From Pie to Pandowdy, These Are Our 20 Most Fabulous Thanksgiving Dessert Recipes

If you're looking for a beginner-friendly dessert to make this Thanksgiving, this pandowdy recipe is one you need. The entire treat is assembled in one dish so it's as easy to clean up as it is to make.

This gluten-free confection is almost like a giant candy bar. A no-bake crust made with almond flour and shredded coconut is filled with a blend of butter, sugar, cream, condensed milk, and semi-sweet chocolate, and pecan pieces.

It may seem surprising to recommend a chilled dessert this late in the year, but these sorbets (we have three options) are packed with fall flavors, including cranberry and rosemary. Our streamlined recipe means you'll save time; using fruit juice instead of cooking fruit to get juice helps speed up the process. 

Parfaits can be made a variety of different ways. This version features a simmered sauce made from cranberries and pear juice, which is layered into glasses with a sweet-cream mixture, blackberries, raspberries, and crumbled spice cookies.

A rich delight of pumpkin and chocolate, this dense cheesecake may seem daunting, but the pumpkin filling and chocolate crust can be assembled in a few simple steps. 

The fan-favorite way of serving sweet potatoes—especially in the South—is as a marshmallow topped confection. This elevated version of the dish whips sweet potatoes into a sheet cake with pumpkin-pie spice and tops the dessert with an Italian meringue, giving the illusion of a stream of marshmallows. 

This pumpkin pie recipe combines both classic and modern flavors into one treat. The filling is made with timeless fall ingredients, but we tuck it all into a phyllo crust to make this treat different from all the other pies on the dessert table. And we'll let you in on a little secret: Although visually impressive, the crust is actually easy to make. Simply layer a pan with sheets of store-bought phyllo in varying angles. 

A crowd pleaser indeed, this upside-down cake is defined by two key ingredients: apples and honey. The fruit is spread over a caramel filling and topped with a batter that features honey, sugar, eggs, melted butter, and milk.

It's always nice to surprise your guests with a dessert they likely haven't tried before, like this chiffon cake. Layers of cake, whipped cream, and seasonal fruits like pears, figs, and plums are assembled into an aesthetically pleasing treat. 

Apple pie has some competition this year thanks to this cranberry-meringue tart. The crust is made with a buttery mixture of crushed saltines, which serves as a nice contrast to the tart cranberry filling. The perfect finishing touch? A whipped-to-perfection meringue topping. 

Here's an easy-to-make, easy-to-love one-layer pumpkin cake; its flavor is enhanced thanks to the addition of instant espresso powder and pumpkin-pie spice. Once baked, the cake is dressed in a whipped cream topping and dusted with more espresso powder. 

In addition to the usual favorites, like pumpkin and apple pie, this double-crusted ricotta pie will look stunning on your Thanksgiving table. Ricotta—a creamy cheese with a mild flavor profile—gives the filling its slightly sweet, milky texture while the cranberries and pistachios punch up the texture. 

This homage to milk pie—a custard tart pastry—is perfect for pumpkin loving guests. If you're new to baking with phyllo, this recipe makes it a breeze. 

Food imitates art in this gorgeous apple rose tart. Thinly sliced Granny Smith apples are layered in a deep-dish pâte brisée pie shell while unpeeled pink ladies give the outer edges a rosy color. Apricot jam and grated ginger are spread over the dough's base for a kick of spicy-sweet flavor. 

An instant classic, this dreamy brown-butter bourbon pecan pie is both delicious and impressive. The addition of brown butter sets this dessert apart from traditional pecan pie, but there's a flavor here for everyone. 

Persimmon, a beautiful bright orange fruit, stars in this dessert. The fruit is puréed and made into an aromatic filling featuring cream, cinnamon, star anise, clove, and cardamom. Once baked, the tart is sprinkled with sugar and torched until its top turns beautifully golden.

A hybrid dessert for the ages, day-old brioche bread serves as a vessel for sliced Granny Smith apples and classic Thanksgiving spices, including cinnamon, all-spice, and nutmeg. 

Plan to make extra cranberry sauce this year so you can use it in this decadent cheesecake. The vanilla-based dessert features a traditional graham cracker crust, but feel free substitute wafer cookies for the graham cracker. 

Cookies at Thanksgiving? Why not! These brown sugar and cornmeal shortbread cookies have all the flavors of fall and harvest.