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Thanksgiving 2007: What's for Dessert?

2007_11_13-Pie.jpgWhat is sacred on your Thanksgiving dessert table? We've already talked about your favorite Thanksgiving side dishes. Now we want to know about dessert. Is pumpkin pie an inviolable tradition? Or do you bypass the traditional pies for something else - another family tradition perhaps?

Click through for some favorite holiday dessert recipes. Are you baking a pumpkin pie this Thanksgiving?

 
 

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Comments (39)

There's nothing like a good pecan pie--always a favorite at my home!

posted by KerryTay on November 13th 2007 at 7:55am
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oops, i put my answer in the wrong place.

the must have desserts in my family are a pumpkin roll, which is a roulade filled with spiced whipped cream and a triple ginger cheesecake.

apart from that, with so many bakers in my family, there are usually a dozen more desserts from pecan pie to brownies to lemon squares to coconut cream pie to nut cookies that may appear...and then disappear throughout the weekend.

posted by abby on November 13th 2007 at 8:16am
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haha, we're having a Toll-House Cookie pie this year, everyone wanted to focus on the dinner foods and not dessert! Go figure :)

posted by Haverly on November 13th 2007 at 8:25am
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Lemon Chess pie and pecan pie. My dad hates pumpkin, so my mom has pretty much kept it off the menu

posted by verily on November 13th 2007 at 8:38am
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chocolate bourbon pecan pie!

posted by ForbiddenFruit on November 13th 2007 at 8:44am
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Gluten Free, Casein Free Sweet Potato Pie

posted by JasonD on November 13th 2007 at 8:55am
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We always have 2 pumpkin pies and maybe something else like a few chocolates.

Pumpkin pie = breakfast on Friday!!

posted by Pipsqueak on November 13th 2007 at 8:59am
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Always a pumpkin pie, Grandma's chocolate fudge pie, and whatever else people want to bring.

posted by sarahduckie on November 13th 2007 at 9:02am
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We mix it up at Christmas, but at Thanksgiving we stick to Mom's pumpkin pie and her pecan pie. There'd be a riot without either one.

posted by Green Me on November 13th 2007 at 9:37am
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Pecan pie in all of its brittle, burnt, alternately tooth encrusting and tooth breaking Karo glory.

posted by cakekick on November 13th 2007 at 9:50am
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Sounds like heaven cakekick!

posted by KerryTay on November 13th 2007 at 10:02am
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Ours is banana pudding - it's "us kids" who are so fond of it, since our grandma used to make it for us. It's become the family tradition that when a cousin first begins to express interest in making a culinary contribution to family dinners, they get banana pudding. I keep telling my aunts that it's cruel to have us attempt meringue right out of the gate.

posted by LauraII on November 13th 2007 at 10:05am
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We have some kind of pumpkin dessert every year--pie, cheesecake, pudding--but not the same one.

posted by classiccook on November 13th 2007 at 10:43am
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we usually do pumpkin, apple, and pecan pies. which are all my favorite. :)

posted by thinkingwoman on November 13th 2007 at 11:03am
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In my family, apple is the must (and no limit on the quantity) but I always beg for at least 1 pumpkin.

posted by Silli on November 13th 2007 at 11:28am
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Right on, Pipsqueak. I make 2 pumpkin pies, to ensure leftovers!!!

posted by robyn on November 13th 2007 at 11:47am
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Pecan pie. In southeastern NC, it's called peCAN pie (not peCAHN), and it's a requirement at both Thanksgiving and Christmas. The trees in my grandfather's yard are 50 years old, and they've been our source of pecans for just as long. Grandad's recipe makes three pies at a time. One usually goes home with me to wherever I am - no matter how many states away I live.

posted by lindsey kathlene on November 13th 2007 at 12:00pm
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There will be an apple pie and probably another pie and there will be cookies of some several sorts.

posted by lizaboo on November 13th 2007 at 12:16pm
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I'm having a potluck style Thanksgiving among friends this year. I'm not sure what other desert options there will be, but I'll be making Gâteau au chocolat fondant de Nathalie aka Kate's Winning-Hearts-and-Minds cake from orangette.blogspot.com.
The fact that it tastes even better the day after makes it a GREAT desert to bring to a potluck.

posted by sparkle on November 13th 2007 at 12:50pm
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Buttermilk pie.

