I'd like your recipe for your turkey cupcakes for the kids, I am sure my DGD would love them. Please?

I usually have pumpkin pie, pumpkin bread, pecan pie, Fresh Apple Cake and a bowl of whipped cream topped with nutmeg as "add-ons". I like desserts I can make the day before and these hold up well (except the whipped cream).

Brenda

The boys said they wanted apple pie as well as the pumpkin for the oldest and sweet potato for hubby..

Chocolate Mousse sounds good to me though...

I make this for family and friends for special occasions. We usually have apple pie but I may add this to our Thanksgiving menu,if not definately Christmas:

Chocolate Mousse Pie
Crust
21 chocolate sandwich cookies (such as Oreos)
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, cut into pieces, room temperature
Mousse
12 ounces semisweet chocolate, finely chopped
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Pinch of salt
3 3/4 cups chilled whipping cream
1/4 cup sugar
Chocolate shavings (optional)
For Crust:
Preheat oven to 350F. Butter 9-inch-diameter springform pan with 2 3/4-inch-high sides. Finely grind cookies in processor. Add butter and process until mixture is evenly moistened. Press crumb mixture onto bottom and up sides of prepared pan to form thin crust. Bake crust 5 minutes. Transfer crust to rack and cool completely.
For Mousse:
Combine chocolate, vanilla and salt in processor. Bring 1 cup cream to boil in heavy small saucepan. With processor running, gradually pour hot cream through feed tube and process until chocolate is melted and smooth. Transfer mixture to large bowl. Cool to room temperature, stirring occasionally.
Beat 2 cups cream and sugar in large bowl to stiff peaks. Fold into chocolate mixture. Pour mousse into prepared crust. Chill until set, about 6 hours. (Can be prepared 1 day ahead.)
Beat remaining 3/4 cup cream in medium bowl to firm peaks. Transfer to pastry bag fitted with medium star tip. Pipe rosettes of cream around edge of cake. Garnish with chocolate shavings.

Brenda, I'm making the cupcakes from Family Fun - this is the link:(Tom Turkey cupcakes)
http://jas.familyfun.go.com/recipefinder/display?id=50291

I'm also making Turkey Tracks for beforehand - I've made them before and kids and adults both like them, and they don't spoil anyone's appetite:
http://jas.familyfun.go.com/recipefinder/display?id=40571

This is on the front cover of Bon Appetit Magazine this month. I'm gonna make this...I hope it taste as good as it looks.

White Chocolate Tiramisu Trifle with Spiced Pears
Bon Appétit : December 2007
Dede Wilson

Spiced Pears:
1 750-ml bottle dry white wine
2 cups pear juice or pear nectar
1 1/4 cups sugar
12 whole green cardamom pods, crushed in resealable plastic bag with mallet
4 1-inch-diameter rounds peeled fresh ginger (each about 1/8 inch thick)
2 cinnamon sticks, broken in half
5 large firm but ripe Anjou pears (3 to 31/4 pounds), peeled

White Chocolate Mascarpone Mousse:
7 ounces high-quality white chocolate (such as Lindt or Perugina), finely chopped
1/3 cup poire Williams (clear pear brandy)
1/4 cup water
1/2 vanilla bean, split lengthwise
1 8- to 8.8-ounce container mascarpone cheese*
1 cup chilled heavy whipping cream

Trifle Assembly:
3 3-ounce packages soft ladyfingers,** separated
2 cups chilled heavy whipping cream
1/4 cup minced crystallized ginger
White chocolate curls
1 tablespoon powdered sugar PreparationFor spiced pears:
Combine first 6 ingredients in large saucepan. Stir over medium-high heat until sugar dissolves. Add pears and bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium, cover, and simmer until pears are just tender when pierced with knife, about 35 minutes. Transfer liquid with pears to large bowl and refrigerate until cold, about 3 hours.

Using slotted spoon, transfer pears to plate. Boil poaching liquid in heavy large saucepan over medium-high heat until slightly thickened and reduced to generous 1 1/2 cups, about 15 minutes. Strain into 2-cup measuring cup; discard spices in strainer. Cool. Cover and chill pears and pear syrup until cold.

For mousse:
Combine white chocolate, pear brandy, and 1/4 cup water in top of double boiler set over simmering water. Stir until smooth (mixture will be very liquidy). Scrape in seeds from vanilla bean; discard bean. Transfer white chocolate mixture to large bowl; gradually add mascarpone, whisking until mixture is smooth. Cool mascarpone mixture until barely lukewarm.

Using electric mixer, beat 1 cup cream in medium bowl until peaks form. Fold whipped cream into mascarpone mixture in 4 additions. Cover and chill white chocolate mousse until set, about 3 hours. DO AHEAD: Pears and mousse can be made 1 day ahead. Keep chilled.

For trifle assembly:
Cut pears lengthwise in half and remove cores and stems; cut halves lengthwise into 1/4-inch-thick slices.

