Today is Halloween, so that means it’s time to finally shout it from the rooftops: HAPPY THANKSGIVING!! Who’s excited for the second best holiday of the year? Christmas has more cookies than Thanksgiving, and presents too, sooo… sorry Thanksgiving, second place. But it’s a CLOSE second, don’t cry. Here are all my favorite Thanksgiving recipes to get you started if you are an early planner (I’m looking at you, Sarah. My BFF Sarah told me OVER A MONTH AGO that her Christmas shopping was completely finished. Sarah was my roommate in college and was basically my mom our freshman year. Thanks friend, I never would have had clean underwear without you.) Anyway, Thanksgiving can’t be too mad because I have an entire month of recipes to get you guys ready for the big day. I will be posting recipes three times a week in November (up from my usual 2 posts) because I have so many Thanksgiving recipes I need to share with you. This Double Layer Pumpkin Cheesecake should be the first thing on your Thanksgiving menu list. I posted this recipe a long time ago and it’s still a classic around here! How can you go wrong with two layers of velvety cheesecake, topped with whipped cream, homemade dark caramel sauce, and extra graham cracker crumbles?? Loads of graham cracker crust, sweet vanilla cheesecake, rich pumpkin cheesecake, and homemade caramel sauce outta do it…and if they don’t, I give up. It’s a little bit of work but it’s not hard! Let me show you how to make the Thanksgiving dessert to end all desserts, the one you’ll be asked to make every year from now on, the one that is literally a contest winner. Also, the one I can’t resist grabbing a bite of every time I pass the fridge. If you pull leftover dessert out of the fridge at my house it WILL have fork marks in it. It’s good stuff. Pretty much anything you smother with caramel, whipped cream, and buttery graham crackers is going to be delicious. My friend Sarah texted me a few weeks ago to tell me about the most amazing pumpkin cheesecake that I had to try. I looked it up and realized that I made this recipe last year (and actually won a prize for it–although it was one of those prizes with so many specifications in the title that you’re pretty sure they were just trying to make you feel good about yourself. Which it totally did. See, here I am bragging about it on my blog.) One of the best parts about this cheesecake are the graham cracker crumbles. Am I the only one who is obsessed with graham cracker crust? There is never enough of it for my liking. I’ve made recipes where I double the amount used in the crust (like this Classic French Silk Pie with Really Thick Graham Cracker Crust) but it doesn’t work when you make it in a springform pan because the butter melts out the bottom. So we are going with a regular, perfectly crispy graham cracker crust, but then making extra graham crumbles to add to each serving. It’s basically like a dream come true! I love it because you can make it ahead of time. Thanksgiving dinner is insane, you don’t want to have to get up after your meal and head back into the kitchen to do anything for dessert. It’s why perfectly make-ahead-able pie is perfect for Thanksgiving. Cheesecake too! Facebook | Pinterest | Instagram Here comes layer 1… and layer 2. Don’t stress about this caramel! You don’t need a candy thermometer. We’re just making a super simple caramel sauce to drizzle on top, not full-on caramel that requires 30 years of experience to confidently make.
Add candied pecans (pralines) on top. Buy them or make them yourself. Drizzle white chocolate or dark chocolate sauce on top, in addition to or instead of the caramel sauce. Sprinkle the top of the cheesecake with flaky sea salt if you’re in love with salt like I am, or add a little extra salt to the caramel sauce. Try a gingersnap crust instead of graham cracker! YUM.
Crème Brûlée Pumpkin Pie « why don’t we always torch the top of pumpkin pie?? Cheesecake Pecan Pie « this is the BEST COMBO EVER! Caramel Apple Blondie Cheesecake from Life, Love, and Sugar Cranberry Jam White Chocolate Mousse Cheesecake from Will Cook for Smiles Carrot Cake Cheesecake from Shugary Sweets
