for up to 2 days.

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Apple Crisp with Sweet Ginger and Macadamia Nuts

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To make chopping macadamia nuts easy, Greg Patent suggests, put them in a resealable plastic bag and breaking them up with a rolling pin.

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Pear-and-Fig Pie-in-a-Jar

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Three Babes Bakeshop in San Francisco offers this fun, portable pie: They bake the pastry in a jar, then fill it with fig-and-pear syrup, mascarpone cream, fruit and toasted walnuts.

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Pear-Cranberry Hand Pies

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These flaky little pies may be the ultimate grab-and-go dessert.

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Caramelized-Apple Custard Tart with a Rye Crust

Credit: © John Kernick
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This tart features silky-smooth, rich custard and caramelized apples in a tender, earthy rye-flour pastry crust.

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Pumpkin Cheesecake Bars with Caramel Swirl

Credit: © Alexandra Rowley
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These decadent chocolate-crusted bars are topped with a homemade caramel that sinks into the pumpkin cheesecake batter during baking.

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Apple Cake with Toffee Crust

Credit: © Anna Williams
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This moist cake is served with butterscotch sauce, caramelized apples and ice cream.

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Pumpkin-and-White Chocolate Mousse Pie

Credit: Con Poulos
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This reimagined pumpkin pie from Mr. Holmes Bakehouse in San Francisco has an ethereal pumpkin-and-white-chocolate-mousse filling and a stellar, crunchy crust.

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Apple Pie à la Mode 
Ice Cream Sandwiches

Credit: Eva Kolenko
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Get all the flavors of apple pie in an innovative, fun-to-eat ice cream sandwich, made with apple pie-spiced vanilla ice cream and snickerdoodle cookies.

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Purple Sweet Potato Pie with Coconut and Five-Spice

Credit: Christopher Testani
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Add some color to your Thanksgiving dessert table by swapping regular sweet potato pie with this gorgeous purple one.

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Pumpkin Layer Cake with Mascarpone Frosting

Credit: © Con Poulos
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Ditch the pumpkin pie and try out this moist, creamy pumpkin layer cake, which swaps plain old vanilla buttercream for a mascarpone frosting.

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Pecan Pie with Candied Ginger and Rum

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For a wonderful contrast to the sweetness of her pecan pie, master baker Alice Medrich adds minced candied ginger and a splash of rum to the filling.

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Bourbon-Pecan-Apple Pie with Cinnamon Whipped Cream

Credit: Kelly Marshall
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Chef and cookbook author Alexander Smalls spikes his sticky-sweet pecan pie with just enough bourbon to add a kick of flavor that accents the sweet chunks of apple. Fuji apples are perfect for this pie; they bake up soft but retain their texture.

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Dutch Apple Pie

Credit: Tina Rupp
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Grace Parisi uses a mix of Granny Smith, Pink Lady, and Golden Delicious apples for this iconic dessert.

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Deep-Dish Caramel Apple Pie

Credit: © Abby Hocking
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This deep-dish caramel apple pie from Food & Wine’s Kay Chun is drizzled with a luscious homemade caramel sauce and topped with a crunchy oat streusel.

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Gingered Pumpkin Pie with Candied Pepitas

Credit: Christopher Testani
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This take on pumpkin pie has the smooth texture of the classic, but with extra layers of ginger-caramel flavor. Candied pepitas on top add extra crunch.

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Classic Pumpkin Pie

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To create a crisp crust on the bottom, Grace Parisi partially bakes the pie shell before adding the filling. If the edge starts to darken too much, cover it with a pie shield or strips of foil.

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Brown Butter Pumpkin Pie

Credit: Abby Hocking
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Since it’s technically a custard, a smooth and creamy consistency is the goal, and processing the pumpkin helps break up any fibers for a smoother filling. The addition of browned butter gives the pumpkin a subtle butterscotch flavor.

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Pear and Cranberry Slab Pie

Credit: Con Poulos
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Instead of making a traditional two-crust pie in a pie plate, Food & Wine’s Justin Chapple makes this free-form, fruit-filled, ginger-laced pie on a baking sheet. 

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