Pumpkin desserts can be more than just the traditional pumpkin pie for the Thanksgiving and Christmas holiday season. Here are some delicious pumpkin desserts recipes that guests will enjoy just as much.
Pumpkin Cheesecake
This highly rated pumpkin cheesecake recipe from Paula Deen is available at the Food Network website. The sour cream and abundance of eggs added to the cream cheese is what makes it really creamy. Cheesecake is filling, so guests will only need a small slice after a big holiday dinner.
Ginger Pumpkin Praline Squares
Squares are lighter pumpkin desserts alternative to pie. Land O’ Lakes Butter has a great recipe website and these pumpkin praline squares is a featured one. The base is made from brown sugar, pumpkin and evaporated milk with spices such as cinnamon, ginger and clove. The topping is crumble made from brown sugar, butter, flour and pecans.
Pumpkin Parfaits
This pumpkin parfait recipe from Gourmet.com takes the flavor of pumpkin pie and turns it into a light mousse. The mousse is layered in a glass with whipped cream and crushed gingersnaps so it makes an elegant dessert.
Pumpkin Gingerbread Trifle
This pumpkin gingerbread trifle recipe from the Food Network’s Paula Deen is nice to look at as well as eat. The addition of the gingerbread makes it perfect for Christmas as well as Thanksgiving.
Pumpkin Spice Bundt Cake with Buttermilk Icing
Pumpkin cake is always popular and Epicurious’ Pumpkin Spice Bundt Cake is a delicious choice. Buttermilk is used in the batter as well as in the vanilla icing making this cake really moist.
Pumpkin Flan
Flan is a baked custard much like crème caramel. This low calorie recipe from Ellie Krieger at the Food Network offers a pumpkin take on the traditional recipe. It is not easy to perfect a flan so this recipe may be better for a more experienced baker. Ramekins are needed (which are small round dishes) and getting the caramel topping just right can be a challenge.
Pumpkin Biscotti
Biscotti are hard, crunchy oblong cookies that go well with coffee and would be a light dessert after a big dinner. This pumpkin biscotti recipe from Simply Recipes can be adapted to add toasted pecans or dried cranberries.
Pumpkin Tiramisu
Epicurious’ Super Simple Pumpkin Tiramisu has all the ingredients of a regular tiramisu Italian cake such as ladyfingers and mascarpone cheese. The difference is pumpkin filling and whip cream is substituted for the heavy cream and eggs, the lady fingers are not soaked in espresso and instead of sprinkling cocoa on top, crushed amaretti cookies are used.
Pumpkin Mousse
This pumpkin mousse from the Food Network’s Ina Garten is a light dessert featuring flavors of banana and orange as well. The best part is it only takes about 10 minutes to prepare.
All of these pumpkin desserts recipes range from simple to moderately difficult to make, but all are delicious and offer a nice alternative.
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Gail Oliver - Gail is an author, writer and researcher. She has been quoted in magazines as diverse as Cosmopolitan and Maclean's. Gail writes on a ...
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