With Thanksgiving right around the corner, you might be thinking about your menu. If your family is anything like mine, this will include several delicious desserts. Here are a few great dessert recipes to include in your Thanksgiving menu.
First is a recipe for pumpkin cookies with a cream cheese frosting. They are easy to make and are a great addition to your Thanksgiving dessert table. I have made these several times and everyone just loves them.
Pumpkin Cookies with Cream Cheese Frosting
1 cup pumpkin
1 cup shortening
1 cup sugar
2 cups flour
1 egg
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
½-tsp salt
Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.
Sift together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt in a bowl, then sit aside.
Cream together pumpkin, shortening and sugar, then add the egg and mix well. Add the dry ingredients and mix well. Drop from a spoon onto a cookie sheet and bake for 10-12 minutes.
Cream Cheese Frosting
8 oz. cream cheese
1 pound of powdered sugar
1 stick of butter
Tbsp. vanilla
Cream together cream cheese and butter until soft. Add vanilla and then slowly add powdered sugar until frosting is nice and smooth.
Once the cookies have cooled you can frost them.
Makes approximately 48 cookies.
The next recipe for your Thanksgiving feast is a two-layer pumpkin cheesecake. I would recommend making two of these, as it tends to go quick.
Two-Layer Pumpkin Cheesecake
2 packages cream cheese (room temp)
2 eggs
½-cup sugar
½-tsp vanilla
½-cup pumpkin (regular pumpkin not the pie mix)
½-tsp cinnamon
¼-tsp ground cloves
¼-tsp nutmeg
1-inch graham cracker crust
1 tub Cool Whip
Preheat your oven to 325 degrees.
Cream together the cream cheese, sugar and vanilla until they are smooth. Add eggs one at a time, blending well after each one. Take one cup of the mixture and spread it in the bottom of the pie crust.
Next, add the pumpkin and the spices to the rest of the cream cheese mixture. Mix well and spread the mixture evenly over the pie crust. Bake for 35-40 minutes or until center is set. This can be checked by taking a butter knife and sticking it in the center of the pie. If it comes out clean, the pie is done. Allow to chill in the refrigerator overnight. Before serving, cover in Cool Whip. Sprinkle some cinnamon on top to give a festive look.
One pie will serve about eight people.
Another great Thanksgiving dessert would be simple baked apples. This would be a great dish for someone who doesn’t like pumpkin.
Baked Apples
You can make as much or as little as you want of this. Figure out how many you will be cooking for, then you can decide how many apples to make. I would do one per person.
Start by washing the apples. Then you will need to core the apple and remove the seeds. Some people like the apple skin left on, others do not – this is up to you. The apples can be left whole or they can be sliced. If you choose to slice them, they could be placed over a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
After you have the apples prepared to your liking, place them in a cake pan. Then sprinkle cinnamon and sugar over them. Next, pour some honey over the apples and place a pat of butter on each apple. If you sliced them, just place the butter throughout the pan. Cover with foil and place in an oven heated to 325 degrees for about 40-45 minutes. You can adjust how sweet the apples are by varying the amount of honey and sugar used.
There are so many different desserts you could include this Thanksgiving. Choose some of the family favorites and include a few new recipes with your dinner.
