The kitchen is busier than ever on Thanksgiving, between pies cooling on the counter, sides rotating in and out of the oven and the turkey roasting to golden perfection. Having a spread of easy Thanksgiving appetizers helps slow the pace of the day, giving guests something to nibble before the feast. Rather than adding more stress, these recipes offer simple and quick ideas of what to serve, including many make-ahead dishes, so everyone is satisfied and the kitchen stays calm.
Whether you prefer cold appetizers, like pinwheels and veggie dips, or hot appetizers, like stuffed mushrooms and baked Brie, this collection has a recipe for every need. There are classics, like deviled eggs and bacon-wrapped shrimp, and new ideas if you want to branch out, such as cheese and crab-stuffed puff pastry bites.
If you want to make one large appetizer rather than a few smaller ones, try one of these charcuterie board ideas loaded with nuts, cheese, pickles, sliced meats, crackers or bread. It’s colorful and can be assembled in advance, so all you need to do when guests arrive is set it out, offer them a Thanksgiving cocktail and enjoy the holiday.
Aperol spritz is the trendy summer sipper. As with any trend, variations abound, eventually leading to the holiday Aperol spritz that’s spruced up with cranberry sauce to bring the drink into the colder months. But what if, instead of cranberries elevating an Aperol spritz, the Italian apertif made the quintessential holiday cranberry sauce a little more sophisticated?
Aperol’s notes of orange, vanilla and floral herbs lend themselves well to cranberry sauce, which is already loaded with orange juice and zest. The pairing makes sense, and this Aperol spritz cranberry sauce is living proof. Even if your family isn’t normally a from-scratch cranberry sauce group, this elevated version will change minds. It’s a great make-ahead dish that takes only 25 minutes, start to finish, but creates an upgraded feel on Thanksgiving.
Ingredients for Aperol Spritz Cranberry Sauce
Cranberries: You can use fresh or frozen cranberries for this recipe. If using frozen, thaw the cranberries first and drain the excess liquid.
Orange juice: Orange juice’s sweet, tangy flavor makes it the perfect liquid to help break down the cranberries and plump up the dried cranberries.
Dried cranberries: Dried cranberries add a bit more texture and sweetness.
Sugar: Cranberries are very tart, so we need a good bit of sugar to balance out the flavors.
Aperol: Aperol is an Italian bitter aperitif with a clear orange hue and notes of orange, vanilla and fresh herbs. It’s the star component in an Aperol spritz.
Orange zest: Fresh orange zest punches up the orange flavor. Zest the orange in the same way you’d zest a lemon: Grate only the colorful outer skin without grating the bitter white pith underneath.
Pack these candied pecans in a pretty container as a gift, or stash them away for yourself, because besides finding yourself nibbling on them as a snack, this pecan candy is handy to have around. You can pile the sugared nuts on a cutting board to accompany your favorite cheese, add some to roasted sweet potatoes or use them to top an indulgent chocolate dessert.
Fresh pecans are light and crisp, and they can be used in both decadent desserts and savory dishes. If you stocked up on pecans and want to keep cooking, try making a pecan pie or maple-pecan pork chops next.
Ingredients for Candied Pecans
Pecans: Pecans are obviously the main ingredient here. The crunchy pecan halves will be extra tasty when they’re baked up with a spiced sugar coating.
Butter: Creamy butter helps grease both cooking pans, so you’ll want to start with softened butter.
Sugar: Granulated sugar is melted down into a caramel syrup to coat the pecans.
Cinnamon: Cozy cinnamon adds a little warmth to balance the sweetness of the sugar.
Vanilla extract: Just a teaspoon of vanilla adds another dimension of flavor.
Ultra creamy with just the right amount of sweetness, this creamed corn recipe is a special side dish worthy of holiday tables and weeknight meals alike. Made with a from-scratch white sauce and finished off with Parmesan cheese, this cream-style corn recipe can be made in under a half hour. That leaves plenty of time to tend to the dinner entree. May I suggest cozy southern comfort dishes and hearty steak recipes?
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Creamed Corn Ingredients
Roux: Equal parts of butter and flour are used to make a roux, the thickened mixture you’ll use as the starter for your homemade cream sauce.
Heavy whipping cream and whole milk:Heavy whipping cream and whole milk make your cream sauce’s rich, velvety base.
Sugar: Sugar sweetens the sauce, complementing the natural sweetness of the corn.
Salt and pepper: You’ll want just a touch of savory seasoning to balance the other flavors.
Frozen corn: Thaw the corn before adding it to the cream mixture to prevent the cream sauce from turning runny.
Parmesan cheese: Grated Parmesan adds its gentle nutty flavor, which tastes so good with sweet corn. Fresh cheese doesn’t have the stabilizers that bagged shredded cheese contains, which makes it superior when you need it to melt smoothly.
