Thanksgiving is all about gathering, sharing, and indulging in the season’s best flavors. While turkey and sides take center stage, the appetizers and desserts set the stage for a memorable meal and a sweet finale.
From cozy bites that keep guests entertained while the main course finishes to decadent desserts that leave everyone satisfied, Thanksgiving is the perfect occasion to explore unique, crowd-pleasing recipes. Whether you’re hosting the whole family or keeping it intimate, these appetizer and dessert ideas will make your holiday feast unforgettable. Let’s dive into the delicious world of festive nibbles and sweet treats!
Warm Up with Savory Starters
Baked Goat Cheese Dip
Cook time: 30 min
Ingredients:
- 8 oz cream cheese, room temp
- 8 oz goat cheese, room temp
- ½ cup chopped dates
- ½ cup cooked, chopped bacon
- 1-2 Tbsp hot honey
Instructions:
- Preheat your oven to 400°.
- Put cream cheese and goat cheese into a bowl and mix until well combined and fluffy.
- Spoon the mixture into a cast iron skillet. Add the chopped dates and bacon to a bowl with the honey.
- Toss until coated, then spoon the bacon mixture over the goat cheese mixture.
- Bake for 15-20 min or until the goat cheese is bubbling.
- Serve with toast or crackers.
Sausage Balls
Cook time: 30 min
Ingredients:
- 1 lb ground pork sausage, at room temperature
- 2 cups biscuit baking mix
- 1 lb sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
Instructions:
- Preheat the oven to 350º.
- Combine room temperature sausage and biscuit mix in a large bowl; mix with your hands until well combined.
- Add shredded Cheddar cheese and mix until fully incorporated. Roll mixture into about 30 walnut-sized balls; transfer to a baking sheet.
- Bake in the preheated oven until golden brown and sausage is cooked through, 20-25 minutes.
Garlicky Parmesan Butter Beans
Cook time: 15 min
Ingredients:
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 Tbsp olive oil
- 2 15 oz cans butter beans, drained
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
- Salt and black pepper
- 1 tsp Aleppo pepper
- ½ tsp cumin
- 1 cup chopped fresh parsley
- ½ cup shaved Parmesan cheese
Instructions:
- In a large pan, add the olive oil over medium heat. Add the garlic and saute until fragrant, 1-2 min.
- Add the beans and ½ cup water. Season with salt, black pepper, and the spices. Add the tomatoes. Cook, stirring occasionally until heated through, about 10 minutes. Stir in the parsley and parmesan.
- Finish with a generous drizzle of extra virgin olive oil. Serve with pita or your favorite crusty bread.
Baked Feta with Hot Honey
Cook time: 25 min
Ingredients:
- 8 oz block feta cheese in brine is best, at room temperature
- 4 sheets phyllo pastry
- olive oil
- ½ cup hot honey
- 4 sprigs fresh thyme (you can use dried if you don’t have fresh)
Instructions:
- Preheat the oven to 375º.
- Drain the feta, then pat dry with paper towels to remove as much moisture as possible.
- Lay a sheet of phyllo on a baking sheet and brush with oil. Layer on another sheet of phyllo on top and also brush with oil. Place one block of feta onto the 2 pieces of phyllo. Wrap up all four sides like a present. Keep the sides relatively taut, but be careful not to rip them.
- Turn the block over so it’s seam side down, then repeat the same process of brushing individual phyllo sheets and layering. Lay the original block of feta wrapped in two phyllo sheets and repeat the fold. Flip the seam side down on the sheet, and brush the top with oil.
- Bake for 15-20 minutes, flipping halfway through. Remove the feta and lay on a plate. Drizzle the hot honey and sprinkle fresh thyme over it.
- Serve immediately and enjoy!
Spicy Honey Baked Feta
Cook time: 20 min
Ingredients:
- 1 block of feta
- Olive oil
- 2 Tbsp chili crisp
- ¼ cup honey
Instructions:
- Preheat your oven to 400º. Place the block of feta in a baking dish, and drizzle with olive oil.
