Cute Thanksgiving Desserts to Serve Alongside the Pie This Year

Serve up more than just a slice of pumpkin pie this year!

Pie Cupcakes
Photo: Andy Lyons

Put a new twist on pumpkin pie and other classic treats with these cute Thanksgiving dessert ideas. Serve up cookies decorated like Thanksgiving turkeys, mini pumpkin truffles, and even pumpkin pie on a stick! With sprinkles and decorations galore, everyone will love seeing (and eating) these cute Thanksgiving desserts.

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Marshmallow Treat Turkey Dessert

Marshmallow Treat Turkey Dessert

It’s not quite Thanksgiving without the turkey, and now you can celebrate the day’s most popular bird with sweet crispy treats. Dip marshmallow treats in chocolate, then use candy corn, peanut butter sandwich cookies, and other tiny candies to bring this cute Thanksgiving dessert to life. Guests will gobble them up in no time!

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Pie Cupcakes

Pie Cupcakes
Andy Lyons

Baking an entire pie from scratch is a real undertaking, especially if you’re planning to serve multiple flavors. Luckily, this cute dessert for Thanksgiving saves the day! Start with a cake mix or purchased cupcakes (no will ever know), then decorate each cupcake with frostings, fillings, and nuts to look like your favorite pie flavors, like cherry, pumpkin, and pecan.

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Autumn Leaf Cookies

Autumn Leaf Cookies

Celebrate the best of autumn tree colors with decorated sugar cookies. To create a realistic, marbled effect for this cute Thanksgiving dessert, divide purchased cookie dough into three portions, dye them red, yellow, and orange using food color. Cut out leaf shapes, then roll the scraps together to make stunning multicolor leaves unlike any other Thanksgiving treat.

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Apple Pie Cookies

Apple Pie Cookies

Another Thanksgiving pie shortcut is using the dough to bake a batch of cookies instead. This cute Thanksgiving dessert starts with refrigerated pie crusts, but instead of a pie plate, you’ll roll it flat and cover with your favorite fruit jam. Top with a simple lattice design, then cut into circles and bake for an adorable dessert that looks like it took much longer than it really did.

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Pumpkin Pie Cereal Treats

 Pumpkin Pie Cereal Treats

If you need a break from traditional pumpkin pie, give these super sweet mini pies a try. This cute Thanksgiving dessert idea uses crispy cereal and marshmallows flavored with pumpkin pie spice to create almost-identical versions of whole pumpkin pie. Rather than whipped cream, finish each pie by piping on a small frosting star.

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Turkey Tom Cupcakes

Turkey Tom Cupcakes decorated with frosting, candy, and cookies to look like a turkey

Homemade cupcakes may not be quite as popular as pie on Thanksgiving, but they’re really an ideal holiday dessert: they’re easy to share, fun to decorate, and bake up quickly. Take inspiration from the turkey for this cute Thanksgiving dessert and use chocolate-dipped marshmallows, candy corn, and cream-filled wafer cookies to bring Tom the turkey to life. If you need an activity to keep kids busy while adults finish cooking dinner, enlist them to help decorate each cupcake.

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Pumpkin Pie Pops

Pumpkin Pie Pops
Hannah Bigot

Give yourself a break on after dinner dishes by serving pumpkin pie on a stick! No plates or forks required for this cute Thanksgiving dessert idea, just lollipop sticks. Cut prepared pie dough into cute shapes, fill with canned pumpkin and pumpkin pie spice, then bake for a yummy pumpkin pie shortcut that you can eat in just a couple of bites.

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Wicked Good Whoopie Pies

Chocolate whoopie pies with cream filling and coated in rainbow sprinkles
Brie Passano

Soft whoopie pies are super-delish any time of year, and especially as a light dessert after a huge Thanksgiving meal. Light-as-air chocolate cookies are sandwiched together with sweet marshmallow filling, then rolled in sprinkles to make them extra cute and irresistible. The best part? They only take 30 minutes total to come together.

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Pumpkin Bread Truffles

Pumpkin Bread Truffles
Courtesy of Elizabeth LaBau

Repurpose a leftover loaf of pumpkin bread into one of the cutest Thanksgiving desserts you’ll find. Stir the crumbled bread with cream cheese frosting to help hold each truffle together, chill, and dip into melted orange candy coating. Then all that’s left is a little piping to create a whole pumpkin patch of sweet truffles.

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Pinecone Cakes

Pinecone Cakes
Philip Ficks

If you want a cute Thanksgiving dessert that’s a little more elegant than a turkey treat, opt for sophisticated (but still cute) pinecone cakes. Top mini cinnamon and vanilla cakes with cream cheese frosting, then line up sliced almonds in rows to create pinecones. If you’ve got snow for Thanksgiving, you can also give them a light dusting of powdered sugar.

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Pumpkin Football Cakes

Pumpkin Football Cakes
Dana Gallagher

You can guarantee there’ll be at least one guest at dinner focused on following the day’s football games, and this cute Thanksgiving dessert is for them. Bake pumpkin-flavor cakes in an oval pan to create the signature football shape, then cut in half and fill with a layer of buttercream frosting. Pipe more icing on top to look like laces and get this dessert ready for kickoff.

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Cherpumple

Cherpumple
Matthew Clark

Want every holiday dessert in one over-the-top pie-cake? The cherpumple is for you. Definitely one of the more involved DIY cute Thanksgiving desserts, this recipe layers cherry, pumpkin, and apple pies inside chocolate, white, and spice cake layers. There’s already a lot going on, but a handful of fall-theme sprinkles on top kicks up the cute factor.

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Gooey Hot Cocoa Cup Cakes

Gooey Hot Cocoa Cupcakes
Matthew Clark

Welcome colder weather after your feast with this cute Thanksgiving dessert idea. It’s a delicious option to have on hand for chocolate lovers, since each cocoa cupcake has a gooey chocolate center. Amp up the adorableness by topping with a tall swirl of whipped cream and extra-mini marshmallows.

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