16 Thanksgiving Desserts You Can Make Ahead of Time

By

Danielle DeAngelis

Published on November 14, 2022

Cream Cheese Pumpkin Pie with Pecan Streusel

Ease the load (and stress) on Thanksgiving day by making these desserts ahead of time. From pies you can store in the refrigerator to cakes that can be wrapped and ready days in advance, these desserts are easy additions to your menu. Recipes like our Cream Cheese Pumpkin Pie with Pecan Streusel and Apple-Pie Bread are so yummy, they will become a part of your holiday traditions.

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Cream Cheese Pumpkin Pie with Pecan Streusel

This riff on the Thanksgiving favorite combines a traditional pumpkin pie filling with swirls of sweetened cream cheese. And since it's only Thanksgiving once a year, we've topped it all off with a buttery spiced-pecan topping. This easy pie recipe will please anyone at your table this holiday.

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Apple-Pie Bread

This easy everyday apple-pie bread makes a great breakfast-on-the-go with a cup of coffee. The fragrant spices typical of apple pie and the tender bits of baked apple inside also make it worthy as a healthy after-dinner dessert. Enjoy it warm from the oven with a pat of butter or cream cheese or keep it on your counter for a tasty treat during the week.

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Cranberry Crumble Bars

These cranberry-orange bars freeze well. Make a batch on a free afternoon and pop them in the freezer so you'll always have a healthy dessert on hand when company calls.

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Coconut-Rum Pumpkin Pie

Coconut-Rum Pumpkin Pie — Victor Protasio

This take on the classic Thanksgiving pie has the familiar warming spices, like cinnamon and nutmeg, plus rum and coconut for a tropical twist.

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Custard Pecan Pie

Custard Pecan Pie

While every bit as delish as the classic pie, this one has less sugar. Cane syrup, a toasty alternative to corn syrup or molasses, sweetens the pie along with brown sugar. Because the filling for the pie is wet, we brush the crust with egg white and par-bake it to create a barrier to prevent sogginess.

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Pumpkin Zucchini Bread

Pumpkin Zucchini Bread — Will Dickey

This pumpkin zucchini bread is the perfect marriage of classic pumpkin bread and zucchini bread. Zucchini helps keep the bread tender and moist, while canned pumpkin gives it an orange hue that carries the flavor of pumpkin pie spice for a touch of fall.

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Frozen Pumpkin Mousse Pie

While pumpkin pie deserves respect as a Thanksgiving icon, it's fun to shake up tradition. Surprise your family and friends with a frozen pie this year--it just might become one of their holiday favorites. No need to let them know how easy it is.

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Brown Butter Sweet Potato Pie

Brown Butter Sweet Potato Pie

Some sweet potato pies call for boiling these root vegetables, but here they're roasted to concentrate their flavor. This helps the earthiness come through, which we enhance with the nuttiness of browned butter. The overall effect is a sweet potato pie that's more complex and a little less sweet.

09 of 16

Carob Molasses Cake (Sfouf b' Debs)

With all due respect to baklava, we've found a new favorite Lebanese dessert. This rich, moist cake is sweetened with carob molasses and has a hit of anise. We may or may not have fought over it in the Test Kitchen.

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Buttermilk Cranberry Pie with Gingersnap Crust

Buttermilk Cranberry Swirl Pie — Johnny Autry

This buttermilk pie is a stunner—and perfect for the holidays—with its creamy, golden custard marbled with a crimson cranberry swirl.

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Spiced Pumpkin Cookies

The deep flavors of molasses, cinnamon, ginger, allspice and nutmeg make these wholesome pumpkin cookies delicious without the addition of butter--and they lend themselves beautifully to the inclusion of whole-wheat flour. They are also the perfect texture for a sandwich cookie--fill them with a slightly sweetened cream cheese frosting.

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Fried Apple Pie Rolls

Fried Apple Pie Rolls

In this healthy take on apple pie, egg roll wrappers stand in for pie crust, saving you calories and the headache of rolling out dough. We like to use Granny Smith apples because they hold their shape and provide tart balance to the sweet filling. Try dipping these handheld crispy treats in whipped cream.

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Vegan Pumpkin Pie

This easy vegan pumpkin pie gets its structure from aquafaba (the leftover water from a can of chickpeas) whipped up into a meringue-like foam. When it's combined with pumpkin and poured into a gluten-free pecan crust, you would never know beans had anything to do with this vegan pumpkin pie recipe.

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Sweet Potato Pie with Cream Cheese Swirl

This creamy sweet potato pie recipe is seasoned like a pumpkin pie with plenty of cinnamon and nutmeg and gets nice ginger flavor from the gingersnap crust. For the best results, roast sweet potatoes in the oven; in a pinch, microwave them instead.

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Pumpkin Roll Cake with Pecan-Cream Cheese Filling

Pumpkin Roll Cake with Pecan-Cream Cheese Filling

Many pumpkin roll cakes have the starring ingredient only in the cake, which is a missed opportunity to enjoy all the flavor, plus you end up with leftover canned puree sitting in your fridge. Here, the remaining pumpkin is whipped with cream cheese, pecans and crystallized ginger for a tangy filling.

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Chocolate Chess Pie

Chocolate Chess Pie

Chocolate chess pie is simple yet extraordinary. Eggs, butter, sugar and in this instance, cornmeal as a starch, transform in the oven into a bubbly and crisp top with a custardy filling below. Here, chocolate chips and cocoa give it a deeper flavor than vanilla, and buttermilk balances the creamy custard with a little tang.

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