Most people look forward to Thanksgiving Day because of the extravagant dinner spread. If you're lucky enough to watch the spread turn from savory to sweet, let’s hope your stomach saved room for dessert. I often find myself on a stressful time crunch trying to spend hours perfecting a dessert during the holiday season. Below are a few simple recipes that will attract all the guests’ taste buds post-Thanksgiving dinner.
Pumpkin spice dump cake
I made this dessert last year for the first time and it was a big hit at my family’s Thanksgiving party. This dessert takes a little over an hour to make and requires minimal ingredients.
Ingredients:
- 30 ounces of canned pumpkin
- 16 ounces of evaporated milk
- 1 teaspoon of pumpkin pie spice
- 1 cup of sugar
- 4 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons of ground cinnamon
- 1 standard sized package of moist spiced cake mix
- ½ cup butter unsoftened
- Vanilla ice cream (optional)
Instructions:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and grease a 13-by-9 inch pan
- In a large bowl, combine pumpkin, milk, pumpkin pie spice, sugar, eggs and cinnamon. Mix well after everything is combined and pour batter into pan.
- Evenly sprinkle cake mix over the pumpkin mixture. Thinly slice butter and evenly lay each thin pat on top of mixture’s surface.
- Bake for an hour. Once it’s out of the oven, let cool for five minutes. Serve with your choice of whipped cream or vanilla bean ice cream and enjoy.
Apple cinnamon crumble bake
I recently tried this dessert for the first time, and I've been thinking about it ever since. This recipe is so easy to make that it requires just two ingredients! Perfect for those running late to Thanksgiving dinner.
Ingredients:
- 1 container of deluxe cinnamon rolls with icing included (makes 5 rolls)
- 1 can of apple pie filling
- Choice of ice cream (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Cut up the cinnamon rolls into little pieces. Add the pieces into a greased baking dish; the smaller the dish the better. Combine apple pie filling and mix.
- Place into the oven and bake for about 45–60 minutes or until golden brown. Top with cinnamon roll icing. I like to sprinkle some extra cinnamon on top before serving and it tastes even better with ice cream.
Pumpkin cupcakes
This recipe is great for guests who can’t enter a party empty-handed. You can never go wrong with cupcakes, it’s a classic dessert. My favorite part is topping it off with cream cheese frosting, which makes for the perfect first bite when you taste the combination of pumpkin spice and frosting together.
Ingredients:
- 1 ½ sticks of butter softened
- 2 cups of sugar
- 3 large eggs
- 1 can of solid-pack pumpkin
- 2 cups of flour (I use all-purpose flour)
- 1 tablespoons of pumpkin pie spice
- 1 teaspoon of baking powder
- 1 ½ teaspoon of ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon of salt
- ½ teaspoon of baking soda
- 1 cup buttermilk
Frosting:
- 1 package cream cheese softened
- 4 cups powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
- 2 teaspoons of ground cinnamon
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. In a large bowl, mix together the butter and sugar until it’s fluffy; this takes about 5 minutes. Add in the eggs one at a time. Mix well then add pumpkin. Combine flour, pie spice, baking powder, salt, cinnamon and baking soda into the mixture. Add buttermilk and beat well after each addition.
- Grab a 24 lined muffin pan and fill with paper-lined muffin cups. Make sure the batter only fills ¾ of each cup. Bake for about 20-25 minutes or until golden brown. Let cool for 10 minutes before removing from pans.
- In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese and butter until fluffy. Add powdered sugar, vanilla and cinnamon. Keep beating until perfectly smooth. Let the frosting sit in the fridge until the cupcakes are ready.
- Once the cupcakes have cooled down completely, take the frosting out of the fridge. I like to sprinkle a little cinnamon sugar on top for good measure. Once the cupcakes are all frosted you may enjoy your fall treat!
