24 Cozy and Sweet Thanksgiving Apple Desserts

When it comes to Thanksgiving, the turkey tends to take center-stage. However, you wouldn’t be alone if you said your favorite course is dessert. Most Thanksgiving dessert tables feature a pecan or a pumpkin pie, but an apple dessert is a must for most families. Apples come into peak season in the fall, when the tart, sweet flavor can be enjoyed raw, roasted, stewed, baked and more. Make the most of it by gracing your Thanksgiving feast with an apple dessert, whether its pie, crumble, cobbler or a mix.

Capture the magical feeling of fall in this creamy cheesecake that’s topped with a warm apple topping and plenty of caramel sauce. The homemade caramel is spiked with apple brandy to amplify the fruit flavor which is rounded out by a generous sprinkle of warm toasted walnuts. A light hint of orange zest-scented sugar adds sweetness to the creamy cheesecake base.

With this tasty recipe, no one has to go without dessert on Thanksgiving. Coconut oil takes the place of butter or lard in both the crust and the filling to create a vegan alternative for this beloved classic. Opt for a mix of apple varieties (like Golden Delicious, Granny Smith and McIntosh) to get the best texture and flavor.

This elegant French Apple Tart from Ina Garten layers thinly sliced apples over a buttery pastry with a glossy apricot glaze—simple, stunning and perfect for Thanksgiving.

If you’re looking for an alternative to the classic pie, this apple spice cake is layered with gooey cream cheese icing. The cake layers are stuffed with chunks of tart Granny Smith apples tossed with lemon juice and cooked down in apple cider. Add to that a generous handful of golden raisins and toasted walnuts and you have a delicious fall dessert that everyone will love.

The French tart tatin sounds fancy but is a much simpler (and easier!) recipe to pull off than double-crust pie. Instead of worrying about fitting the dough into a pie plate and creating a decorative top layer, a simple flat sheet of dough rests on top of quartered apples. After baking in an apple caramel sauce, the whole dish flips out to reveal the gorgeous cooked apples resting on top of the crispy crust.

Packed with chunks of fresh apples and swirls of cinnamon sugar, this Country Apple Fritter Bread is a cozy, crowd-pleasing twist on a classic fair treat.

Fruit crisps are a wonderful way to make the most of seasonal fruit without the hassle of whipping up pie crust. A mix of Bosc pears and Macon apples tossed with citrus zest form the gooey filling in this crisp from Ina Garten. The topping is a quick mix of sugar, flour, oats and cubed butter sprinkled on top and baked until golden brown.

A lattice crust makes for a show-stopping finish on a rustic apple pie. Making pie dough from scratch can be a labor of love, but the effort is worth it when you can get creative with the finishing touches. The filling is cooked on the stovetop to help combine the flavors and condense the gooey spiced juices.

These handheld cupcakes can be a great option for serving a crowd. The base cupcakes are lightly spiced with cinnamon and vanilla then topped with a gooey apple pie filling and baked. Instead of frosting, these little cakes are finished with an airy whipped cream.

Cranberries tossed with apples, sugar, orange zest and a touch of cinnamon captures the essence of fall in one tartly sweet bite. In this recipe, this combination is folded into a sour cream cake and baked with a crisp cinnamon sugar topping. Serve it warm with a scoop of cold ice cream or whipped cream.

Ina Garten adds a twist of orange to her old-fashioned apple crisp that’s full of fresh apples tossed in warm fall spices. Make use of your electric mixer to quickly throw together the buttery oat topping. Bake it all until the topping is golden brown and the apples have cooked down until bubbly and soft.

This “flat” apple pie is sometimes called a freeform pie or a galette. It requires no baking dish—instead, apple pie filling is piled on top of a sheet of rolled out pie crust and the edges are folded over, leaving an uncovered area in the center. The filling is as simple as mixing sliced apples with sugar, flour and lemon.

Not all apple desserts have to have crust. These baked apples are plenty rich thanks to a dark rum, brown sugar and spice glaze. After baking in the oven until soft, they can be served with ice cream or on their own.

This apple crumble takes just twenty minutes to prep, making it the ideal option if you’re short on time from prepping the rest of the Thanksgiving feast. You can make the crumble ahead of time so you just have to toss the apple mixture and put the dish in the oven on the big day. Serve it warm and topped with plenty of vanilla ice cream.

Save time by making three pies in one. This blended Thanksgiving pie has a silky pumpkin filling set on top of a gooey pecan pie base. A cooked apple pie filling bakes around the top as a border to finish this festive holiday dessert.

A creamy toasted walnut paste underneath the apples offers a rich contrast to the tart and sweet apples in this gorgeous galette. Another baking hack: loosen some apricot preserves with water and use that as a glaze to brush on the apples. It gives the finished dessert a gorgeous shine after baking.

It doesn’t get more classic than a deep-dish apple pie. The Granny Smith apple filling is lightly flavored with a hint of orange and lemon to add a slight twist of flavor. The perfect crust uses both butter and shortening to give it the perfect texture without sacrificing taste.

Cobbler this good can compete with even the flakiest pie. Self-rising flour is the special ingredient that helps to create a tender cobbler topping. While this recipe uses both pears and apples for the filling, you can opt to stick to just one or the other if you prefer.

No one will miss pie when you set out this golden, caramel-topped apple cake. The cake itself is light and fluffy thanks to tangy sour cream and a touch of orange juice. A cored whole apple acts as the decoration in the center of the cake once it’s baked and inverted onto the plate, just like a fall-forward pineapple upside-down cake.

This is the apple pie you remember from your childhood—simple and delicious. Use mixed apples for the best flavor in the filling along with cinnamon, ground cloves and grated nutmeg. It all bakes in a crust that uses both shortening and butter for the optimal texture.

Part cobbler, part pie, this dessert combines apples and tart berries inside a buttery, store-bought pie crust. Instead of another layer of crust, the topping is fluffy gobs of cobbler batter. A sprinkle of turbinado sugar finishes the top with a sweet crunch.

Even inexperienced bakers can pull of this easy apple cake. Use a store-bought yellow cake mix and fold in some diced apples tossed with cinnamon sugar. Altogether, it creates a tasty cake that pairs perfectly with butter pecan or rum raisin ice cream.

A layer of silky pumpkin pie filling bakes on top of a cooked apple pie filling on top of a buttery pie crust. Together, the tart apples offset the rich pumpkin to offer the best of both desserts. Keep the finished look simple with a dollop of fluffy whipped cream.