3 New Thanksgiving Desserts

Sick of the typical pumpkin or pecan pie on Turkey Day? I know I am, which is why I went on a baking frenzy (well, not really) this afternoon and made some desserts that will hopefully be refreshing after years of pie.

Up first are pumpkin scones. These will also work at breakfast, but will be good for a simple dessert. I adapted the recipe from the Stonyfield Farm website--I changed the plain low-fat yogurt to plain nonfat Greek yogurt (it adds some protein and more thickness than regular yogurt), lowered the sugar content a little and substituted apple pie spice for the nutmeg since there wasn't any on hand. I also nixed the glaze since I thought they'd be better on their own.  Here's the recipe: 2 1/2 cups whole wheat flour, 2/3 cup sugar, 1/2 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp cinnamon, 1/2 tsp apple pie spice, 2 tsp baking powder, 2 tsp baking soda, 1 cup plain Oikos brand Greek yogurt, 1/2 cup canned pumpkin puree, 1/2 cup Eggbeaters...Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Combine flour, baking powder and salt, spices and sugar in a large bowl, stirring with a fork. Add yogurt, Eggbeaters and pumpkin and continue to stir with a fork until the dough is very sticky. Scoop the batter into an ice cream scooper and place each scone on a nonstick cookie sheet. Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until golden brown. Serve with real maple syrup, if desired.

Next are pumpkin "cheesecake" brownies. Cheesecake is in quotation marks because the cream cheese-like topping is actually made from yogurt cheese, which is similar in texture to cream cheese but is much much healthier (lower in fat and higher in protein). Yogurt cheese is pretty simple to make, just strain 6-8 oz. of nonfat Greek yogurt (in this case, vanilla flavored) in a colander lined with cheesecloth for 3 hours--the end result is yogurt without the whey, so it's very thick and creamy, like cream cheese. The brownie base is made from scratch, so you control what you put in. Here's the recipe: 1 cup pumpkin puree (divided), 1 tsp vanilla extract, 1/2 cup Eggbeaters, 1 cup sugar (divided), 1/2 cup whole wheat flour, 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, 1/2 tsp baking powder, 1/2 tsp salt, 1 cup Oikos vanilla Greek yogurt (made into yogurt cheese), 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice...Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray an 8x8 baking pan with nonstick cooking spray. Mix 1/2 cup of the pumpkin, vanilla, Eggbeaters and 2/3 cup of the sugar until well combined in a medium bowl. Add flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt; stir until no lumps remain. Pour into pan. In a small bowl, beat yogurt cheese, the remaining pumpkin and sugar and pumpkin pie spice until smooth and creamy. Pour yogurt cheese mixture over brownie batter and swirl with a knife. Bake for 30-35 minutes.

Finally, pumpkin apple pie. I got this recipe from Whole Foods, which always has delicious, healthful recipes and interesting ideas. I thought this sounded pretty good, since it's a combination between the classic apple and pumpkin pies, but it sounded unique too. Here's the recipe: 1/3 cup firmly packed light brown sugar, 1 tbsp cornstarch, 1 tsp cinnamon (divided), 1/2 tsp salt (divided), 1/3 cup water, 2 Granny Smith apples (peeled, cored and thinly sliced), 1 egg, 1/3 cup white sugar, 1 1/2 cans pumpkin puree, 1/4 tsp ground cloves, 1/4 tsp ground ginger, 1/2 cup skim milk or original Silk soymilk, 1 1/2 cups crushed graham crackers, 3/4 tsp salt, 1 tbsp organic maple syrup, 5 tbsp canola oil, 3 tbsp Silk Nog (their version of eggnog)...Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Put brown sugar, cornstarch, 1/2 tsp cinnamon, 1/4 tsp salt and water into a medium pot and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture comes to a boil. Add apples and cook, tossing to coat in sugar mixture, for 3-4 minutes more. Remove from heat and set aside. In a large bowl, whisk egg, white sugar, pumpkin, 1/4 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp cinnamon, cloves, ginger and milk until well combined. Set aside. Add crushed grahams and 3/4 tsp salt to mixer set on low. Add syrup and canola oil to mixing bowl and beat on low speed until the mixture looks blended and crumbly. Pour in the Nog and continue mixing on low speed until the dough is moist and holds together (about 15 seconds). Add in a teaspoon or two more Nog if the dough seems too dry. Using your hands, press dough evenly into a nonstick pie plate and pour apple mixture in. Spoon pumpkin mixture evenly over the apple mixture. Bake for 10 minutes, then reduce temperature to 375 and bake until filling is just set in the middle, about 40 more minutes. Set aside to cool completely before cutting into slices. Garnish with apple slices or pecans, as desired, or with a drizzle of organic maple syrup.

Try one (or all!) of these unique dessert recipes this Thanksgiving--who knows?--maybe it'll become a new tradition!