What are you making for Thanksgiving dessert?

[browniebaker]

This year I want to go all-out with a pie buffet. I'm thinking of baking the following:

apple pie

buttermilk chess pie

butterscotch pie

Japanese fruit pie (raisins, pecans, and coconut)

pecan pie

pumpkin pie

sweet potato pie with crumb topping

O, joy! There will be pie for breakfast, pie for lunch, pie for tea, and pie for dinner in the days after Thanksgiving.

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That sounds like my idea of heaven. Pie is so comforting; pie is love!

Is "Japanese fruit pie" popular in Japan? I've never heard of it. Are the raisins, pecans, and coconut mixed in some sort of brown sugar/butter/corn syrup filling like a pecan pie?

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Ling and Ludja,

Japanese fruit pie is indeed a Southern pie. (Terribly misnamed -- there's nothing Japanese about it, really.) It's raisins, flaked coconut, and chopped pecans stirred into a chess-type mixture of melted butter, granulated sugar, whole eggs, a little cider vinegar, and a little salt. Yes, it's a bit like a pecan pie, but not the kind with the sticky, corn-syrup filling; it's more like the type made with a chess filling, or like a Canadian butter tart, or like a pecan tassie (another Southern classic). Anyway, I love a Japanese fruit pie better than a pecan pie, which seems dully one-dimensional next to the multi-textured flavor-explosion you get with a mouthful of raisins, coconut, and pecans.

Only twelve days to wait!

[onehsancare]

I'm making a pumpkin pecan torte for a friend. She's travelling, though, so she's going to pick it up Saturday, and I just don't think whipped cream will last that long.

Should I frost it with a buttercream? Cream cheese frosting? Both of those seem too sweet with the pecan praline layer. (Okay, I'll test it tonight, but both seem too sweet in my imagination!)

Will a buttercream keep that long? (It will probably be in and out of car and refrigerator.)

[Ling]

Japanese fruit pie is indeed a Southern pie. (Terribly misnamed -- there's nothing Japanese about it, really.) It's raisins, flaked coconut, and chopped pecans stirred into a chess-type mixture of melted butter, granulated sugar, whole eggs, a little cider vinegar, and a little salt. Yes, it's a bit like  a pecan pie, but not the kind with the sticky, corn-syrup filling; it's more like the type made with a chess filling, or like a Canadian butter tart, or like a pecan tassie (another Southern classic).

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That sounds really delicious! (I love butter tarts, but I have yet to try a pecan tassie.) Thanks for sharing!

[Patrick S]

I know I'm not the only one around here who gets "recruited" to do Thanksgiving day desserts. This year I'm cooking for about 30, maybe more if I get the last-minute request from my boss (keepin' my fingers crossed). So far I'm doing two types of cookies, oatmeal-raisin and double-chocolate, mainly for the little ones, a pumpkin cheesecake, for the pumpkin enthusiasts, and will also be doing either some raspberry truffle cakes OR creme brulees, depending on how I feel tomorrow.

What are you cooking or planning on cooking?

[highchef]

I'm also doing the pumpkin cheesecake, as well as a rustic apple tart and a caramel cake (I think, I'm having problems with the icing...loong story). I'll probably do something light with some mixed fruit, don't quite know what yet.

[kthull]

I'm putting together an ad-hoc trifle. I had a ton of scraps from my kids' Halloween parties: pumpkin blondies cut into the shapes of ghosts, then dusted with powdered sugar. They're nice and moist and a super pumpkin-spice flavor. Anyway, I made eight half-sheets of this stuff and ended up with six one-gallon ziplock bags full of scraps in the freezer (though I've been nibbling for a month now).

So, my latest (and probably final) thoughts are this:

Pumpkin Praline Trifle

- pumpkin blondies

- praline pastry cream (from this month's Gourmet mag)

- pecan praline streusel (more like pecan streusel mixed with praline bits...streusel recipe will be a take on Herme's streusel from the Philadelphia cake in his Desserts book)

repeat layers

- top with spiced whip cream (sweetened whipped cream with cinnamon and nutmeg)

- shards of pumpkin-seed brittle for garnish

My only fear is that the praline might overtake the pumpkin flavor. If it does, I can always do a last minute sub of either pumpkin pastry cream (I think too much pumpkin going on) or just vanilla pastry cream...or maybe even cinnamon-nutmeg spiced pastry cream and a plain whipped cream on top.

I don't have a soaking syrup planned for the cake layers as the blondies are really moist. Anyone think that's a mistake?

I'm deliberately choosing non-alcoholic on this one as kids are involved.

[M. Lucia]

Plenty of Pecan pie (with bourbon whipped cream), plus cranberry-apple crisp (with cinnamon ice cream).

We usually have cookies or candy as favors (I might do ginger-molasses if there's time).

[annachan]

I'm making a coconut cake (sponge cake w/ coconut custard) and a chocolate roulade.

[Susan in FL]

I'm going for easy. It's a layer of brownie under a layer of cheesecake, with some dark chocolate drizzled on top. And, a nice dessert wine to match -- or so I am hoping.

