Thanksgiving Dessert Recipes

Thanksgiving at our house is almost a holy day. We are all foodies and we come in all sizes.

When my husband was working for the railroad the worst thing that could happen to him (in his world) was that the phone would ring just as we are sitting down to the meal. That usually meant a train had derailed somewhere and he got elected to go pick it up. I really should have kept track of every time that happened, because it happened really often. I remember one New Years day derailment in Frannie, Wyoming. When the train left the track it took a section house with it. I can still see the look on Dan's face when that call came.
You see, on New Years our traditional meal was a Norwegian meal. We would have ham, potato dumplings, lefse, fruit soup---the whole shebang and it was the only day I made it. It made ringing in a new year kind of special.

Our traditional night before Thanksgiving meal is pizza. The night before Christmas meal is knoephla/cheese soup (we didn't want oyster stew--however--we do use the small oyster crackers instead.) New Years Eve is dedicated to snacking our way through the night. So, this year Dan is now retired two years and he no longer has to worry about the phone ringing to separate him from his food and family. I do remember a couple times when Dan was still working that the phone was taken off the hook, just in case. When cell phones came with the job, it only made his job twice as much work.

I swear...this is true...I have a story for you. Dan had been working on a derailment in the Glendive railroad yard, which is maybe 4 blocks from our house. He made a quick dash home to have a sandwich and soup. He sat down, the house phone rang, it was the railroad....his cell phone rang.....it was the railroad....now he had a phone on each ear and I could see steam rising from his head. I told the kids to "just stay out of dad's way, okay?" I just stood there and cocked my head at him and pulled my mouth into a smile (he was not amused). That is another time I wish I had a camera. Well, enough about this and on with Thanksgiving Desserts.

Usually pie is the traditional Thanksgiving Dessert. Hmmmmm,why is that? I have to run over to another website to check that out. I'll be right back.

I surfed over to wikipedia.org and there doesn't seem to be any definitive answer as to why pie is served. It makes sense that fruits harvested in the fall (i.e. apples, pumpkin, sweet potatoes and so forth) would end up being served. I then surfed over to answerbag.com and discovered that pie goes waaaaaay back to when Romans and Egypt owned the world. Somewhere in my foggy memory it seems that in dark ages England pies were the easiest food for soldiers to eat. The crust was simply meant to hold the filling and was really of no importance. So, when the pilgrims made a dash for freedom from King George the (something--3rd, 4th, 5th,???) they brought the pie recipe with them from the old world (England) to the new world (the good old U.S. of A.) I can just see it. They landed at Plymouth Rock took a look around and decided they liked what they saw and decided bad old King George will never find them here. Not even if they brought the pie recipe with them.

So now you know---at one time the crust of the pie was of no importance it was the filling that made the pie. So why do we insist on light, flaky crusts? We seem to have gotten fussy through the generations since the pilgrims landed. We could start a new rebellion. Instead of rebelling against a stodgy king (now a queen) we could rebel against light and flaky crusts. I can't make light and flaky anything, even if my brain is light and flaky.

On with the recipes! I'm starting with cake because the article is about Thanksgiving Desserts and cake is definitely a dessert. Some of these recipes call for fructose---you can substitute sugar.

Banana-Carrot Cake: 1 1/2 cup vegetable oil; 1 1/3 cup fructose; 5 mashed or pureed bananas; 4 eggs; 1/2 cup milk; 2 1/2 cups flour; 1 tsp. baking powder; 1 tsp. baking soda; 1 tsp. cinnamon; 1/4 tsp. salt; 2 tsp. vanilla; 2 cups grated carrots. Directions: Blend oil and fructose; beat in purred bananas and eggs. Add milk and beat on high speed for 1 minute. Add dry ingredients all at once and beat until thoroughly mixed. Add vanilla and stir in carrots. Bake in a greased 13x9 inch pan at 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes or until done. Because fructose is used this cake is very moist. Frost with your favorite icing.

Pecan Pie: 1/4 cup butter; 1 cup honey; 1/4 cup fructose; 3 large eggs; 1 tsp vanilla; 1 cup pecan halves; 1 (9 inch) unbaked pie crust. Melt butter in a medium saucepan over low heat. Remove from heat and with wire whisk, beat in honey, fructose, eggs and vanilla. Place pecans in pie shell and pour egg mixture over. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour or until done. Cool at least two hours before serving.

Almond-Fig Pie: 4 eggs; 1 cup honey, warmed; 2 tbsp. melted butter; 1 tbsp. cider vinegar; 1 tsp. cinnamon; 1 tsp. cloves; 1 cup chopped, dried figs; 1 cup chopped almonds; 1 (9 inch) unbaked pie shell. Directions: Beat eggs well, add honey and continue beating. Add butter, vinegar and spices. Stir in figs and almonds. Pour into unbaked pie shell and bake at 375 degrees for 45 - 50 minutes or until set. Cool thoroughly before serving.

Layered Pumpkin Bars: 1 cup whole wheat flour; 1/2 cup oats; 1/2 cup sugar; 1/2 cup butter, melted; 2 cups canned pumpkin; 1 large can evaporated milk; 2 eggs, beaten; 1/2 cup sugar; 1/2 cup honey, warmed; 1 tsp. cinnamon; 1/2 tsp cloves; 1/2 tsp salt; 1/4 tsp ginger; 1/4 tsp allspice; 1/3 cup honey; 3/4 cup chopped nuts; 1/4 cup coconut. Stir together whole wheat flour, oats and 1/2 cup sugar. Mix in melted butter with a fork, as if in a crumb crust. Press into the bottom of a 13x9 inch greased pan and bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes. Meanwhile mix pumpkin, milk, eggs, 1/2 cup sugar, cinnamon, salt and remaining spices. Pour over the pastry layer when it comes out of the oven then bake for 25 - 30 minutes at 350 degrees or until it tests done. Remove from the oven. Warm butter and honey, add nuts and coconut. Spread carefully over the top of the pumpkin layer and broil for a couple of minutes until toasted. Cool completely before cutting into bars.

The following is a favorite recipe from my teen-age years. When my mom made this it didn't last long. Sweets are definitely my downfall. You have probably had this cake at one time or another, but I want to pass it on anyway.

Dump Cake: 1 large can prepared cherry pie filling; 1 large can pineapple chunks, drained. 1 pkg. yellow cake mix; 1 cup melted butter; 1 cup flaked coconut; 1 cup chopped walnuts (or any kind of nut). Directions: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spread pie filling evenly on the bottom of a greased 13x9 inch pan. Arrange pineapple over cherries. Sprinkle with cake mix. Cover with melted butter and top with coconut and walnuts. Bake for 1 hour or until done. Cool completely and serve with whipped cream or ice cream. (I LOVE black forest type cakes and I have made this cake with chocolate cake mix instead of the yellow cake. You then have the basic black forest of cherry, chocolate and whipped cream or ice cream; the pineapple is a bonus. Yum.)