Thanksgiving recipes

Silky pumpkin pie with a delicate cinnamon-vanilla custard set in a flaky crust. Lighter than most thanks to fresh milk instead of evaporated, perfect for Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Pumpkin pie with ginger cookie crust trades pastry for crushed gingersnaps and lightens the filling with applesauce, maple syrup, and egg whites. A holiday pie with serious spice and a leaner profile.

Maple leaf pumpkin pie sweetens the spiced pumpkin custard with a half cup of pure maple syrup, then crowns the cooled pie with pastry maple leaves baked separately to a golden brown. A festive Canadian-style holiday dessert.

Homemade pumpkin purée. Roasting and draining is the secret to a perfect pumpkin pie filling that will reach canned pumpkin consistency. Use sugar pumpkins instead of big pumpkins.

Pumpkin pie cognac with a silky custard of half-and-half, dark brown sugar, candied ginger, and a generous splash of brandy. The grown-up holiday pie that smells like Thanksgiving in a glass.

Frosty gingersnap pumpkin pie skips the oven entirely. A spicy gingersnap crust holds a frozen pumpkin-ice cream filling, ready to slice straight from the freezer for Thanksgiving dessert.

Pecan tarts with caramel sauce: flaky homemade pastry shells filled with a brown-butter pecan filling, baked golden, then drizzled with silky amber caramel. Individual holiday tartlets worth the effort.

Cheesecake pumpkin pie layers a graham-pecan crust with a creamy pumpkin-cream cheese filling spiced with cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and cloves. Hybrid Thanksgiving showstopper.

I used whole milk and whole wheat flour, and the mini pumpkin loaves came out nicely fluffy, moist and very flavorful.

A very moist, custardy pumpkin pie spiced with cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and clove. Lightened up with sugar substitute and skim milk for a lighter slice on the Thanksgiving table.

"A Contest winning recipe from Oma Rollison (my mother) featured in Reminisce Magazine with her now famous Banana's 'N Cream Bundt cake. A San Diego, Calif. newspaper once dubbed her "The Queen of Country Cooking." (I guess the apple never falls far from the tree.) She's no longer with us, but her wonderful recipes are."

Sauteed mushroom and Swiss chard with layered mashed potatoes, sprinkle grated Parmesan cheese on top, after baking the flavor is wonderful. It is also a good dish for holidays.

Irish pumpkin pie made with stout or Guinness beer in place of evaporated milk, cinnamon, fresh ginger, and pumpkin puree. A boozy holiday twist on the Thanksgiving classic.

Classic pecan pie with the Karo Original recipe, eggs, corn syrup, sugar, and toasted pecans in a flaky crust. Thanksgiving staple with a glossy, gooey filling and crackly top.

Very good and light. By using phyllo (filo) pastry instead of the traditional goopy pastry this recipe cuts down on the fat and yields more turkey flavor.

Coffee liqueur pecan pie: a glossy classic pecan pie topped with Kahlua-spiked whipped cream. The grown-up holiday pie with a coffee-cocktail flourish.