[Steven Blaski]

I'm just bringing one dessert, but it's a killer:

Chocolate Caramel Walnut Tart

I made it last year and it was requested again this year. I use black walnuts for the crust. Serves 12 easily so it's great for larger gatherings.

[dockhl]

I'm making Pumpkin Chai Creme Brulee and the world's easiest Pumpkin Cobbler.......which tastes just like pumpkin pie in 1/3 the time.........topped with cinnamon ice cream. Served with Wilson Creek Almond Champagne.........

[tejon]

I have a really small group this year, so I'm trying something purely for fun: Dobos Torte. I have the buttercream and the cake layers made up, just waiting to assemble them. Not in any way traditional, but what could ever be wrong with chocolate?

[txaggie]

I'm making a cashew coconut tart with a chocolate crust and my sister's making a pumpkin cheesecake and a caramel apple tart.

[Ktepi]

We decided to give up desserts except at holidays, because all the fresh fruit in the summer had led to a pie habit that needed breakin', and the mesquite meal and birch syrup I'd picked up to play with, and my fascination this year with saffron desserts, wasn't helping.

There's just the two of us for Thanksgiving, so we couldn't rationalize more than one dessert ...

So we're having a pumpkin pie spiked with bourbon ...

... with a flourless Mexican chocolate cake crust ...

... and a ribbon of saffron-ginger cheesecake ...

... and burnt caramel ice cream(1) which I'm pretending we'll have with the pie but which we'll actually eat separately, because that would just be nuts.

(1) I realize burnt caramel is redundant, but the fact is that I burnt the caramel. I halved the ingredients in a cajeta recipe and substituted maple syrup for half the sugar, the combination of which meant that a third of the way into the cooking time, I smelled a hint of smoke, and found that the mixture had reduced to a thick (almost candy-like but not quite) caramel which I was able to mostly save by pouring off the part that hadn't stuck to the bottom. It tastes like caramel and like maple but a little burnt, too, in a woody and not completely unpleasant way. I may add a little bourbon, we'll see how it tastes.

[annarborfoodie]

I'm making a Trifle from the November 2003 "Gourmet" - I'm not remembering the exact name right now, but it has a pumpkin caramel cream sauce, cinnamon pastry cream, roasted apples & pears, and ladyfingers. I did the caramel cream sauce last night and it is to die for

[kthull]

I'm making a Trifle from the November 2003 "Gourmet" - I'm not remembering the exact name right now, but it has a pumpkin caramel cream sauce, cinnamon pastry cream, roasted apples & pears, and ladyfingers.  I did the caramel cream sauce last night and it is to die for

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Oh, that sounds good. It's the Autumn Trifle with Roasted Apples, Pears and Pumpkin-Caramel Sauce and it's on epicurious.com

[racheld]

We're having nine at table, and this year, I want to plate the desserts, in small sampler-servings, so that everyone can try everything. On the large clear glass dessert plate will be a slice of sweet potato pie, (salute to our Southern roots), a thin wedge of Ultimate Flourless Chocolate Cake (inspiration by Daniel, and it turned out great), a ramekin of blackberry cobbler with a tiny scoop of double-vanilla ice cream, and in a cut-glass punchcup, a lemon curd-whipped cream parfait with a leaf-shaped tuile atop and a demitasse spoon alongside.

One family of guests is from Hawaii, and she just called, saying she's delving into her Mother's recipe archives for a pineapple Evangeline recipe, which we'll look forward to trying.

And I wish a sweet day to EVERYONE!!!

[TMus1111]

I am making sweet potatoe pies - individual mini ones and regular size ones, Caramel Bread Pudding that Marlene made during her blog (I hope its the right recipe, she directed me to cooks.com but they have like 300 different recipes) I started soaking my raisins for this last night in rum, and I want to make a third thing but not sure about timing. I'm sure someone will bring some kind of desert, with 20 people for dinner I can't be the only sugar addict.

[R Washburn]

I am making a pumpkin roulade filled with cranberry jam and chestnut mousse from Georges Perrier's Le Bec-Fin Recipes The only substitution I am making is that I am using homemade chestnut puree instead of canned.

[UkFoodie]

I'm doing a Trio of creme brulee.... One Pumpkin, one Maple Pecan and The last is Cranberry.

Small little pots of seasonal flavours as we will be full....having thankgiving as a late dinner this year.

[dvs]

i'm attempting to make the sweet potato pie w/ ginger snap pecan crust from last months Gourmet

crust done.

will make filling tonight after the bebe is in bed.

[cathrynapple]

dark chocolate pecan bourbon pie, apple tart, chocolate cake with meringue frosting, ice cream.

[EliseMF]

Alton Brown's Moo-less Chocolate Pie

Pumpkin Pie

Pecan Pie

Apple Turnovers

[Marmish]

I'm making a cranberry chess pie.

[JeAnneS]

This year I was very lucky as I had some "orders" from co workers Have already made:

Sweet Potato Pecan Pie

Poached Pear Frangipane Tart

Coconut Custard Pie

Old Fashioned Bread Pudding

Gingerbread Linzertorte

Everything is already made and out the door! I made a couple of doubles for my meal and I'm also toying with a Lemon Tart with Pecan Citrus Sauce that's in the latest Food and Wine

Happy holidays everyone!