There are always pecan (enunciated properly pe-CAHN, a peCAN is something you urinate in) and pumpkin.
But who cares you can get those anywhere.
I always want my sister's buttermilk pie.

posted by alexis on November 13th 2007 at 1:08pm
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My mother found a recipe for Persimmon Pudding years ago in an advice column (it came from a Bed & Breakfast somewhere) and decided to make it on a whim for Thanksgiving that year. We've had it for Thanksgiving and Christmas every year since, and no one will ever let us bring anything else. I've taken over the pudding making in the past couple years and am currently in the process of creating Persimmon Pudding addicts out of all my friends. We also always have Mashed Bourbon Sweet Potatoes, but I think partially because it's so fun to make ("splash of bourbon for the mash, gulp for the chef, splash for the mash, gulp for the chef" and so on)

posted by cranberrybobbie on November 13th 2007 at 1:20pm
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Apple pie at least. In fact, I only had pumpkin pie for the first time this Thanksgiving. It just wasn't something we did in my family.

posted by Melissa A. on November 13th 2007 at 1:20pm
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Mincemeat is my favorite. Nummy.

posted by Kassie on November 13th 2007 at 2:17pm
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Pumpkin cheesecake from the Cook's Illustrated recipe, which is the only recipe on earth that I actually follow to the T.

posted by wende in the twin cities on November 13th 2007 at 4:31pm
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We'll be having apple pie & pumpkin pecan pie. Plus I'm turning our leftover cranberry sauce into a french toast casserole for the next morning.

Alexis, I never knew buttermilk pie existed until the other day. I'm planning to try it out over the holiday season.

posted by Tonia on November 13th 2007 at 4:43pm
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Chocolate pecan pie.

posted by callbob on November 13th 2007 at 6:47pm
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pecan pie - no chocolate, no bourbon
just a little more vanilla than recommended on the back of the Caro syrup bottle . . .

posted by guido on November 13th 2007 at 7:50pm
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Without dessert Thanksgiving celebration is incomplete.why not pamper your taste-buds with some more cool recipes ? So cook up some toothsome Thanksgiving dishes and let your folks gobble up the gastronomical delights with gusto ! Plan a peachy recipe this Thanksgiving and warm up your dear ones for a great holiday feast.Check out some Thanksgiving recipe ideas that you’ll love to try out here Thanksgiving Recipe Ideas

posted by kevin123 on November 14th 2007 at 3:09am
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Every year we have custard pie (without coconut) and a large tray of individual desserts from a good Italian bakery, and homemade whoopie pies. We used to have pumpkin pie, but everybody bypassed it for the other desserts.

posted by Downeast Suzy on November 14th 2007 at 3:40am
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My stepmother used to make a "Black Bottom Pie" which I gather she found as an old Navy-wives recipe. I've never attempted to make it but now my sisters do; no big holiday meal is complete without it. Very labor intensive (about 2 hours) and honestly the most de-lish sweet dish ever, so that if you're not stuffing yourself on thirds at midnite or the first one up sneaking into the fridge at 5a.m. you miss out on the full gorge. Recently similar (but not quite the same recipes) online, but if I could figure how to attach a pdf I could give you in her handwriting.

posted by Elizabeth II on November 14th 2007 at 3:59am
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We always get French Silk Pie from Bakers Square. I NEED it this time of year... :)

posted by Shannon Bradly on November 14th 2007 at 5:48am
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I absolutely must have pecan pie on Thanksgiving, and my husband must have blueberry. Our guests can bring pumpkin if they want it!

posted by NyKittyNy on November 14th 2007 at 5:59am
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nutmeg-cranberry torte: just got a big bag of fresh cranberries at the farmer's market. It's going to be a bastardized Martha recipe, but I think I'll end up adding bourbon mascarpone at some point.

posted by nadarine on November 14th 2007 at 7:16am
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Brown bread with raisins!

posted by Jean on November 14th 2007 at 8:05am
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I never heard of buttermilk pie before, I'm totally going to try that.

What I really want is a butternut squash pie from Abu's Bakery on Fulton St in Brooklyn. Damn, that is a pie. Too bad I'm on the other side of the country.

posted by mjoe on November 14th 2007 at 11:52am
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I'm not a fan of pumpkin pie, but it would be sacrilege not to have it at T'giving. I think pecan pie and cranberry upside down cake are nicer choices. At Xmas the must-have pie is mince! And of that, I am a fan!

posted by Charlotte on November 15th 2007 at 1:58am
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My Mammy (that's my grandma) makes Chess pie. I'm not sure what's in it, but primarily it's sugar & butter I'm sure!! It's gooey & good!

posted by UptownGirl on November 15th 2007 at 7:39am
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I'm not a fan of pumpkin pie(or pumpkin in general) so I always go with some sort of apple dessert. One year I got a pear, apple and cranberry crisp which was GREAT.

posted by Bridget212323 on November 16th 2007 at 8:43am
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Creme brulee! It's surprisingly easy to make, and letting everyone (tipsy from wine, of course) torch their own is so much fun :)

posted by melanie on November 16th 2007 at 10:18am
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