- Spread 2 tbsp of chili crisp across the top, then bake for 15 minutes.
- Drizzle ¼ cup honey on top, and broil for 3 minutes.
- Serve with crackers and enjoy!
Strawberry Thyme Baked Brie
Cook time: 20 min
Ingredients:
- Brie
- Strawberry jam
- Fresh strawberries, sliced
- Crushed pistachios
- Fresh thyme
- Honey
Instructions:
- Preheat your oven to 375º. Place brie on a parchment paper lined baking sheet.
- Top with strawberry jam and fresh strawberries.
- Bake for 15 minutes.
- Once it’s out of the oven, top with pistachios, fresh thyme, and a drizzle of honey.
- Serve with toasted bread.
Butter Board
Cook time: 5 min
Ingredients:
- 1 stick of butter, room temperature
- Chili crisp
- Honey
- Chives
- Flaky salt
Instructions:
- Place parchment paper on a board, and spread the room temperature butter over the paper.
- Place dollops of chili crisp on top of the butter and spread it around, then drizzle with honey.
- Sprinkle flaky salt and minced chives on top.
- Serve with your favorite bread!
Pepper Jelly Cream Cheese Crackers
Ingredients:
- Crackers
- Cream Cheese
- Pepper Jelly
Instructions:
- Let your cream cheese sit out until it reaches room temperature, then scoop it into a small bowl.
- Put pepper jelly into another small bowl, and microwave for about 20 seconds or until it loosens.
- Pour the pepper jelly over the cream cheese, and serve with crackers.
The Grand Finale
Red Hot Grapes
Cook time: 8-24 hours
Ingredients:
- Red grapes
- Bourbon or whiskey
- Honey
- Lemon juice
- ¼ cup sugar
- 1 tsp cinnamon
Instructions:
- Wash your grapes, remove from stems, and poke holes all around using a toothpick. Put the grapes in a container and cover with the bourbon of your choice. Place in the fridge for at least 4 hours.
- Drain the grapes (save the bourbon for a cocktail.) Combine lemon juice and honey to your desired sweetness. Pour over the grapes and toss to coat. Put in the freezer for at least 4 hours.
- Remove the grapes from the freezer. Combine the sugar and cinnamon. Pierce the grapes with a toothpick, then roll into the cinnamon sugar mixture until coated. Serve immediately.
Date Balls
Cook time: 45 min
Ingredients:
- 1 (8 oz) package pitted dates, chopped
- ¾ cup white sugar
- ½ cup butter
- 3 cups crispy rice cereal
- 1 cup chopped pecans
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- ½ cup powdered sugar
Instructions:
- Add chopped dates, sugar, and butter to a saucepan over medium low heat. Cook and stir until the sugar dissolves and the mixture combines and thickens. Remove from heat and fold in the crispy rice cereal, pecans, and vanilla extract until well combined.
- Let the mixture cool for 10-15 minutes. Roll date mixture into 1-inch balls and let cool.
- Put the powdered sugar into a shallow dish and roll the date balls in it to coat.
Pumpkin Mousse
Cook time: 40 min
Chill time: 4 hours
Ingredients:
- 14 oz can sweetened condensed milk
- 15 oz can pumpkin purée
- ¼ tsp kosher salt
- 3 cups heavy cream
Instructions:
- Heat condensed milk in a medium saucepan over medium. Cook, stirring constantly with a rubber spatula, until slightly darker in color, 10–12 minutes.
- Stir in pumpkin and salt; continue to cook, stirring often, until mixture bubbles up like polenta, about 4 minutes more. Strain mixture through a fine-mesh sieve into a large bowl, pressing on solids with a rubber spatula. Set aside to cool.
- Using an electric mixer on medium-high speed, whip cream to medium peaks in another large bowl. Transfer one-third of cream to a small bowl, cover, and chill until ready to use.
