Three Great Alternatives to Pumpkin Pie!

If there’s one thing everyone looks forward to on their Thanksgiving table it’s definitely pumpkin pie!  While I do love pumpkin pie I am also all about changing things up every once in a while so I thought it would be fun to share with you a few alternatives to pumpkin pie that you might want to try this Thanksgiving!

Every year on Thanksgiving someone in the family (either my side or my husbands) manages to make the one thing that for me rivals (and maybe even slightly surpasses) pumpkin pie—Pumpkin Roll!  And while I don’t personally have a secret family recipe I took the liberty of finding a kickass recipe for y’all on allrecipes.com.  You HAVE to try this!

(recipe and photo credit:  allrecipes.com)

Pumpkin Roll Recipe

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup powdered sugar (to sprinkle on towel)
• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 3 large eggs
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 2/3 cup LIBBY'S® 100% Pure Pumpkin
• 1 cup walnuts, chopped (optional)
• 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
• 1 cup powdered sugar, sifted
• 6 tablespoons butter or margarine, softened
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup powdered sugar (optional)

Directions

1. PREHEAT oven to 375 degrees F. Grease 15 x 10-inch jelly-roll pan; line with wax paper. Grease and flour paper. Sprinkle towel with powdered sugar.
2. COMBINE flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves and salt in small bowl. Beat eggs and sugar in large mixer bowl until thick. Beat in pumpkin. Stir in flour mixture. Spread evenly into prepared pan. Sprinkle with nuts.
4. BAKE for 13 to 15 minutes or until top of cake springs back when touched. Immediately loosen and turn cake onto prepared towel. Carefully peel off paper. Roll up cake and towel together, starting with narrow end. Cool on wire rack.
6. BEAT cream cheese, powdered sugar, butter and vanilla extract in small mixer bowl until smooth. Carefully unroll cake; remove towel. Spread cream cheese mixture over cake. Reroll cake. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least one hour. Sprinkle with powdered sugar before serving, if desired.
9. My sister loves to be a little different; aside from being a vegetarian she is always trying new foods and new variations on classics!  Every year for Thanksgiving she brings the most delicious Pumpkin Cheesecake and since she won’t share her recipe (I know I was bummed too) I found one from foodnetwork.com that Paula Deen makes that looks AH-MAZ-ING!

(Recipe and Photo Credit:  FoodNetwork.com)

Pumpkin Cheesecake Recipe

Ingredients

Crust:

• 1 3/4 cups graham cracker crumbs
• 3 tablespoons light brown sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 stick melted salted butter

Filling:

• 3 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese, at room temperature
• 1 (15-ounce) can pureed pumpkin
• 3 eggs plus 1 egg yolk
• 1/4 cup sour cream
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/8 teaspoon fresh ground nutmeg
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
• 2 tablespoon all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
For crust:
In medium bowl, combine crumbs, sugar and cinnamon. Add melted butter. Press down flat into a 9-inch springform pan. Set aside.

For filling:
Beat cream cheese until smooth. Add pumpkin puree, eggs, egg yolk, sour cream, sugar and the spices. Add flour and vanilla. Beat together until well combined.

Pour into crust. Spread out evenly and place oven for 1 hour. Remove from the oven and let sit for 15 minutes. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 4 hours.

Who doesn’t love Whoopie Pies?  I mean I ‘m not sure who can resist them because I know that I can’t!  And how much fun would a platter full of Whoppie Pies be on your Thanksgiving table this year?  I found an awesomely easy recipe for Pumpkin Whoopie Pies from rachelraymag.com that you are all going to love!

(Recipe and Photo Credit:  RachelRayMag.com)

Pumpkin Whoopie Pie Recipe

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 sticks (6 ounces) unsalted butter, 1 stick melted, 1/2 stick softened
• 1 cup packed light brown sugar
• 2 large eggs, at room temperature, lightly beaten
• 1 cup canned pure pumpkin puree
• 1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice
• 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 3/4 teaspoon plus 2 pinches salt
• 1-2/3 cups flour
• 4 ounces cream cheese, chilled
• 1 cup confectioners' sugar

Get ahead
Freeze the whoopie pies for up to three days.

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350°. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
   
2. In a large bowl, whisk together the melted butter and brown sugar until smooth. Whisk in the eggs, pumpkin puree, pumpkin pie spice, 1 teaspoon vanilla, the baking powder, the baking soda and 3/4 teaspoon salt. Using a rubber spatula, fold in the flour.
   
3. 
   
4. Using an ice cream scoop or tablespoon, drop 12 generous mounds of batter, spaced evenly, onto each baking sheet. Bake until springy to the touch, about 10 minutes. Transfer to a rack to cool completely.
   
5. Meanwhile, using an electric mixer, cream the softened butter with the cream cheese. Add the confectioners' sugar and the remaining 2 pinches salt and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla; mix on low speed until blended, then beat on medium-high speed until fluffy, about 2 minutes.
   
6. 
   
7. Spread the flat side of 12 cakes with the cream cheese frosting. Top each with another cake.
   

If you’re looking for some great alternatives to the traditional pumpkin pie then these 3 recipes can’t miss—and it’s perfectly acceptable to make all three…ya know, in case you were wondering!