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No one dishes up nostalgic Thanksgiving desserts like Grandma can. And generous Allrecipes home cooks love to share their family heirloom recipes passed down through generations, including favorites like apple pie and chocolate cream pie to cupcakes and everything made with pumpkin. Start a new tradition in your family with these timeless Thanksgiving dessert recipes that are good enough to earn Grandma’s stamp of approval.
Chocolate Cream Pie
Dotdash Meredith Food Studios
“This rich and silky chocolate cream pie is an old family recipe my grandmother used to make me when I was a little boy. I still love it to this day!” says recipe submitter Cecil.
Butternut Squash Pie
Take a break from pumpkin and stuff your pie crust with warmly spiced butternut squash. Ginger, nutmeg, cloves, and vanilla lend similar flavors to the classic Thanksgiving favorite, just with a twist. “My grandmother taught me how to make this recipe while I was a teenager working on her farm in the summers. For people that find the taste of pumpkin a little strong or just want a change, this is a milder but still delicious pie,” says blaze.
Apple Butter Spice Cake
For a fall-flavored cake recipe, consider this coffee cake-like option that Shirley scored from her grandma “years ago.” Sour cream makes the crumb dense yet tender, while apple butter lends loads of fall flavor in seconds. “Very moist, delicious cake. Would make a good breakfast cake,” says one Allrecipes member. Translation: Thanksgiving day brunch menu, solved!
Granny Kat’s Pumpkin Roll
No need to be intimidated by the prospect of making a cake roll (aka jelly roll). Angela’s Granny Kat will walk us through it! After baking the pumpkin cake in a 9×13-inch jelly roll pan, the secret lies in timing and temperature. Wrap the warm cake in a damp, clean kitchen towel, carefully roll it into a shape similar to how you plan to serve it, and allow the cake to cool for 20 minutes as you mix up the filling. This will keep it from splitting once you re-roll the cake with the luscious cream filling slathered on top.
Nana’s Cranberry Kuchen
Cranberry recipes for Thanksgiving shouldn’t stop at sauce. Keep a couple extra cups of the sweet-tart fruit handy to toss into this kuchen (German for “cake”) that was “Nana’s famous holiday bread,” according to shogren. The buttery streusel top gets crunchy as the cranberry dessert bakes, which acts as a lovely complement to the bursting berries and tender cake hiding underneath.
Grandma’s Iron Skillet Apple Pie
Passed down by grandmas for generations, a cast iron skillet can bake up a picture-perfect pie. For this nearly-mile-high pie, TL Dixon’s grandma calls for three layers of pie pastry: one at the bottom, one in the middle, and one on top. Think of this cinnamon-spiced apple creation as the Thanksgiving dessert cousin of a triple-decker sandwich.
Grandma’s Sweet Hubbard Squash Custard Pie
“This recipe was handed down from my Grandma. I have tweaked it to spice it up some,” Lvngwell explains. “It is a unique addition to any Thanksgiving celebration and holds its own against pumpkin pie any day!” Delivering similar flavors to a mash-up of sweet potato and pumpkin, no wonder this is one of the top-rated Thanksgiving desserts on Allrecipes. Its lightly sweet, custardy filling is a delightful match for a dollop of whipped cream.
Apple Cake with Caramel Glaze
“This is a fantastic Bundt cake that my grandmother used to make for Thanksgiving. It has been a family favorite for years,” says recipe contributor Dani. Allrecipes home cook Jillian made it and says, “OMG! This apple cake is so moist and so delicious! It’s the perfect fall dessert. I used half white sugar and half brown sugar, and next time, I would probably cut back on the oil because it was almost too moist. I did add just a splash of vanilla to that to give it more of that ‘caramel’ flavor.”
Grandma Gudgel’s Black Bottom Cupcakes
Keep the peace by serving already-portioned mini cakes rather than fighting over the largest slice of cake or pie this Thanksgiving. These cute cakes are like a cupcake version of cookies and cream ice cream—just made better with double the chocolate (cake and chips). “My husband’s Grandmother used to make these cupcakes every year for Thanksgiving and Christmas,” says NANCYSTANFIELD, where “they became a family favorite. I was asked this year to make these in honor of her memory. They are very delicious with a nice cream cheese surprise in the center!”
Old Fashioned Raisin Pie
Janice Hynes
This is something you don’t see on the Thanksgiving table often. “This raisin pie recipe was given to me 41 years ago by my husband’s grandmother,” says recipe submitter Linda. With over 140 5-star reviews, this recipe is worth making.
Anna’s Custard Pie
We bet you already have everything you need to make this easy pie recipe that was developed by Anna’s German grandma. Vanilla extract stars in the simple flan-like filling, which can be spiced up with cinnamon and/or nutmeg. “I found this recipe delightfully easy to make but absolutely delicious and eggy. I did add a little more nutmeg as it is a holiday favorite flavor in my family,” one baker who tried it herself says. “I also served it with homemade whipped cream sprinkled with nutmeg.”
Apple Pie by Grandma Ople
Dotdash Meredith Food Studios
MOSHASMAMA generously shared her grandma’s twist on the beloved apple dessert and admits, “I have never seen another one quite like it. It will always be my favorite and has won me several first-place prizes in local competitions.” What makes it stand out? Partially cooking the fruit-free portion of the pie filling, then pouring it over the sliced apple-topped pie crust. The results are “A++ decadently delicious,” according to other home bakers who have tried this at home.
Grandma’s Lemon Meringue Pie
Dotdash Meredith Food Studios
“What a great recipe! I’ve had many lemon fillings that never quite got the acid/sugar balance right, but this was bang on,” says one Allrecipes reviewer.
Chess Pie
Dotdash Meredith Food Studios
“This chess pie is a very old Southern recipe. It’s a very sweet, rich dessert which cannot be described as anything but marvelous. This is not my personal recipe but was passed to me by my grandmother and from her grandmother and so on and so forth,” says T Knecht. “You will think you have died and gone to heaven when you taste this, especially when served with whipped cream.”