Rana Madanat 
Photography courtesy of Once Upon A Chef
Although most of us look forward to Thanksgiving every year, serving the same dishes year after year can be more monotonous than nostalgic. If you want to shake things up but don’t want to upset everyone, try serving a unique dessert! Instead of pumpkin pie or plain cheesecake, make some rich Pumpkin Mousse or go even more decadent with Kentucky Butter Cake. Whatever you choose, your guests will be clamoring for the recipe.
Acorn Candy Cookies
These adorable cookies are much simpler to make than they appear. You can “glue” together Hershey’s Kisses®, vanilla wafer cookies, and butterscotch chips to look like acorns by piping prepared frosting. These can be served on their own or used to decorate other desserts such as cupcakes.
Ingredients:
- 1 tablespoon prepared chocolate frosting
- 24 milk chocolate candy kisses (such as Hershey’s Kisses®), unwrapped
- 24 mini vanilla wafer cookies (such as Nilla®)
- 24 butterscotch chips
Directions:
- Smear some frosting onto the flat bottom of a candy kiss. Press onto the vanilla wafer’s flat bottom.
- Smear a little more frosting onto the flat bottom of a butterscotch chip and press it onto the cookie’s rounded top. Continue with the remaining ingredients.
- Set aside for 30 minutes to dry.
Kentucky Butter Cake
Thanksgiving is the ideal time to go butter crazy. This incredibly rich and moist Southern cake recipe calls for over a cup of it. The best part is that you won’t even need to decorate the dessert if you use an ornate bundt pan!
Ingredients:
- 3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
- 2 cups white sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 1 cup butter
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 4 eggs
- ¾ cup white sugar
- ⅓ cup butter
- 3 tablespoons water
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Directions:
- Preheat the oven to 325°F (165 degrees C). Coat a 10-inch Bundt pan with cooking spray and flour.
- Mix the flour, 2 cups sugar, salt, baking powder, and baking soda in a large bowl. Mix in the buttermilk, 1 cup of butter, 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract, and 4 eggs.
- Beat for 3 minutes at medium speed and pour the batter into the prepared baking pan.
- Bake for 60 minutes in a preheated oven, or until a wooden toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Make holes in the warm cake. Pour the sauce over the cake slowly. Allow the cake to cool completely before removing it from the pan.
Pumpkin Sugar Cookies
While sugar cookies have a wonderful texture, their flavor can be lacking at times. To spice things up, serve a plate of these tasty pumpkin sugar cookies. Canned pumpkin and ground cinnamon add an orange color as well as a lot of flavor.
Ingredients:
- 1 cup white sugar
- ¾ cup butter, softened
- 1 egg
- ½ cup pumpkin puree
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
Directions:
- In a mixing bowl, beat together sugar and butter with an electric mixer until smooth and creamy; beat in egg until smooth. Stir pumpkin and vanilla extract into creamed butter mixture; add cinnamon, salt, and baking powder. Stir flour into pumpkin-butter mixture just until combined. Refrigerate dough from 2 hours to overnight.
- Preheat the oven to 400°F (200 degrees C).
- Roll out the dough on a floured surface and cut into shapes with cookie cutters. Place the cookies on a baking sheet and set aside.
- Bake for 6 to 8 minutes in a preheated oven, or until the edges are lightly browned.
Quick and Easy Pumpkin Mousse
This is a quick and simple holiday treat. Pour into chocolate shells purchased at any kitchen store for an elegant touch, or serve with graham crackers for dipping. If you’re short on time, you can also heat the ingredients in the microwave for 30 seconds at a time on high.
Ingredients:
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 24 marshmallows
- ½ cup milk
- ½ cup canned pumpkin
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
- ⅓ cup confectioners’ sugar
- 1 cup heavy cream
Directions:
- In a large skillet, melt the butter. Combine the marshmallows, milk, and pumpkin in a mixing bowl. Stir frequently until completely melted and smooth. Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla extract and pumpkin pie spice. Allow to cool completely, about 30 minutes.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine 1/3 cup confectioners’ sugar and 1 cup heavy cream. Beat with an electric mixer until stiff peaks form. Whip the cream into the cooled pumpkin mixture. Fill ramekins or chocolate shells halfway with mousse. Refrigerate for 2 hours, or until firm.
Cinnamon Palmiers
Need a quick dessert that looks like you spent all day making it? Palmiers are an excellent solution. Before being rolled, sliced, and baked, puff pastry is thinly coated in a buttery spice mixture. To make things even easier, roll the dough into a full spiral.
Ingredients:
- ¼ cup white sugar
- 1 sheet frozen puff pastry, thawed
- 1 tablespoon butter, melted
- ⅓ cup white sugar
- ¾ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ⅛ teaspoon ground cardamom
- water
Directions:
- Sprinkle 1/4 cup sugar on a flat work surface; unfold puff pastry over sugar and roll out to a 15×10-inch rectangle. Brush the pastry with melted butter. In a small bowl, combine 1/3 cup sugar, cinnamon, and cardamom; sprinkle evenly over buttered pastry.
- Roll the pastry firmly around the filling, stopping in the center, beginning with the long edge. In order to meet the first roll, repeat with the opposing edge. To keep the two rolled edges together, lightly push along the long edges where they meet after dabbing a little water onto your finger. For 5 to 10 minutes, refrigerate until just slightly stiff.
- Preheat the oven to 375°F (190 degrees C). Using parchment paper, line a baking sheet.
- Cut the puff pastry into 1/4-inch slices. Arrange slices 1 inch apart on a prepared baking sheet.
- Bake for 12 minutes in a preheated oven until golden and crisp. Allow cookies to cool for 1 minute on the baking sheet before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
Save room for dessert!
Thanksgiving is all about gratitude and great food — and that includes desserts! Bake something classic or introduce your family to a new favorite with these above delicious recipe ideas.
Author Bio:
Hi, I’m Rana and I blog at ranasrecipe.com. My passion for food began very early in my life. And after managing a cafe, a granola business and helping other food businesses scale up, I found my true calling in creating wonderful recipes so that everyone can enjoy cooking as much as I do! Don’t forget to follow me on my social channels- instagram and pinterest.
