Have you started your Thanksgiving food prep? Do you make the same menu every year or do you like to change it up from year to year? Do you like the traditional Thanksgiving feast or are you adventurous with your sides? So many Thanksgiving questions, so little time! If you haven’t already figured out your entire meal yet, here are a few options to remember while you prep. I have already made a chocolate chip bourbon pecan pie and I know there will be more baking adventures in the days to come :) I’d love to know if you are making any of these recipes for your Thanksgiving!
While bird is the word for this holiday, we can incorporate some wonderful baked goods and thanksgiving flavors into every part of the day (and the day after).
We start out the day-of-eating right with some (secretly) vegan pumpkin bread. Your dairy-loving friends won’t even bat an eye. Throw in some chocolate chips and you will have people reaching for seconds faster than you can say pumpkin. Bonus, you can make this ahead of time and it keeps wonderfully in the freezer or wrapped up in plastic wrap for a few days, which makes for an easy peasy Thanksgiving morning.
Looking for less pumpkin, more apple? Bring on these apple cider doughnut muffins. Try them with cinnamon sugar, maple whiskey glaze, apple cider glaze, or all of the above! These are best the day they are made but don’t take long to make. Since you are already up to make the turkey, might as well whip up some breakfast goodies for your guests as well ;)
Sweet potato biscuits are the perfect option for snacking while Thanksgiving dinner is in the oven, for the big meal itself, and especially for your leftover sandwiches the next day. Throw some cheese on there and eat it for lunch, add an egg for an amazing leftover breakfast sandwich. You can even try making them with leftover sweet potato puree from your sweet potato casserole.
Sally Lunn bread is an easy substitute for yeast bread, and pairs so well with honey butter and cranberry sauce. Deliciously soft and slightly sweet, your guests will think you slaved over it. Just look at that gorgeous golden hue.
Spiked apple cider is the perfect cocktail to sip on while milling around the kitchen cooking or waiting for food to come out of the oven. Drink it hot or cold, your preference, and add a fall flair to your Thanksgiving bar. For another boozy snack, try eating the apple slices that are in the pot – they have been soaking up the bourbon and rum the whole time and are cinnamony and delicious.
One of my new favorite Thanksgiving desserts are these pumpkin pie bars with chocolate chip gingerbread crust. The chocolate chip gingerbread crust distinguishes them from every other pumpkin pie on the block and in bar form you can easily cut slices however big you want. Don’t forget the cinnamon whipped cream to really wow your guests!
For the non-traditionalist, these chewy ginger cookies with apple cider caramel are the most quintessentially fall cookie and a delicious option if you don’t want to make a pie. The apple cider caramel is my current favorite sauce and goes so well on any fall dessert. I could seriously eat it from a spoon.
Chocolate pound cake with chocolate glaze is another non-pie option that is fit for a Thanksgiving crowd. The pound cake is moist and dark and the frosting adds that extra chocolaty oomph that will leave you licking your fork and wishing for more. To make it even better, it is a family recipe, and isn’t that perfect for Thanksgiving?
Now a dessert for the traditionalists: apple hand pies with bourbon sauce. Rather than make one large pie, keep the tradition of apple pie but change up the serving method and give each person their own personalized hand pie. These are the easiest dessert to make ever so if you are low on time or patience, whip out your apples, brown sugar, cinnamon, butter and pie crust and you’ve got yourself a delicious finale. Top them off with bourbon sauce and your guests will never know you put it together so quickly.
If you are looking for a full pie, rather than individual servings, this chocolate chip bourbon pecan pie is for you. It looks like a regular pecan pie, but is far superior. Taken to the next level with both chocolate and bourbon, it is sure to please all of your Thanksgiving pie-lovers. I am bringing this one to my family’s Thanksgiving dinner and can’t wait to have my own slice.
Brown sugar cinnamon hand pies (or pop tarts) are great for a miniature Thanksgiving dessert, but are also a delicious start to the day on Thanksgiving or the day after! You can even make a double recipe of crust to use for a traditional pie for dessert, or use leftover crust. With the easiest filling, throw them in the oven and relax with the family on a cozy evening or a quiet morning.
And that’s a wrap for your Thanksgiving baking roundup! I’d love to know what recipes you are making for the holiday and if you are branching out from the traditional meal!
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