The Desserts Celeb Chefs Are Serving This Year

Is there anything more uniquely delightful than a table full of pies? (Aside from the giant bowl of whipped cream next to them, of course.) We asked celebrity chefs to tell us which Thanksgiving desserts they love to make over the holidays — and crave during the rest of the year. We think you’ll find them the perfect topper to your cozy Thanksgiving family feast.

Spiced Squash Chiffon Pie, From Erin French

“You have to finish Thanksgiving with pie! My mom used to make this recipe — it’s simple, it’s fluffy and it’s delicious. It’s like pumpkin pie meets cumulus cloud.”

Spiced Squash Chiffon Pie

MAKES 1 (9-INCH) PIE; SERVES 8 TO 10

INGREDIENTS:

Crust:

1½ cups all-purpose flour, plus more for rolling the dough
12 Tbsp. (1½ sticks) unsalted butter, cold, cut into pieces
¼ teaspoon salt
⅓ cup ice water

Filling:

1 (¼-ounce) envelope gelatin
¾ cup granulated sugar
⅔ cup evaporated milk
3 large eggs, separated
1½ cups pureed roasted winter squash, such as kabocha or butternut (see opposite), or 1 (15-ounce) can pumpkin puree
1 tsp salt
½ tsp grated nutmeg
½ tsp ground ginger
1 tsp ground cinnamon
¼ tsp ground cloves

INSTRUCTIONS:

Squash:

Preheat the oven to 425°F. Cut the squash in half and remove the seeds. Brush the flesh with ¼ cup olive oil and season each half with 1 teaspoon salt. Put a tablespoon of butter on top of each, wrap individually in foil, and transfer to the oven. Bake until the squash is fork-tender, 25 to 30 minutes. Scoop out the flesh and puree.

Crust:

Preheat the oven to 375°F.

In a food processor, pulse the flour, butter, and salt until the butter is in pea-sized pieces. Add the ice water and pulse again until just incorporated.

Transfer the dough to a floured surface. Work it into a ball with your hands and then roll it out into a 16-inch round about ¹⁄8 inch thick. Lay the dough over a 9-inch pie pan and remove the excess dough from the edge, leaving about 1 inch to crimp decoratively.

Line the crust with foil and fill with pastry weights or dried beans. Bake until the edges are golden, 15 to 18 minutes. Remove from the oven, remove the foil and weights, and let cool.

Filling:

Combine the gelatin, ½ cup of the sugar, the evaporated milk, and egg yolks in a medium saucepan. Whisk constantly over low heat until the gelatin and sugar dissolve and the mixture thickens slightly, about 5 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the squash, salt, nutmeg, ginger, cinnamon, and cloves. Chill the mixture, stirring occasionally, until completely cool.

In a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment or using a hand mixer, whip the egg whites until stiff but not dry. Gradually add the remaining ¼ cup sugar and then fold in the chilled squash mixture. Pour into the prepared pie shell and chill for at least 4 hours and up to overnight. Serve topped with big dollops of perfectly whipped cream.

Plant-Based Pumpkin Pie, From City Harvest Food Council Member Dan Churchill

Just as good as the real thing!

INGREDIENTS:

Crust:

2 cups flour
3 tbsp coconut sugar
8 tbsp coconut oil/butter
2 tbsp ground flax seeds
5 tbsp ice water
1 pinch of salt

INGREDIENTS:

Filling

16oz (450 grams) plant-based cream cheese
1.5 can pumpkin purée
½ tsp ground ginger
½ tsp cinnamon
1 tbsp maple syrup

TOPPINGS:

Pecans
Pumpkin seeds

INSTRUCTIONS

Crust:

Preheat the oven to 375F.

In a bowl combine flax seeds with 2 tbsp warm water. Let it sit for 5 minutes.

In another bowl, combine the flour, sugar, salt, and coconut oil. Mix with your hands.

Add 1 tbsp flax seed egg and water.

Wrap the dough in cling wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour.

Once the dough is cooled, dust your work surface with flour. Roll the dough in a 14 inches diameter round. Transfer it to your mold. With a fork poke holes in the crust.

Bake for 18 minutes.

Filling:

In a blender, combine the cream cheese, pumpkin purée, ginger, cinnamon, and maple syrup. Blend.

Once the crust is cooled, pour the filling in it.

Refrigerate for at least 2 hours.

Serve with any toppings you like.

Deep Dish Apple Pie with Cheddar Cheese Crust, From Food Network Star Judy Joo

Cheese and pie?! Pass the plates, please!

INGREDIENTS:

Crust:

2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp salt
1 Tbsp sugar
3oz mild cheddar cheese, grated
½ cup vegetable shortening, cut into dice sized pieces and chilled
10 Tbsp unsalted butter, cut into dice sized pieces and chilled
7 to 8 Tbsp ice water

Filling:

2 Tbsp all purpose flour
3 large granny smith apples, peeled, cored and cut into 8ths
4 large McIntosh, Royal Gala, or Cortland apples, peeled, cored and cut into 8ths
1 lemon, juiced and zested
¾ cup sugar
¼ tsp ground cinnamon
¼ tsp salt
1 egg white, beaten
1 Tbsp demerara sugar

INSTRUCTIONS:

In a food processer, tip in the flour, salt, and sugar and pulse until mixed evenly. Then add in the cheese, shortening, butter and pulse gently until the mixture is coarse. Add the water slowly, a little at a time (you may not use all of it), while the processor is on, and mix until you form a dough. Tip the dough out onto a clean work surface and divide in half. Roll each half into a ball, dusting your work surface with more flour as necessary, and press into a flat disc. Wrap with cling film and chill. Once firmed up, after about 30-45 mins, roll one disk out to about 1/8^th inch thick to about a 12 inch diameter circle, and line a 9-inch pie dish with the dough.

