The Best Ever Pumpkin Desserts For Thanksgiving Dinner

This year, our Thanksgiving table will definitely include these two best Pumpkin Desserts Ever! Praline Pumpkin Pie, the best of two favorite pies, and Pumpkin Pecan Cobbler. Yum!

Are you a pumpkin-from-scratch person, or do you pretty much believe pumpkin grows in tin cans?

My Little Farm on the River DIL would ask, “Pumpkin in a tin can? Really?”

Because her front porch, her back porch, her basement cool room, and oh, yes, her kitchen buffet have enough 100% home-grown real orange or white pumpkins to keep her in desserts for many Thanksgivings to come. Giant, middle size, tiny… all sizes. All ready for the carving knife and potato masher. Or whatever you use to dig that orange smush out.

I’m afraid, for me, real pumpkins remain purely porch or table décor. Emptying a pumpkin would be like cleaning up after a sick child. My constitution has never been on great terms with mushy, weird-colored stuff that looks lumpy, clumpy and/or runny.

This isn’t a great introduction to the best ever pumpkin dessert recipes, is it?

Let’s just say, I don’t need to know where you get your pumpkin.

Because the end result will be delicious if you try one of these!

Delicious Praline Pumpkin Pie Recipe

This pie… it’s the ultimate marriage made in heaven of pecan and pumpkin pie.

You could even say it’s diet food, because if there’s pecan and pumpkin, well, you have to have two pieces. With this pie, you get both tempting tastes in one mouthful.

Print Recipe

Praline Pumpkin Pie

Two favorite Thanksgiving pies in one crust!

Ingredients

Pie Crust

• 2½ cups all purpose flour
• ½ tsp salt
• 6 tbsp. cold butter
• 2/3 cup cold shortening
• ½ cup ice water

Pumpkin Filling

• 15 oz. pure pumpkin
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 tbsp. cornstarch
• ½ tsp salt
• 1½ tsp ground cinnamon
• ½ tsp ground ginger
• ¼ tsp ground nutmeg
• ⅛ tsp ground cloves
• ⅛ tsp ground black pepper
• ⅔ cup heavy cream
• ⅓ cup whole milk

Praline Topping

• 1 cup chopped pecans
• ½ cup brown sugar
• 2 tbsp. honey or light corn syrup or mixture of both

Instructions

Pie Crust Directions

• Whisk the flour and salt together. Cut in the butter and shortening with a pastry blender. Add in the ice water and stir quickly into a ball.
• The recipe makes 2 9" crusts. Wrap and chill the pie dough at least 2 hours or overnight. Roll out and place in glass pie pan. Chill for an hour, then pre-bake the crust at 375° for 15 minutes. Use pie weights or dry beans on parchment to keep the crust from shrinking too much. Remove the weights and parchment. You can add the filling when the crust is still warm.

Filling Directions

• Mix pumpkin, eggs, cornstarch and spices until smooth. Add the cream and milk.
• Pour into pie crust. Bake at 375° for 50 to 55 minutes, until center is no longer jiggly. If the crust gets too dark, cover the crust with a pie crust shield or make one from foil.

Praline Topping Directions

• Mix the praline topping while the pie is baking.
• Stir the pecans and brown sugar with a fork, then drizzle with the honey or corn syrup. Stir till evenly coated.
• When the pie is ready, spread the praline topping on top. Tap gently into the pie so it sticks. Bake another 15 minutes. Use the pie shield to keep the crust from getting too dark.

Upside Down Pumpkin Pecan Cobbler

This cake is easy-peasy to make. It goes together like Chocolate Fudge Cake, or what my niece dubbed Chocolate Mess. You layer the ingredients, topped with boiling water, and the cake comes out of the oven with a magical fudge filling on the bottom. In the Pumpkin Cobbler, it’s caramel sauce instead of chocolate. Soooo goooood!!

Print Recipe

Pumpkin Pecan Cobbler

Ingredients

Cobbler

• 1¼ cup all purpose flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• ½ tsp salt
• ¾ cup sugar
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• ½ tsp each nutmeg, cloves
• ½ cup pumpkin puree
• ¼ cup milk
• ¼ cup melted butter or oil
• 1½ tsp vanilla

Topping

• ½ cup granulated sugar
• ½ cup brown sugar
• 1 cup chopped pecans
• 1½ cup very hot water

Instructions

Cobbler Directions

• Stir dry ingredients, including spices, together. Set aside.
• Mix pumpkin, milk, butter or oil, and vanilla together until smooth. Pour over dry ingredients and fold together with a spatula, into a thick batter.
• Spread into an 8" square deep casserole pan.
• Mix the sugars and half the pecans. Sprinkle on top of the cake batter.
• Pour hot water over the top, without stirring. and bake at 350° for 25 to 30 minutes. Place on a cookie sheet in case it runs over. Add the rest of the pecans and bake another 15 minutes.
• Serve hot with vanilla ice cream.

That’s two of our favorite pumpkin desserts.

We have more special pumpkin recipes, like Pumpkin Cream Cheese Swirl Quick Bread Recipe and Family Favorite Pumpkin Bars: Cream Cheese and Streusel Topping. And more favorite fall recipes Pumpkin Spice Cinnamon Rolls and More Fall Favorite Recipes and Favorite Fall Hot Drinks.

As you can tell, our Recipe Keepers are full of goodies, but we’re always open to more! Please share your family favorites in the comments for us to try.

Since it’s the Holiday Season

(the season of giving) we want to share our Thanksgiving Dinner Printable Stationery Bundle. This huge bundle (in 6 design choices) includes DIY Invitations and Envelopes, Place Cards and Napkin Rings, and so much more.

Importantly, it includes a Thanksgiving Dinner Planner with To Do and Shopping Lists, and matching Recipe Pages. Which fit into any of our Personalized Cook Book Binders.

Which do make wonderful Christmas gifts! (Do you have a new cook or new bride on your list? They will love getting one of these tried and true recipe keepers. I use mine almost every day.)