Arrange ladyfingers, rounded sides down, in single layer in bottom of 12-cup trifle dish (about 8 inches in diameter and 5 inches deep), covering bottom completely (using about 15 ladyfingers). Drizzle 5 tablespoons pear syrup evenly over ladyfingers. Using small offset spatula, spread 1/3 of white chocolate mousse over ladyfingers, making layer slightly thicker around outer edges of dish to allow mousse to be more visible (center of mousse layer will be thin). Starting at outer edges of dish, place pear slices in single layer with curved edges against sides of dish atop mousse, covering completely. Repeat layering of ladyfingers, syrup, mousse, and pears 2 more times. Cover with fourth layer of ladyfingers (some ladyfingers and pear slices may be left over). Drizzle ladyfingers evenly with 5 tablespoons syrup. DO AHEAD: Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and refrigerate trifle and remaining pear syrup separately.

Using electric mixer, beat 2 cups whipping cream in large bowl until soft peaks form. Add 1/4 cup pear syrup and beat until stiff peaks form. Working in batches, transfer cream to large pastry bag fitted with large star tip. Pipe rosettes all over top of trifle, mounding slightly in center. Sprinkle with crystallized ginger. Garnish with chocolate curls. DO AHEAD: Can be made 6 hours ahead. Keep refrigerated.

Sift powdered sugar over trifle just before serving.

* Mascarpone is an Italian cream cheese; sold at many supermarkets and at Italian markets.
** Available in the bakery or bread section of some supermarkets and at specialty foods stores.

TEST-KITCHEN TIP: To make chocolate curls, place one 3 1/2-ounce bar of high-quality white chocolate (such as Lindt or Perugina) on a plate and microwave on high at 5-second intervals just until slightly softened, but not hot or beginning to melt. Using vegetable peeler and starting at one long edge of the chocolate bar, shave white chocolate into curls. If the shaved chocolate breaks into small shards, it's not soft enough, so place in microwave again for a few seconds. If the chocolate becomes too soft, let it stand at room temperature or chill briefly until it firms up a bit.

My pumpkin roll has become a tradition for our Thanksgiving dessert, alongside the pies. This year, my daughter is also going to bring a pumpkin cheesecake that sounds pretty yummy.
Barb

Here are a couple of my favorite T&T desserts:

Apple Walnut Cobbler
Source BH&G January 1997

5 c tart apples, peeled and thinly sliced
3/4 c chopped walnuts
3/4 c sugar, divided
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 c all purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 egg, beaten
1/2 c evaporated milk
1/3 c butter or margarine, melted
Half & Half or light cream (Optional)
Preheat oven to 325F. Lightly grease an 8x8 square baking dish. Spread the apples in prepared baking dish. Sprinkle with 1/2 c walnuts, 1/4 c sugar and the cinnamon. In medium mixing bowl, stir together the flour, 1/2 c sugar and baking powder.
In small bowl, combine the egg, milk and melted butter. Stir egg mixture into the dry ingredients until smooth. Pour evenly over the apples, sprinkle with remaining walnuts.
Bake 50-55 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Serve warm, cut into squares. If desired, serve with half & half or cream.
9 servings
01/07 made this for the first timereally good and super easy! I used Pink Lady apples, had no evap milk so subbed cream. Worked fine.

Layered Pumpkin Cheesecake
source: Betty Crocker

For the crust:
2 cups gingersnap cookie crumbs
1/4 cup butter or margarine, melted
For the filling:
4 pkgs. 8 oz. each cream cheese, softened
1 1/2 cups sugar
4 eggs
1 cup canned pumkin not pumpkin pie mix
1 1/2 tsp. ground ginger
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg
Heat your oven to 300 degrees. Grease a 9 inch springform pan with shortening or cooking spray. Wrap foil around the pan to catch drips. In a small bowl, mix cookie crumbs and butter. Press crumb mixture in bottom and 1 inch up sides of pan. Bake 8 to 10 minutes, or till set. Cool 5 minutes.
In a large bowl, beat cream cheese with mixer on medium speed just till smooth and creamy, do not overbeat. On low speed, gradually beat in sugar. On low speed, beat in eggs, one at a time, just till blended. Spoon 3 cups of cream cheese mixture into pan over crust. Spread evenly.
Stir pumpkin, ginger, cinnamon, and nutmeg into remaining cream cheese mixture; mix with wire whisk until smooth.Spoon over top of mixture in pan.
Bake 1 hour and 25 minutes to 1 and a half hours or till edges are set but the center jiggles slightly when moved.

Linda

Karen, I'm wondering how the trifle turned out - was it pretty? How did it taste?

It was very good! Of course I couldn't find lady fingers at the store so I made my own and I would make a few changes, of course. LOL!

I would use a little more brandy and adjust the other ingredients which would then give you more pear sauce. I would then use only what the recipe calls for on the tirumisu and keep the left over nectar for a late night drink/snack. DH and I kept kept referring to this sauce as 'nectar of the Gods'. It is very good.

Here's what mine ended up looking like. BTW, this recipe makes enough to feed an army.

It looks just like the cover of Bon Appetit! :) Great job, glad to hear it tasted as good as it looks, I think I'll have to give that one a try . . . .