In the large bowl, toss the apple slices with the flour, lemon juice, zest, sugar, cinnamon, and salt. Tip into the lined pie shell, making it slight mound in the middle.

Roll out the other dough disc to a 12-inch circle, and place over the apples. Trim the excess dough, but leave about a ½ inch around to tuck under the bottom edge of the pie dough. Using either your fingers or a fork, pinch the edges or flute them sealed. In the center of the pie, using a sharp knife, cut a 1-inch “X” making a steam vent. Chill the pie for ten minutes in the fridge. Then brush the entire crust with the egg white and sprinkle the demerara sugar all over on top.

Bake in a preheat oven set at 425 degrees F. Bake until golden on top, about 25 minutes. Reduce temperature to 375 degrees F and bake until the apples are soft and the juices are bubbling inside. About 30 minutes more.

When done, place on a wire rack and allow to cool. Serve with ice cream or whipped cream.

Pumpkin-Mocha Swirl Bundt Cake, From Zoë François

“This spiced pumpkin cake with a chocolate swirl is absolutely brilliant for Thanksgiving because it can be made ahead, is incredibly easy to prepare and the bundt is always a showstopper.”

Makes one Bundt cake

INGREDIENTS:

Dutch-processed cocoa powder for dusting, plus 2 Tbsp
1 cup / 240ml mild-flavored oil (such as vegetable oil)
1 cup / 200g granulated sugar
1 cup / 200g lightly packed brown sugar
3 eggs, at room temperature
One 15-oz / 425g can pumpkin puree1⁄2 cup / 120ml evaporated milk
1 Tbsp vanilla extract (see page 12)
2 1⁄4 cups / 270g all-purpose flour
1 1⁄2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp kosher salt
1 Tbsp pumpkin pie spice, divided (see Baker’s Note)
1 tsp instant espresso1⁄4 cup / 25g confectioners’ sugar

INSTRUCTIONS:

Preheat the oven to 325°F / 165°C. Generously grease a 12-cup / 2.8L Bundt pan and dust with cocoa powder.

In a large bowl, combine the oil, both sugars, and eggs and stir until well incorporated. Then stir in the pumpkin puree, evaporated milk, and vanilla.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, and 2 tsp of the pumpkin pie spice. Add the dry ingredients to the pumpkin mixture and mix until it all comes together in a smooth batter.

Divide the batter into two bowls and stir the espresso and 2 Tbsp cocoa powder into one of them.

Pour one-fourth of the pumpkin batter into the prepared pan. Pour one-fourth of the cocoa batter evenly over the pumpkin. Repeat these layers, alternating the pumpkin and cocoa batters in the pan until they are both used up. Gently tap the pan on the counter several times to make sure the batter has fully settled into the nooks of the Bundt.

Bake until a tester comes out clean, about 1 hour 15 minutes. Let the cake cool in the pan for 15 minutes, then turn out onto a serving dish.

Meanwhile, in a small bowl, combine the confectioners’ sugar and remaining 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice and stir to mix. Sprinkle over the top of the cake before serving.

BAKER’S NOTE: To make your own pumpkin pie spice, blend together 11⁄4 tsp ground cinnamon, 1 tsp ground ginger, 1⁄4 tsp ground cloves, and 1⁄2 tsp ground nutmeg.

Cranberry-Apple Spiced Crisp, From Ming Tsai

A dessert that’s as fresh and sweet as autumn itself. BYO ice cream!

4 ramekins or oven dishes

INGREDIENTS:

Filling:

2 large apples, squared off small dice
Juice of 1/2 lime
1 tsp AP flour
Pinch kosher salt
1 cup washed cranberries, halved
1 Tbsp brown sugar
1 tsp mixed spices (cinnamon, clove, allspice)

Crumble:

3 oz butter
3/4 cup oats
1/4 sunflower seed
1 Tbsp brown sugar

INSTRUCTIONS:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Dice the apple into small squares, leaving a little of the skin on.
In a medium sized bowl, combine the diced apples, lime juice, AP flour, and a pinch of salt. Stir.
Rinse the cranberries and cut in half. Add to the apple mixture and stir.
Add brown sugar and mixed spices (cinnamon, clove, allspice). Stir to combine, and let rest for 3-4 minutes.
Meanwhile, make the “crumble:” In a small bowl, combine butter, oats, sunflower seeds, and brown sugar. Stir to combine.
Add equal parts of apple-cranberry mixture to the ramekins, then add equal parts crumble to the tops.
Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes; broil for the last 2 minutes for an extra crispy top.
Enjoy as-is or with vanilla ice cream!