Every year the dessert table ends up holding three pies and nothing else, and by the time people get to it they have already eaten a full plate of turkey and stuffing. What most of them want is one small sweet thing, not a wedge of pie.
These are the Thanksgiving desserts I actually make this time of year: apple and pumpkin and cranberry, cookies you can bake ahead and freeze, a few cakes that travel well, and a handful of no-bake options for when the oven is full. Most of them can be made a day or two early, which matters more on a holiday morning than anything else on this list.
🗓️ The Make-Ahead Timeline
Almost nothing here has to be made on Thanksgiving Day. Here's when I make what.
- Up to 2 months ahead: Cookie dough, scooped and frozen. Roll in sugar straight from frozen and add a minute or two to the bake time.
- 2 days ahead: Pound cake, bundt cake, and quick breads. They're better for the wait.
- The night before: No-bake cheesecakes, poke cake, and anything that sets in the refrigerator.
- Thanksgiving Day: One dessert, and only if you want to. Warm apple crisp is worth it.
Apple Desserts
Easy to Make Apple Tart
This delicious and Easy to Make Apple Tart is a favorite fall recipe. It is so simple and quick to make! The best part is the apple tart requires just a few ingredients including a crispy graham cracker crust, fresh apples, and delicious caramel sauce.
Check out this recipe
Brown Butter Apple Cider Snickerdoodles
Soft, chewy snickerdoodles made with browned butter and fresh apple cider reduced to a syrup. Crackly cinnamon sugar tops and real orchard flavor in every bite.
Check out this recipe
Easy Apple Butter Dessert Recipe
With this simple apple butter dessert recipe, you can prepare a yummy sweet treat for your holiday get together using just five ingredients. With the help of crescent roll dough, this simple dessert will make the perfect end to a delicious Thanksgiving meal.
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Easy to Make Caramel Apple Bars
The base is a sugar cookie crust that's been smothered in tart Granny Smith apples, chopped pecans, and caramel sauce. Make these dessert bars for parties, events, and potlucks.
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Easy to Make Apple Dump Cake
This Easy Apple Dump Cake is a delicious fall dessert that is perfect for holiday parties, tailgating, and any other occasion. It is made with just a few simple ingredients including: yellow cake mix, spices, old-fashioned oats, apple pie filling, butter and brown sugar.
Check out this recipe
Delicious Caramel Apple Cupcakes
These Delicious Caramel Apple Cupcakes with buttercream frosting are the perfect Fall treat! They are fun to make and are a perfect dessert to take to a party!
Check out this recipe
Pumpkin Desserts
Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting
The pumpkin dessert people reach for when they have had enough pie. The cream cheese frosting does a lot of the work here.
Check out this recipe
Pumpkin Angel Food Cake
Light enough to eat after a heavy meal, which is rarer than it should be on a dessert table.
Check out this recipe
Pumpkin Cheesecake Bites
Small, made ahead, and no slicing required when the table is already crowded.
Check out this recipe
Pumpkin Breakfast Cookies
Not strictly dessert, but they solve the morning-after problem when the house is full of guests.
Check out this recipe
🔥 When the Oven Is Full
The turkey owns the oven until about an hour before dinner. These desserts work around it:
- Air fryer desserts - hand pies, individual crisps, oatmeal raisin cookies
- No-bake - mini cheesecakes and anything that sets cold
- Already baked - cookies and cakes made days ago
If you do need the oven, slide cookies in while the turkey rests. You want that half hour anyway.
Cranberry Desserts
Cranberry Poke Cake with Cranberry Sauce Frosting
A good use for leftover cranberry sauce, and it looks striking on the table.
Check out this recipe
Easy Cranberry Coffee Cake
Make it the night before and set it out with coffee while the turkey goes in.
Check out this recipe
Cranberry and Rosemary Shortbread
Slices well, freezes well, and doubles as a hostess gift.
Check out this recipe
Cookies and Bars
Crispy Gingersnap Cookie Recipe (Slice and Bake!)
Slice and bake, so the dough can sit in the refrigerator until you have a free oven.
Check out this recipe
Chocolate Thumbprint Cookies
Pretty enough for a dessert tray and simple enough to make with kids underfoot.
Check out this recipe
Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies Recipe
For the guest who does not want anything with spice in it. Browning the butter is worth the extra five minutes.
Check out this recipe
Air Fryer Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
Small batches, no oven needed, and ready while the pies would still be baking.
Check out this recipe
Make-Ahead and No-Bake
No Bake Mini Oreo Cheesecakes
Individual portions, made entirely ahead, and they hold in the refrigerator until you are ready for them.
Check out this recipe
Copycat Nothing Bundt Cake Carrot Cake (From Scratch!)
Travels well and feeds a crowd, which is most of what a holiday dessert needs to do.
Check out this recipe
Chocolate Pound Cake Recipe
The chocolate option every table needs. Bake it two days early and it is better for the wait.
Check out this recipe
Banana Upside Down Cake Recipe
Something a little different, and a good way to use up the bananas going soft on the counter.
Check out this recipe
🍽️ How Much Dessert for a Crowd
People take small pieces of several things rather than one full serving, so plan by pieces, not by servings.
- Two to three pieces per person across all your desserts combined.
- Three desserts covers twelve people. One tray of cookies, one cake, one pan of bars.
- Set out the leftovers, then put them away. After two hours on the table, refrigerate anything with cream cheese, whipped cream, or a custard filling. Cookies and quick breads are fine at room temperature.
Making It Easy on Yourself
Pick three: one apple, one pumpkin or cranberry, and one chocolate. That covers what people actually reach for.
Bake the cookies up to two months ahead and freeze them, make the cakes two days early, and leave only one dessert for the day itself. The oven is going to be busy, so anything that can come out of the refrigerator instead is worth its place on the table.
