Perfect Pumpkin Pie with Maple Whipped Cream and Sugared Pumpkin Seeds

Thanksgiving is all about tradition. In terms of dessert, everyone has their own idea of the perfect ending to the big meal, but one pie seems to trump all others on this day, and it’s pumpkin. Whether the pilgrims ate any on that big day lo those many

years ago I’m just not sure, but there’s no denying that pumpkin pie is the one thing that Americans love to eat on the last Thursday every November. I try to keep things fairly simple when I have 85 different side dishes to prepare, so I generally use

canned pumpkin puree for the filling (Libby's is my brand of choice). If you’ve got a pumpkin hanging around from Halloween by all means roast it, but my guess is your guests won’t detect much of a difference between canned and homemade puree by

the time pie-time rolls around. What follows is a version of the classic, topped off with a lovely Maple Whipped Cream and a few Sugared Pumpkin Seeds -- a delicious dessert that you and your guests can really be thankful for. I wish you and your families a happy Thanksgiving from the bottom of my heart and may all your cooking and baking efforts this year fill your home with intoxicating aromas and a cornucopia of love. ♥

Pecan Bourbon Cheesecake

It’s hard to believe, but Thanksgiving is right around the corner, and it’s time to start thinking about what to make for the big feast. I firmly believe that Thanksgiving dinner is the time to go for broke in the calorie department – recipes

from Cooking Light just will not do. (Save them for the next day.) Full fat, over the top, and lots of food, that’s what Thanksgiving dinner should be. For dessert, I favor pies, pumpkin and pecan for sure, and perhaps a lemon meringue for the lemon

lovers in the crowd, but occasionally I like to throw in a slightly non-traditional dessert, such as this Pecan Bourbon Cheesecake. It’s rich, yes, but you only need a sliver, and it will complement your pies very nicely. I use Demerara sugar for

the cake, a slightly crunchy light brown sugar that has a lovely flavor. If you have trouble finding it, feel free to use Turbinado (aka “Sugar in the Raw”) instead.

Deep-Dish Pumpkin-Pecan Pie

When it comes to Thanksgiving dessert, I'm firmly in the pecan pie camp. And the pumpkin pie camp. And the lemon meringue and apple pie camp. A chocolate cream pie wouldn’t hurt, either – the 

more, the merrier, I say. When I am cooking for Thanksgiving, I always offer a selection of several different pie varieties. But cooking Thanksgiving dinner can be fairly stressful, so I am offering a

solution for the time-consuming multi-variety pie predicament: Deep-Dish Pumpkin-Peca Pie. With it, you get the creamy traditional pumpkin filling and just enough sweet, crunchy pecan

 topping to satisfy your pecan pie urge. The crust, possibly the most important part of a pie, is made with just enough shortening to make it flaky, and enough butter to give it a rich flavor, a happy

 compromise. The filling is a standard pumpkin pie filling, and since the pie is made in a deep-dish pan, there’s plenty of it. The topping is a simple mixture of pecans, brown sugar, Lyle’s Golden Syrup and vanilla, and bakes up into thin layer of sticky deliciousness. I might just eat this whole pie…