Your Best Thanksgiving Dessert

For my first thread here I thought it would be nice for everyone to share their favorite Thanksgiving Dessert recipe. This will give us time to look them over and pick a few to practice on before Thanksgiving comes. I'm going to share with you my recipe for Whoopie Pies. The original whoopie pies came in chocolate, but now they are in all sorts of flavors like vanilla, peanut butter, and red velvet. I'll share my original chocolate recipe. This is a good dessert for kids and for informal Thanksgiving get togethers because it's a finger food and has to be picked up.

CAKE:
1/2 cup baking cocoa
1/2 cup hot water
1/2 cup shortening
1-1/2 cups sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
2-2/3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup buttermilk
FILLING:
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
Dash salt
1 cup 2% milk
3/4 cup shortening
1-1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
2 teaspoons Vanilla Extract

In a small bowl, combine cocoa and water. Cool for 5 minutes. In a large bowl, cream shortening and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs, vanilla and cocoa mixture. Combine dry ingredients; gradually add to creamed mixture alternately with buttermilk, beating well after each addition

Drop by rounded tablespoonfuls 2 in. apart onto greased baking sheets. Flatten slightly with a spoon. Bake at 350° for 10-12 minutes or until firm to the touch. Remove to wire racks to cool.

In a small saucepan, combine flour and salt. Gradually whisk in milk until smooth; cook and stir over medium-high heat until thick, 5-7 minutes. Remove from heat. Cover and refrigerate until completely cool.

In a small bowl, cream the shortening, sugar and vanilla until light and fluffy. Add milk mixture; beat for 7 minutes or until fluffy. Spread filling on half of the cookies; top with remaining cookies. Store in the refrigerator.

There are different kinds of creme filling. This is a marshmallow filling -

1 cup solid vegetable shortening
1 1/2 cups powdered (confectioner's) sugar
2 cups Marshmallow Fluff
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

In a medium bowl, beat together shortening, sugar, and Marshmallow fluff; stir in vanilla extract until well blended.

a reply to: Jainine

Those look yummy!

I am not known for my culinary skills at the dinner table, but when it comes to confections I'm number one in the family, so I will definitely be giving these a try!

a reply to: nugget1

Whoopie pies are very easy. They are hard to mess up. The filling can be changed around. Some people just put plain whipped creme in and serve immediately. I like the marshmallow fluff filling best. These are finger foods that are great for a Thanksgiving meal with kids. They can grab them and run outside to play while snacking on their dessert. It's great for informal Thanksgivings where the family breaks out the card table or people end up sitting on the stairs. It's not for the formal Thanksgiving that has 4 different forks and linen napkins, that kind of thing. This is more informal.

I don't have the recipe but my mom used to make bread pudding that was really very good.
She's too old to get around the kitchen now.
I'll have to ask her to write down the recipe.

BTW
Lots of older folks in the homes don't have kids that come see them any more.
They can't eat a lot of desserts.
I make a cranberry jello that goes over really well when I make visits during the holidays.

Use sugar free red jello. (regular jello has too much sugar if you are feeding it to older folks on medication)
I use 1 cranberry, 1 strawberry and 1 cherry. (3 cranberry is too tart) 3 boxes total.
When you boil the first half of the water put in 4 teabags with red chai and steep until the water is brown.
add 1/2 tablespoon cinnamon and 1/4 teaspoon powdered clove.
stir at heat until thoroughly dissolved.
add a few dashes of orange extract.
Then add the jello powder

Use the boiling tea flavored water and continue to make the jello as instructed on the box and let cool about an hour until it starts to thicken.
Stir in a cup of canned cranberry sauce with cranberries cut very small or ground. (If using the jelly type, add a 1/4 packet of unflavored gelatin to the recipe) and finish cooling in the fridge.

The most common thing that they say is that the jello tastes like Christmas.
You'd be surprised how fast old folks go through a big tub of jello.

well we don't celebrate thanks giving here, but one thing people can try, especially the chocolate fans is the italian torta setteveli, it's one of the most famous cakes in my area (Palermo)
it takes a while to make, but there are websites with the instructions in english, here is a overwiew
These are the seven layers of the Torta Setteveli:

7th layer (top layer): Chocolate Glaze
6th layer: Chocolate Mousse
5th layer: Hazelnut Bavarian Cream
4th layer: Chocolate Sponge Cake
3rd layer: Hazelnut Bavarian Cream
2nd layer: Praline Crunch
1st layer (bottom layer): Chocolate Sponge Cake

here is what it looks like
files.abovetopsecret.com...

and the recipe, if someone wants to bring something "foreign" to their thanksgiving...and overdose on chocolate in the process
foodloversodyssey.typepad.com...

