Do not, I repeat, do not show up to Thanksgiving dinner with a store-bought dessert! Not even a Patti Pie. It’s just bad manners, y’all. Now, Ms. Patti is everyone’s favorite celebrity auntie so please don’t think I’m trying to shade her. She is my girl (in my head). We both love cooking, mixing up fun cocktails, and wearing fabulous shoes and I like to think that we’d get along if we ever met. 🙂 Now that I’ve made that little disclaimer, let’s get to these desserts! This is a roundup of sweet dishes you can serve at your own Turkey Day table or tote along as a contribution to someone else’s. Each one is unique and they range from super easy to moderate in terms of difficulty. Some require just a few (I’m talking 3 or 4!) ingredients and not a lot of time, either. Starting with the pies, click any link below to get to the printable full recipe so you don’t have to search the whole blog trying to hunt it down.
Pies to Try
- Apple Pie with Brie
- Bourbon Sweet Potato Pie
- Caramel Apple Pie
- Classic Apple Pie
- Key Lime Pie
- Maple Apple Cranberry Pie
- Sweet Potato Pecan Pie
My sweet tooth is massive and, while I make efforts to curb it, Thanksgiving is a time where I feel completely ok indulging in cakes, cobblers, pies, and the like. More than one trip to the dessert table is made, for sure. In fact, I have the most fun with making desserts because I feel like there are so many opportunities for beautiful presentation. It’s true that we eat with our eyes first and when I’m sharing food with a crowd, [and on social media] I don’t want to get dragged or go viral for the wrong reasons! So, I put a bit of extra care into presenting desserts on Thanksgiving. Here are some cute handheld desserts perfect for the gram and guests of all ages!
Handheld Desserts
- Apple Tarts
- Chai Pumpkin Snickerdoodles
- Pumpkin Cupcakes
- Pumpkin Donuts
- Salted Caramel Sweet Potato Bars
Puddings and Cobblers
- Aunt Georgia’s Peach Cobbler
- Cinnamon Roll Bread Pudding
- Nutty Apple Cranberry Bread Pudding
- Pear Cobbler
- Sweet Potato Praline Bread Pudding
I think I get my flair for presentation from my Grandma. I have fond memories of visiting her during the days leading up to Thanksgiving and helping her assemble pies, in particular. I learned so much about cooking at her knee. She was always introducing creative new pie recipes each Thanksgiving because pies are kind of a signature dessert of the holiday and the season. And my Grandma makes a mean pound cake so I thought I’d throw my sweet tea pound cake in there for y’all to try if you like. Here are the cakes:
Bomb Cakes and Cheesecakes
- Bourbon Carrot Cake
- Pineapple Upside Down Rum Cake
- Pumpkin Apple Spice Cake
- Pumpkin Cheesecake
- Sweet Potato Cheesecake
- Sweet Tea Pound Cake
- Ultimate Red Velvet Cake
I hope this Thanksgiving dessert roundup is helpful and that you have a blessed and happy Thanksgiving. Let me know in the comments below if you try any of these desserts or have questions. Thanks for reading!

Yum! The pumpkin cheesecake and apple pie with brie look especially yummy! Looking forward to trying them
I was taught to never go empty handed so you have given us some great ideas to make and take.
I was taught the same way. Thanks for reading, Candi!
Oh my goodness! These desserts look incredible. I love your first line, “Do not. I repeat, show up to Thanksgiving with store bought.” haha Amen, sister!
blessings,
The How-to Guru
Haha! Thanks and thanks for reading!
I am so glad I found this post! We are in charge of Desserts this year at Thanksgiving and I’ll most definitely be making one of these! The cinnamon roll bread pudding looks to die for… Actually they honestly all look amazing 🙂 Thanks for sharing!
xo Nicole
http://www.damatoadventures.blogspot.com
Yay! I’m glad you found it, too. Hopefully you’ll love these. Thanks for reading, Nicole!
These are really great dessert ideas! Now, I’m hungry!
One Awesome Momma
OMG. Cinnamon roll bread pudding!! My husband is going to die when he sees that!
My boyfriend would die for that Sweet Tea pound cake! Yes!! All of these look so good! I just wish I was a fan of pumpkin haha!!
Wow, all of these dessert ideas look delicious!!! Love the cinnamon roll bread pudding!
YUM! Dessert is my weakness and all of these look amazing.
Those pictures look amazing, and a true foodies dream. The cinnamon roll bread pudding is something I’m going to try, but for breakfast.
I can’t argue with you on the breakfast idea…I’ve done it before lol.
Apple pie with brie looks amazing–and so different than the usual pies! And I think I might have to make the cinnamon roll bread pudding this weekend…you know, just to test it out…by myself…in the laundry room…not sharing with my kids… 😉
These all look amazing!