In the American culture, two of the most popular pies that complement the traditional Thanksgiving feast are of the pumpkin and apple varieties. The recipes may vary from house to house, and the presentation may be decidedly different, but let’s face it – pumpkin is pumpkin, and apple is apple. This holiday season, why not try something new? Here are some suggestions for mouthwatering pies that are just perfect for rounding out Thanksgiving dinner. The recipes can be found online (using the titles as keywords) or in various cookbooks.
CRANBERRY WALNUT PIE
This wonderfully rich and delicious pie blends the traditional Thanksgiving staples of cranberries and walnuts with dark brown sugar, corn syrup and vanilla, resulting in a mealtime masterpiece. Whether you choose to serve it at room temperature or warmed with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, Cranberry Walnut Pie provides an exquisite crescendo to an otherwise predictable holiday meal. The preparation is quick and easy, and the baking time is modest – 40 to 45 minutes – which offers the option of baking ahead of time or on Thanksgiving Day prior to the meal.
FRUIT COCKTAIL EGGNOG PIE
If you’re looking for a quick dessert that doesn’t require tying up the oven in the middle of your holiday meal preparation, Fruit Cocktail Eggnog Pie is just the thing. The combination of fruit cocktail, eggnog, vanilla & almond extracts and heavy whipping cream come together to form a smooth, fruity dessert that soothes the palate and delights the tastebuds. This pie is quite simple to create – the only bit of actual cooking involves the use of a double boiler - and fairly inexpensive, as well.
FUDGE CHOCOLATE PEPPERMINT PIE
Chocolate – and peppermint – lovers will want to give this dessert a try. This is one of the most refreshing pies that will ever grace your Thanksgiving table, and the combination of tastes and colors will absolutely delight the children. Chocolate, cinnamon, pecans, peppermint ice cream, powdered sugar and candy are some of the ingredients that blend together to form a tantalizing holiday treat for family and friends at the end of the Thanksgiving meal – and again, in the evening, as a little extra treat for yourself. As an ice cream based dessert, this will need to be frozen prior to its introduction.
DOUBLE BLUEBERRY COOKIE PIE
You’ll enjoy the dual pleasure of cookies and fruit when you serve this luscious holiday pie. Using pre-made sugar cookie dough as the foundation for its crust, a mixture of frozen blueberries, sugar, lemon juice and whipping cream are combined with a couple of basic pie ingredients to produce a final product that’s as pretty as it is tasty. If you can imagine sugar cookie crust with a thick layer of blueberries, topped with star-shaped cookies, whipped cream and fresh blueberry accents, then you’ll have a good idea of what Double Blueberry Cookie Pie has to offer.
CELEBRATION ICE CREAM PIE
There’s no other way to describe it: this pie is like an ice cream sundae in a pie shell. This triple-decker dessert offers two generous layers of your favorite ice cream flavors, topped with a thick layer of marshmallow crème and a variety of rich toppings. A tall, refreshing after-dinner treat, Celebration Ice Cream Pie is easy to put together, but takes quite a bit of prep time, since it needs to be refrozen each time a new layer is added. All in all, a Thanksgiving finale that’s well worth the time it takes to make.
MASCARPONE CREAM PIE WITH CRANBERRY GLAZE
A shortbread cookie and pecan crust provides a tasty foundation for this unique dessert. The filler is composed of a delightful combination of ingredients which include sugar, whipping cream, mascarpone cheese and orange liqueur, topped with a tart berry glaze and orange rind garnishes. Stovetop and oven work together to bring about this marvelous creation, which is then chilled for several hours before serving. This particular Thanksgiving pie is more appropriate for the adult palate.
PECAN AND CHOCOLATE PIE
This easy-to-make holiday pie will be the masterpiece of the dessert table, and those who are fortunate enough to partake of it will be begging for the recipe. A blending of pecans, sugar, butter, cream, dark corn syrup, brandy and chocolate chips come together with other basic pie ingredients to create a truly sophisticated taste. With a modest amount of prep time – and baking time of under an hour – Pecan and Chocolate Pie can be made in the days immediately preceding Thanksgiving or on the holiday itself.
SPIRITED EGGNOG PIE
This mouthwatering Thanksgiving dessert begins with a gingersnap and walnut crust, and is filled with a smooth, creamy mixture which includes eggnog, rum, brandy and vanilla. This may look like a fairly typical cream pie with whipped cream and walnut garnishes, but the taste is absolutely unbeatable. Though this takes a good deal of prep time and can be costly if you don’t happen to have a number of these ingredients already on hand, it’s certainly worth the effort. This is another in the line of more sophisticated desserts and is appropriate for an adult gathering.
THANKSGIVING CRANBERRY COBBLER
Peaches, cranberry sauce, cinnamon, nutmeg, butter and nuts combine with a basic yellow cake mix to make this a deliciously spicy fruit dessert that provides an exquisite complement to any Thanksgiving dinner. Ice cream or whipped topping can be used as a contrast to this slightly tart pie, offering a taste sensation that will be a real crowd pleaser. This is an easy-to-assemble holiday confection, utilizing some of the more common Thanksgiving Day foods, making it the perfect pinnacle of the day’s meal.
RAISIN PIE
There are many varieties of Raisin Pie – some a bit more complex than others – but the basic recipe is delicious on its own. A rich blend of raisins, sugar, cinnamon and molasses combine with other ingredients to produce a delightfully smooth dessert that’s best served warm, with a sprinkling of confectioner’s sugar. If a pre-made pie crust is used (uncooked), this dessert is very quick to put together – and inexpensive, too. A lattice top adds to the overall presentation of this delicious pie.
CHOCOLATE COVERED CHERRY PIE
This is a marvelous chocolate cream pie, garnished with maraschino cherries, and has to be tasted to be believed. Combined to create the filling for a graham cracker crust, the chocolate chips, cherry pie filling, almond extract and salt are transformed into a velvety smooth presentation that has a beautiful, rich texture. If you’re using a pre-made graham cracker crust, then this pie doesn’t need to be baked, but must be chilled for at least two hours before the garnishes are put in place. Chocolate Covered Cherry Pie is hard to resist, and does quite well as the centerpiece of the holiday dessert table.
HARVEST NUT TART
The rich partnership of pecans, almonds, caramels and chocolate chips are brought to their full taste potential by a touch of brandy flavoring. This sweet, crunchy dessert has a total preparation time of approximately two hours, including baking time, and has a slightly different appearance than most other holiday pies, in that it has no height. The intended presentation is one of a flat, dense candy-like pie that’s sure to be a favorite among adults and children. It does tend to be rather rich, calling for a smaller serving than most other Thanksgiving desserts.
There are certainly some magnificent holiday desserts to be found online and in various cookbooks, among which you’ll find those presented here. Each of these is also appropriate for other winter holiday celebrations, so your favorite dessert choice can be enjoyed more than once throughout the holiday season.