Those evil deserts look so good. Where did I put that crucifix, I can use it as a spoon.

Baderprints brought up bread pudding. This is my bread pudding recipe. It's a MUST for the holidays. Served warm with either milk or chipped cream.

2 cups milk
1/4 cup butter
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon or nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon salt
6 cups soft bread cubes (about 6 slices bread)
1/2 cup raisins
Whipping heavy cream

Heat oven to 350ºF. In 2-quart saucepan, heat milk and butter over medium heat until butter is melted and milk is hot. In large bowl, mix eggs, sugar, cinnamon and salt. Stir in bread cubes and raisins. Stir in milk mixture. Pour into ungreased deep pan. Bake uncovered 40 to 45 minutes or until knife inserted 1 inch from edge comes out clean. Serve warm with whipping cream.

We concentrate more on the main meal than desserts.
The classics like pumpkin pie or pecan pie usually round out the dessert table. I make chocolate chip cookies for the kids and for my Apple pie I use a variety of different apples, add lemon juice for tartness and brown sugar, cinnamon and a splash of vanilla to round out the flavor of the filling. It's always a crowd pleaser. A store bought pie crust keeps things simple and easy. They are very very good.

Apparently my kindle thought it was good enough to say twice...

Key lime pie here! I buy the store graham cracker crust...it's easier...2 cans sweetened condensed milk. 1/2 cup key lime juice ( or lime juice) , add some lime zest, 5 egg yolks. Mix it all pour into pie shell. Bake 350 degree for about 15 min...just until center of pie is set. Do not brown pie, you just want it firm enough to not jiggle.

Mix 1c almond flour and 1 stick butter, along with 1/4c sugar and 1tsp nutmeg. Flatten out on a cookie sheet and bake until the almond starts to get brown. Break into crumbles.

In a bowl microwave some cream cheese until its warm enough to run through the mixer. Add in 1 can pumpkin and mix on high, scraping the sides. You want to make it as fluffy as you can. Add in 3/4c powdered sugar and continue to beat.

In a separate bowl beat 1 cup heavy cream into whipped cream. Fold into the cream cheese, pumpkin filling.

Beat another cup heavy cream, folding in 1/4c powdered sugar once you are done. Cream of tartar will help keep it stiff if you desire.

Melt white chocolate chips on a double boiler, so it stays liquid through the building process.

In a tall glass, add in some of the almond crust. Then a spoon of whipped topping. Then a spoon of pumpkin mix, then a layer of white chocolate. Continue doing this until the glass is full, arranging for a nice, thick layer of white choclate to be the top layer. Refrigerate for a few hours to set it all up.

Pumpkin Parfaits never last around here.

Thanksgiving is not complete for me until I've had some pecan pie.
There are plenty of recipes on line, I just wing it.
Most recipes are sweeter than I like. A little brown sugar and honey instead of corn syrup. Lots of butter.
A shot of bourbon livens it up.

a reply to: bigfatfurrytexan

You know, I could hug you.
I've been trying to figure out holiday foods to fit within yet another new set of restrictions for my son.
Minus the chocolate, and trading the sugar for stevia, I think you have just given us our a Thanksgiving dessert!!

Thank you, more than you know!

a reply to: woodsmom

Well...its originally a ketogenic recipe. I use a mix of erythritol and splenda to get the right sweetness. And am not afraid to make the pumpkin filling from scratch. But if i woulda put that in the recipe folks wouldn't have even read it.

Protip: substitute any fruity goodness for the pumpkin. I use lime juice/zest and form the crust in a pie pan. Low carb key lime pie. Or maybe Ghirardelli's 100% cacao to make a chocolate cream pie. Or Watson banana extract to make a banana cream pie.

Speaking of pumpkins - Pumpkin Roll!!

