Only four days until Thanksgiving … and I have yet to decide on which dessert to make. Maybe you’re having this problem too. I want to share with you a few of my classic Thanksgiving dessert recipes and two new dishes I tested this year. The decided to try Cranberry Crumb Bars with Mulling Spices from the new Smitten Kitchen cookbook. Wow, these were so good! And not too sweet either.
Cranberry Crumb Bars with Mulling Spices
Crumble
2 sticks of unsalted butter, chilled and cut into small pieces
3 cups flour
1 cup sugar
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg
1/8 tsp. ground cloves
1/8 tsp. allspice
1 egg
Filling
1/2 tsp. grated orange zest
1 1/2 Tbsp. orange juice
3 cups fresh cranberries
1/2 cup sugar
1 Tbsp. cornstarch
Preheat oven to 375-degrees. Grease a 9″ x 13″ baking pan. In a large bowl, stir together the Crumble dry ingredients. Add the diced butter and cut into mixture with a pastry cutter or knives. Add egg. The mixture will be crumbly – that’s okay! Spread half of the Crumble mixture on the bottom of the baking dish and set aside.
In a bowl of a food processor or blender, briefly pulse the filling ingredients until the berries are coarsely chopped but not pureed. Spread the filling over the crumb base. Sprinkle the remaining crumbs evenly over the cranberry mixture. Bake f0r 30 – 35 minutes until the top is lightly browned. Cool completely before cutting into squares.
I also tried these delicious Pumpkin Snickerdoodles, which I highly recommend if you’re a snickerdoodle or pumpkin fan.
I made the following two pumpkin desserts the last few years. I haven’t decided if I’ll make them again this year. But they were definitely worth it! Here’s my classic from last year, Pumpkin Praline Dessert …
And Barefoot Contessa’s Pumpkin Roulade with Ginger Buttercream is always worth making …
Happy Thanksgiving!