Find easy recipes for your favorite Thanksgiving pies -- pumpkin, pecan, apple, and sweet potato -- as well as cakes, cheesecakes, bread pudding, cookies, and tiramisu, all dancing with fall flavors. Try these cheesecake squares in place of (gasp!) pumpkin pie. A no-fail press in crust is ideal for novice bakers.

Take advantage of fresh cranberries while they're plentiful. This homey creation takes just minutes to make and would be a festive treat throughout the holiday season.

Store-bought puff pastry is an effortless base for this pretty tart. The brightness of berries is wonderful with mellow pears.

As American as apple betty. Yes, this dessert dates to colonial times. The warm spiced apples topped with sweet breadcrumbs make it a great stand-in for pie.

We were inspired by the flavors of pecan pie when we created these treats. They're simple to make, thanks to a quick pie crust and stovetop filling. You can use peanuts, walnuts, or pecans in place of hazelnuts.

This beloved Southern-style Thanksgiving dessert is made extra-delicious with the addition of dark chocolate. The filling needs time to set, so this pie is best baked a day in advance.

Cheddar cheese is mixed right into the pie crust, adding a savory tang to classic apple pie. This pie can be made a day before Thanksgiving.

Maple syrup sweetens the no-bake filling of this easy cheesecake. Brush thin slices of pear with more maple syrup and broil until caramelized to make the decorative topping.

This icebox pie is an easy solution to Thanksgiving dessert. Rather than the usual baked custard filling, this pumpkin pie gets its silky texture courtesy of cream cheese and gelatin. Plus, the only baking involved is for the graham cracker crust.

Like a cross between a pie and a cobbler, squares of pastry dough are arranged over lightly sweetened apple-cranberry filling to make this rustic dessert. Serve the pandowdy warm or at room temperature with vanilla ice cream or cinnamon whipped cream.

This moist, walnut-studded cake is a delicious alternative to the usual pumpkin pie. Combine lemon and orange juices with confectioners' sugar to make the easy glaze.

This rich pie is a coconut triple threat: There is shredded coconut in the macaroonlike chocolate wafer crust, in the rich and creamy custard filling, and in the nutty toasted topping. Cutting into this pie is sheer coconut joy.

The traditional Thanksgiving sweet potato pie gets star quality from a topping of pecans in a caramel sauce. This pie might just bring pecan-pie lovers to the sweet-potato side.

Here it is, the ultimate recipe for the one pie that defines Thanksgiving. Solid-pack pumpkin puree is seasoned with pumpkin pie spice and whipped with eggs, brown sugar, and half-and-half to make the rich, smooth custard filling of the perfect pumpkin pie.

Buttered bread forms a toasty crust surrounding sauteed pear filling in this classic dessert. Serve the charlotte with dollops of lightly sweetened whipped cream.

Rich, anise-scented pumpkin custard bakes with bread cubes and pecans in this rustic dessert. Drizzle it with homemade or store-bought dulce de leche just before serving.

The crisp crust of this tart is made with crushed ice-cream cones. The easy chocolate filling is made by melting bittersweet chocolate with heavy cream, and then folding whipped cream into the mixture once cool.

It only takes 20 minutes to put this apple tart together. A glaze of apple or apricot jelly brushed over the top adds a sheen to the finished tart.

The secret to making cheesecake that's free of cracks is baking at a low temperature and letting it cool in the oven without opening the door. This spiced pumpkin cheesecake uses a traditional graham cracker crust, but feel free to create variations by adding chopped pecans or pumpkin seeds, or substituting ginger snaps or chocolate wafer cookies for the graham crackers.

Whisk together maple syrup with eggs and half-and-half to make the rich custard for this easy dessert. You can use homemade or store-bought cornbread for this recipe.

A chocolate cookie crust is coated with a semisweet chocolate, which adds an extra layer of rich flavor and keeps the crust from getting soggy. The maple-sweetened pumpkin custard filling can be made with homemade sugar-pumpkin puree or canned pumpkin.

Update classic key lime pie with a coconut-milk filling and a sprinkling of toasted shredded coconut atop billowy whipped cream.

You don't need an ice-cream maker to whip up this easy dessert: Simply freeze the cranberry juice and apple cider mixture in a baking dish and then puree in the food processor. Serve this refreshing sorbet as a palate cleanser in between courses or as a light dessert.

Cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, allspice, and cloves give this pumpkin cake a warm, comforting holiday flavor. The easy honey-and-cream-cheese frosting adds a sweet and tangy flourish.

To make chef Emeril Lagasse's interpretation of this down-South favorite, scatter chocolate chips and toasted pecans over the pie crust, then pour the sweet filling over the top. You can use store-bought crust to save time.

This recipe for pear and almond-cream tart is based on a traditional French preparation, which calls for poaching pears. This recipe uses canned pear halves for ease of preparation.

These moist, cakelike cookies use pumpkin pie spice and a full can of pumpkin puree. The decorative drizzle of semisweet chocolate is easy to do with an improvised piping bag made from a resealable plastic bag.

Raisins are interspersed with thin wedges of Granny Smith apple in this crowd-pleasing pie. Sprinkle the brown sugar-sweetened crumb over the pie halfway through baking so it becomes perfectly browned and slightly crisp.

For those who can never have too much chocolate, this cheesecake is a dream come true: A chocolate wafer crust supports creamy semisweet chocolate filling, crowned with chocolate ganache.

Maple syrup and pecans add a fall accent to this easy bread pudding. Serve it with an optional drizzle of heavy cream.

This gelatin salad, made with cranberry juice and fresh orange sections, is just as easy to prepare as the boxed flavored gelatin mixes. To arrange the fruit in the gelatin, wait until it is partially set.

A chocolate cookie crust forms the base of these chocolate-swirled pumpkin cheesecake bars. This pretty hand-held Thanksgiving dessert can be made up to two days before the holiday.

This traditional sweet potato pie features an easy press-in graham cracker crust. The custard filling is spiced with just a little bit of allspice, letting the rich sweet potato flavor shine through.

Melt semisweet chocolate into hot cream and stir in a splash of rum to make the filling for this easy pie. Top it with macadamia nuts and whipped cream just before serving.

Egg yolks and pure maple syrup enrich these easy sugar cookies. To make the glaze, simmer more maple syrup on the stovetop until reduced and thick.

The buttery texture of ripe pears combines beautifully with vanilla custard. The easy filling is whipped up in the blender.

Enticingly fragrant when served straight from the oven, this fall-themed take on bread pudding will warm your Thanksgiving guests from the inside out. The top is crusty and golden; the custardy inside is rich with pumpkin and spices. A sprinkle of confectioners' sugar and whipped cream on the side finish the dessert.

Just as essential as apple and pumpkin to the Thanksgiving dessert offerings is rich pecan pie. The pie should cool completely before you cut into it, so it's best made a day ahead.

This is a classic recipe for that timeless fall favorite, apple pie. Use firm apples to make this pie, such as Empire, Cortland, Granny Smith, Gala, Winesap, or a combination of several varieties.

The Italian restaurant standby gets dressed up for Thanksgiving, adding canned pumpkin puree and replacing the espresso syrup with almond liqueur. This is a perfect make-ahead dessert, as it tastes even better after it's been refrigerated overnight.

This recipe uses a combination of coconut milk and whole milk to create the creamy filling. Instead of the usual whipped cream topping, garnish the pie with toasted shredded coconut to let the custard star on your Thanksgiving dessert table.

Maple syrup and lemon zest give a nuanced sweetness to the filling of this tart. Fold fresh breadcrumbs into the pumpkin custard before baking for a unique texture.

The luxurious chocolate filling of this tart is amazingly easy to make: simply melt bittersweet chocolate in hot cream, and stir in vanilla extract. The shortbread crust is enriched with almonds and subtly perfumed with orange or lemon zest.

Yogurt and cream are sweetened with honey and thickened with gelatin to make a cool, creamy filling for a gingersnap-walnut crust. This recipe uses dried plums for the poached fruit topping, but you could also use dried pears, apricots, cherries, cranberries, or peaches.

This pumpkin pie features an extra-rich, cinnamon-spiced pumpkin filling. The whipped-cream topping is stabilized with gelatin so it stays high and fluffy, making it possible to assemble the entire pie the day before Thanksgiving.

Bourbon adds a little kick to the chocolate filling of this tart. This recipe calls for the shortcut of a store-bought refrigerated pie crust.

These are a Thanksgiving take on blondies, with pumpkin puree and a generous tablespoon of pumpkin pie spice. Kids will love them, and so will the adults. Make sure the pumpkin squares have cooled completely before slicing.