Thanksgiving is a holiday all about comforting classics, including a perfectly seasoned roast turkey, creamy mashed potatoes, stuffing and green bean casserole with a crispy onion topping. But when the dishes have been cleared, it’s time to bring out the fall desserts everyone has been waiting for. These easy Thanksgiving desserts take away the need to fuss with intricate latticed pies or layered cakes, but still bring the flavors you expect.
This roundup includes pumpkin, apple and pecan pies, quick puddings, fudge and frozen desserts, including homemade ice cream recipes. Each one has 20 minutes or less of prep time, and then it can be baked and cooled or chilled until it’s time to serve. With plenty of no-bake Thanksgiving desserts and make-ahead choices, it’s easy to set up a dessert spread in no time.
These simple Thanksgiving dessert recipes adapt well to different dietary needs and preferences. Use a prepared gluten-free pie crust or coconut whipped topping instead of whipped cream, so there is something for everyone. Whether you make one dessert or five, these quick Thanksgiving treats deliver all the flavors of fall, with warm spices, tart cranberries, crunchy nuts and juicy apples, while still leaving time to enjoy the company around you.
This delightful dessert combines the creamy richness of cheesecake with the comforting warmth of sweet potatoes, all nestled atop a decadent brownie bar. These scratch-made sweet potato cheesecake brownies are a testament to the art of dessert fusion, blending flavors and textures in a way that will leave you craving more after every bite.
Perfect for any occasion, from cozy family gatherings to impressive dinner parties, these bars are a genius twist on traditional cheesecake and brownies with a nutty secret ingredient. Whether you’re a seasoned baker or a novice in the kitchen, this easy recipe is practically foolproof as it marries sweet potatoes, cheesecake and brownies into a single, unforgettable dessert experience.
Ingredients for Sweet Potato Cheesecake Brownies
Cake mix: One package of cake mix is the key to a sweet, cake-like undercarriage that acts as the base for your brownie bars. We used white cake mix here, but yellow or gluten-free mix works just fine too.
Pecans: For a bit of crunch and texture we also added toasted chopped pecans to the cake mix crust. Toasting them first gives them a nutty earthy flavor.
Butter: You’ll also need 1/2 cup of cold butter pats for the cake mixture. Don’t use warm butter or it won’t combine properly.
Cream cheese:Cream cheese is the star ingredient for the cheesecake layer in these bars. Let it soften first so it creams with the sugar and butter more easily.
Sugar: The sugar will make your bars sinfully sweet and give you the most delicious cream cheese icing.
Eggs: Room-temperature eggs are the binder for the sweet potato mixture and the cream cheese mixture, so your brownie layers stay moist.
Sweetened condensed milk: This is a crucial ingredient for extra-creamy bars.
Sweet potatoes: You can’t have sweet potato brownies without these sweet spuds. Three medium-size potatoes will produce the 3 cups of cooked mash needed for this sweet potato cheesecake brownie recipe.
Pumpkin pie spice: A few dashes of warming spices in a pumpkin pie blend are all you need to season these bars—and make your kitchen smell heavenly at the same time.
ve lived in the South for most of my life, but baking biscuits wasn’t common in my family’s kitchen. Instead, I’ve learned from others how to make tender and flaky biscuits that would make any Southern grandma proud. I’ve also learned that there’s more than one way to make a biscuit, from simple drop biscuits to cracker-like beaten biscuits (best eaten with a slice of salty country ham).
My current favorite biscuits, butter-swim biscuits, are baked in a pool of butter. This rustic bread is so easy to make because there’s no cold butter to work in, dough to fold, or rounds to cut. In this recipe, I’ve swapped plain butter for cowboy butter infused with zippy lemon, grainy mustard, fresh chives, and smoky spices, making these cowboy butter-swim biscuits even more delicious than the original.
Why You’ll Love It
Buttery biscuits, made cowboy-style. Cowboy butter made of melted butter, whole-grain mustard, horseradish, smoked paprika, lemon juice, and other seasonings infuses these biscuits with blue-ribbon flavor.
They’re so easy to make. If you’ve shied away from making biscuits because they appeared too complicated, give this recipe a try. Stir together the cheesy buttermilk batter, then spread in a baking dish of melted, flavored butter, and bake. It’s that simple.
Credit: Photo: Alex Lepe; Food Styling: Rachel Perlmutter
Key Ingredients in Cowboy Butter-Swim Biscuits
All-purpose flour: Measure all-purpose flour using the dip and sweep method. Stir the flour to lighten it, then scoop it out with the measuring cup, making sure to overfill it. Use the flat edge of a knife or spatula to scrape off the excess flour and level the top off.