3 large eggs
1 cup sugar
2/3 cup pumpkin
1 teaspoon lemon juice
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon ginger
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon salt

Filling:
8 ounces Cream cheese, softened
4 tablespoons Butter, softened
1 cup confectioners' sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

In large bowl, combine eggs and sugar, beating with an electric mixer until thick and light yellow in color. Add pumpkin and lemon juice, mixing until blended.

In separate bowl, combine flour, baking powder, spices and salt. Add to egg mixture, mixing well. Spread batter into greased and waxed-paper lined 10-by-15-inch jelly-roll pan.

Bake at 350 ° for 15 minutes. Remove from oven. Cool for 15 minutes. Place cake on clean tea towel sprinkled liberally with powdered sugar. Cool 10 minutes longer. From 10- inch side, roll cake up in towel. Set aside.

While cake is cooling in towel, prepare filling. Beat together cream cheese and butter; stir in powdered sugar and vanilla and blend until smooth.

Unroll cake. Evenly spread filling over cake. Roll up cake (without the towel). Wrap in plastic wrap. Cover and chill at least 1 hour. Keep in fridge.

a reply to: bigfatfurrytexan

Someone else recommended ketogenic recipes to me, I really appreciate that tip.

On topic!

An old family favorite of my husband's parents was a dump cake they called pumpkin jazz.

Make your pumpkin pie filling according to directions using your favorite recipe, or the one on the can.
Pour that into a deeper baking dish, I always doubled it for family gatherings and used a 9x13 baking dish.
Sprinkle one box of yellow cake mix over the top of the filling, pour enough melted. Butter over that to moisten the cake mix and kind of marble it all into the pumpkin mix underneath. Bake at the same temperature and the same amount of time you would for a pumpkin pie.

A delicious guilty pleasure that someone should still get to enjoy! It takes little prep time away from the rest of the meal too. Forgive the format, I have made it from memory for years now.

Desserts include after dinner drinks. I'm a HUGE fan of coffee being part of dessert.

3 cups heavy or whipping cream
7 tablespoons sugar
1 cups Irish whiskey
6 cups rich, hot brewed coffee
Grated nutmeg or ground cinnamon (I use NUTMEG when ever I can)

In a large mixing bowl, beat cream and 3 tablespoons sugar until very soft peaks form Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.

Heat 8 wineglasses by pouring very hot water into them. Drain water; add 2 tablespoons whiskey to each glass.

Stir remaining 4 tablespoons sugar into coffee until dissolved. For each drink, fill glass with coffee to within 1 1/4 inch from top. Hold large spoon upside down over top of glass; gradually pour whipped cream over back of spoon onto coffee (cream should float on top, about 1 inch thick). Sprinkle with nutmeg or cinnamon.

originally posted by: woodsmom
a reply to: bigfatfurrytexan

Someone else recommended ketogenic recipes to me, I really appreciate that tip.

On topic!

An old family favorite of my husband's parents was a dump cake they called pumpkin jazz.

Make your pumpkin pie filling according to directions using your favorite recipe, or the one on the can.
Pour that into a deeper baking dish, I always doubled it for family gatherings and used a 9x13 baking dish.
Sprinkle one box of yellow cake mix over the top of the filling, pour enough melted. Butter over that to moisten the cake mix and kind of marble it all into the pumpkin mix underneath. Bake at the same temperature and the same amount of time you would for a pumpkin pie.

A delicious guilty pleasure that someone should still get to enjoy! It takes little prep time away from the rest of the meal too. Forgive the format, I have made it from memory for years now.

Hi woods mom...that sounds delicious...I'm going to try that this year....I wonder if you could use chocolate cake mix? What do you think?

a reply to: Meldionne1

I bet it would be tasty. I've honestly never thought to combine pumpkin and chocolate. Chocolate and cinnamon are tasty together though, you might want to give it a try before hand. Worst case scenario is that it doesn't work, best case, you get to eat Thanksgiving dessert twice.

I hope you enjoy!

a reply to: Jainine

i love dessert coffee. Ill share my favorite, but i have a few too:

Orange Honey Coffee

Brew a pot of coffee like you normally would. Except, zest an orange over the coffee grounds.

When the coffee is brewed, pour 3/4 of a tall cup. Mix in 1 tbl honey, 2 tbl heavy cream, 1/2 shot of triple sec. Top with a large dollop of whipped cream, and zest a little more orange on top of it.