A Thanksgiving Dessert They’ll Gobble Up

I’m not one for pumpkin pie, but one of my kids love it, so I always bake one for our Thanksgiving dinner. But because we are a group of 22, one pie isn’t nearly enough to feed everyone, so I actually prepare three different desserts for our holiday meal.

It sounds complicated and time consuming, but it really isn’t. The pie gets made the day before the dinner, and my son helps, so that’s easy enough. I usually have a cake of some sort—carrot always feels right for the season—which is baked about a week in advance and stored in the freezer until the morning of our dinner, at which point I remove it and smear a thick layer of icing over the frozen cake, leaving it to slowly thaw over the course of the day. (As an added bonus, cakes are actually easier to frost when they are frozen). And lastly, I like to include something with either apples or pears, because they are readily available, inexpensive at this time of year, and loved by everyone.

As soon as I spotted the Extra-Crispy Peach and Blueberry Crisp in Charmian Christie’s new book, The Messy Baker, I knew it was destined for my Thanksgiving dessert table as long as the fruit was swapped for something more seasonal. As you can see from the recipe, the ingredient list is short, the directions very simple, and the result is so tasty you’l have a difficult time not devouring the filling and the topping before both make it into the oven.

I’m officially calling this the easiest dessert I’ll make this Thanksgiving, and if you’re looking for something simple to add to your meal, or to take to someone else’s house (this travels very well!), I encourage you to give this dish a try. You definitely won’t be disappointed.

Get the full printable recipe for Extra-Crispy Cardamom Pear and Cranberry Crisp.