- Mix a few spoonfuls of remaining whipped cream into pumpkin mixture to lighten, then fold remaining cream into pumpkin mixture. Transfer to 2-quart dish or divide among 8 glasses. Chill at least 3 hours.
- Gently whip reserved whipped cream, then top each serving with a spoonful of whipped cream.
- Mousse can be made 2 days ahead; cover and chill.
Caramel Apple Bites
Cook time: 15 min
Ingredients:
- 1 bag Rolos candies, wrappers removed
- 2 large Granny Smith apples
- 60 mini pretzels
Instructions:
- Preheat oven to 350°.
- Unwrap your Rolos candies, and cut apples into small squares.
- Place your apples in about one cup of water and 1 Tbsp of lemon juice to avoid browning.
- Place pretzels on a cookie sheet that is lined with parchment paper. Place the Rolos on top of your pretzels. Put it in the oven for 3 minutes.
- Meanwhile, remove the apples from the water and dry them off. Place the toothpicks in each apple chunk. Make sure you don’t leave the pretzels in the oven over the 3 minutes, you just want to soften them.
- Place the tooth picked apples in the center of the melted chocolate and caramel. You can leave them out to harden for about 30 minutes, or place them in the refrigerator for 10 minutes, allow to sit for 5 minutes before serving or the caramel will be a bit hard.
Phyllo Crinkle Cake
Cook time: 1 hr 15 min
Ingredients:
- 1 box phyllo dough
- 2 sticks butter, melted
For the Custard:
- 1 cup milk
- ¾ cup sugar
- 1 tsp rose essence
- 1 tsp ground cardamom
- 2 eggs
For the Syrup:
- 1 cup sugar
- ½ cup water
- ½ tsp rose essence
For the Garnish:
- ½ cup chopped pistachios
- 1 Tbsp rose petals
Instructions:
- Defrost the phyllo dough as per the package instructions. Preheat the oven to 350º F.
- Take 2 layers of phyllo dough together at a time holding the sheets together at the top and let them hang from your fingers. Using your fingers to “crinkle” the sheets, gently fold back and forth in an accordion-style drawing the bottom up to the top.
- Lay the folded dough into an ungreased rectangular baking dish starting at the shorter side and continue filling in the folded sheets down the length of the pan.
- Bake at 350º F for 10 minutes. Melt butter in a small saucepan.
- Remove the pan and evenly pour melted butter over the dough. Return to the oven and bake for 10 more minutes.
- Combine milk, sugar, cardamom, rose essence and eggs with a whisk to form the custard. Remove pan from oven and evenly pour the custard over phyllo dough. Return pan to oven and bake for 30-40 minutes, until golden brown.
- Combine water, sugar, and rose essence in a saucepan. Bring it to a gentle boil and simmer for 8 to 10 minutes as the syrup forms a one-string consistency. Drizzle over the cake after removing it from the oven. Cut into 3-inch squares.
Cream Cheese Pound Cake
Cook time: 1 hour 45 min
Ingredients:
- 1 ½ cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 8 oz cream cheese, room temperature
- 3 cups sugar
- 6 large eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 tsp salt
- Nonstick cooking spray
Instructions:
- Preheat oven to 350º. With an electric mixer, beat butter and cream cheese until smooth. Add sugar; beat until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Mix in vanilla. Mix on low, and add flour and salt in two additions, beating until just combined.
- Generously coat two 8½ x 4½ x 2½ inch loaf pans (1½ quarts each) with cooking spray; immediately pour in batter (pan will seem full). Tap pans on work surface to eliminate any large air bubbles.
- Bake until golden and a toothpick inserted in the centers comes out almost clean, 60 to 75 minutes (if the tops begin to brown too quickly, tent with aluminum foil).
- Let cool for 10 minutes in the pan. Turn out the cakes; cool completely, with top sides up, on a wire rack.
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