Buttermilk: Adds a tangy flavor to the biscuits and reacts with the baking soda to give them a light texture.
Unsalted butter: Most biscuits, like our Southern-style biscuits, call for working cold butter directly into the dry ingredients. Butter-swim biscuits are different because the dough is placed in a pool of melted butter, absorbing it as it bakes.
Seasonings: Add delicious flavor to the biscuits with whole-grain mustard, fresh lemon juice, prepared horseradish, fresh herbs, and savory spices.
Cheese: Toss shredded sharp cheddar cheese into the dry ingredients. Other cheese, like Monterey Jack, pepper Jack, or smoked provolone can be substituted.
Baking with pecans brings a little bit of everything—crunch, warmth, richness, and just enough texture to hold up against gooey fillings and soft crumbs. Their buttery bite shows up in a wide range of pecan desserts, from chocolate dessert bars and sticky buns to pie crusts and spiced quick breads.
This collection highlights creative ways to use pecans beyond the pie. You’ll find cookies, bars and candies that carry all the coziness of nutty fall desserts, as well as modern takes like honey-pecan cheesecakes and caramel-pecan desserts. Some recipes turn popular pie fillings—like brown sugar, pumpkin and toasted pecans—into easy-to-slice dessert bars. And there’s room for pies too—from mini pecan to apple with toasted nuts and even a cherry-chocolate version that is rich, decadent and satisfying.
We chose some of the best pecan dessert recipes that cover every skill level—easy desserts for beginners and dishes that require a little more time and technique. So whether you’re baking for a festive table or a quick, small-batch treat, pecans bring flavor and texture to every bite.
Bringing together the #1 diet and the #1 most popular kitchen appliance, this Instant Pot-authorized cookbook makes it more convenient than ever to cook the Mediterranean way, incorporating more vegetables, grains, beans, and seafood into your diet, and exploring the healthful, authentic flavors of cuisines ranging from Turkish to North African in everyday one-pot meals.
Made in the Instant Pot, succulent meals such as Chicken Tagine, Lamb Meatballs with Couscous, Pickled Onions, and Tahini, Shrimp and Asparagus Risotto, and Gigante Bean Soup with Celery and Olives become hands-off affairs for the busy cook. The Instant Pot also takes the waiting game out of cooking dried beans and sturdy grains so it’s easy to enjoy them more often. And vegetables get star billing, both as main dishes (Braised Whole Cauliflower with North African Spices), and sides (Marinated Artichokes and Baba Ghanoush). Recipes embrace the tenets of the Mediterranean Diet Pyramid, translating its less-meat-and-more-vegetables approach into vibrant, healthy one-dish meals that take the guesswork out of balancing portions and multiple dishes. Most recipes are ready in under an hour. And full nutritional information is provided.
⭐⭐
Rating: 2 out of 5.
I bought this book when I first got my IP. I love how America’s Test Kitchen pays attention to the details. I have to admit that the first time I did more than just leaf through it was just recently. I wanted to make shrimp and was looking for a new recipe. I don’t make rice because my husband has problems with it. To my delight, there was a recipe using Orzo! Turned out really well. I plan to try other recipes as well.
J&JTOP 500 REVIEWER VINE VOICE5.0 out of 5 stars Top 5 Cookbook
Reviewed in the United States on December 19, 2019 Vine Customer Review of Free Product( What's this? )
I am virtually speechless... at how Amazing this book is, for All.
I mean, it's America's Test Kitchen, which if you don't know,
has made a living out of literally testing everything, in a kitchen, from appliances to recipes to store bought items.
If you want to know the best store bought chili mix to the best butter to bake with, ATK has tried it out.
They have a show on PBS around 8pm if you want to hunt it down.
So when they make a cookbook, and there is a new edition every year, you can trust it's right.
And this Instant Pot version is. Oh so right.
I dare say, it qualifies as a "Desert Island" cookbook.
One of only 5 you'd need for the rest of your life & the rare good for gifting cookbook.
Too many details to cover so, I'll highlight my faves.
One, adding a hand towel under the cover after you quick release your grains, like rice or quinoa,
and resealing while it sits, makes professional quality fluffy rice move from side dish to main course.
Two, it's not just Instant Pot items.
Simple recipes, like salsa verde, pesto, tzatziki, and of course spices but,
for those you need grinder/ food processor.
The cooking times are spot on.
Including the beginning pages with a cheat sheet for grains, beans, vegs & proteins.
Even a trouble shooting guide if you're new to, Instant Pot or, just cooking in general.
Ps, the foil sling for the salmon was The Best salmon ever,
including my addiction to Costco's pesto salmon. As easy to clean up as well.
As a no meat eater, in a meat loving household (yes, I do seafood but that's it),
the recipes with chicken broth translated so easy by subbing veggie broth.
Yes, there is a recipe to make your own but, Walmart's brand of Organic Veg Broth is the best I tried.
Obviously, I tried a lot. It's the only one with a rich veggie flavor, not salt, pepper or carrots.
So for under $3 @ quart, that's my staple, not making my own.
This is a book rich with winter comfort foods, light summer fare and a wonderful variety of flavor.
But the best part, and No, it's not the quick ease of the Instant Pot, is
with America's Test Kitchen attention to detail, you can be confident, even as a novice,
your recipe will come out right the first time.
JnJ love4.0 out of 5 stars America's Test Kitchen is the best
Reviewed in the United States on December 7, 2020Verified Purchase
I like how they explain why a recipe works and now I can use my instant pot more. the only problem I have with their recipes is some ingredients are hard to find or you might only use a small amount and be lefty with the rest and not use it. So I just omit some of those and it is fine.
Ladyfingers5.0 out of 5 stars Best Of Both Worlds--Greek/Turkish/North African Cooking Made Easy In An Instant Pot
Reviewed in the United States on December 13, 2019Vine Customer Review of Free Product( What's this? )
I couldn't wait for America's Test Kitchen to combine one of my favorite ways of cooking with some of our family's favorite foods. Mediterranean Instant Pot is chock-full of one pot meals, and the ingredient range is diverse enough to satisfy anyone's palate. We love lamb--this cookbook allows me to experiment with different cuts. The first recipe we tried was perfect for our cold Michigan winter day--Moroccan lamb and lentil soup. The addition of harissa makes it wonderfully spicy, and no need to head out to the store to purchase. The recipe for this condiment is also included, as are many others like hummus, baba ghanoush, basil pesto and tzatziki.
One unique feature common to all America's Test Kitchen cookbooks is format--every recipe is fully explained, starting with an introductory paragraph explaining why it works and where to get ingredients, to ending with detailed recipe directions and beautiful photo accompaniments to assure mistake-free end results. I'm a seasoned cook--the recipes found in this book are as suitable for me as they are for beginners. Besides great Mediterranean meals, the beginning of the book is loaded with helpful tips about instant pots as well as successful rice, bean, vegetable and protein cooking methods.
I couldn't be more pleased with these Mediterranean recipes, and using an instant pot makes them almost effortless.
The extravagant one
5.0 out of 5 stars A beautiful book with some superb looking recipes, but....
Reviewed in Canada on May 9, 2020Verified Purchase
Every single one of them seemed to include beans - which I intensely dislike - pasta or potatoes.
The latter I like but my husband and I are both diabetic, so guess what I am careful with and am trying - after nearly 20 years - to get him to cut back on: beans - which he loves - pasta and potatoes!
One person found this helpful
For many chocolate lovers, there’s no better dessert than a batch of homemade brownies. But this twist on the classic may just change minds! This recipe dresses up chewy brownies with an unexpected topping: gooey pecans.
This pecan pie brownies recipe starts with chocolaty brownies as the base and has a sweet brown sugar pecan pie topping. It’s everything you love about a classic pecan pie paired with the ultimate brownie base layer. Try a batch for Thanksgiving or a holiday dessert exchange. Everyone in the group is guaranteed to ask for seconds.
Ingredients for Pecan Pie Brownies
Molly Allen For Taste Of Home
Sugar: We use granulated sugar to sweeten the brownies, and brown sugar sweetens and helps caramelize the pecan topping. Feel free to use all granulated sugar or all brown sugar for both measurements if desired.
All-purpose flour: All-purpose flour imparts the perfect soft and tender brownie texture.
Baking cocoa: Choose natural, unsweetened cocoa such as Hershey’s Cocoa or Nestle Cocoa.
Baking powder: We use just a bit of baking powder to get the brownies to rise nice and tall.
Canola oil: Oil enriches the brownies so they’re moist and tender. You can use melted butter as a substitute if you prefer.
Eggs: You’ll need five eggs total for this pecan pie brownies recipe: two for the pecan pie topping and three for the brownie base.
Light corn syrup: This pecan pie brownies recipe uses corn syrup in both the brownie base and the topping. The syrup adds chewiness to the brownies while helping make the ideal gooey pecan topping.
Vanilla extract: I always like to invest in one of the best vanilla extracts. You could use vanilla paste for a more intense vanilla flavor, but never use imitation vanilla.
Pecan pie topping: The pecan pie topping is the star of the show for this decadent dessert. You can choose to buy whole pecans and roughly chop them yourself, or purchase a package of chopped pecans.
Good Food, Good Meat, Good God, Let's Eat! 