More than Pie for Dessert: Thanksgiving Desserts that Take the (Cup)cake

If you’ve got family or friends coming over who aren’t crazy about pie, you might wonder what you can serve them for dessert that will be “festive” and “holiday” enough to convey the Thanksgiving mood at your table. Make some cupcakes that “look like” pies — you’ll get a smile from your guests for sure. Make a turkey cupcake with the help of a little pipe cleaner, a cookie and a peanut butter cup, on a base of white frosting — or a peanut-butter sandwich cookie used as the turkey body, with edible “eyes” and frosting “feathers.” You can even construct a miniature “stuffed turkey” on the top of the cake, with green frosting “garnish” and décor “stuffing.” For non-turkey motifs, you can make a cornucopia design on your cupcakes with snack shells and candy “fruit.”

Cover cupcakes with white frosting, plus orange, brown, and yellow sprinkles, and make a Pilgrim hat out of a chocolate wafer, upside-down peanut butter cup, and a dollop of orange frosting for “hatband” and “buckle.” Generic “autumn” designs such as fondant oak leaves and acorns can frost any cupcake flavor all season long; or how about the best of both worlds — a chocolate cupcake with white frosting and “pie” slices on top? From using cupcakes as “placecards” with frosting-inscribed names to a fondant topping that looks like a tablecloth (with “dinner” miniatures atop it), there are more creative ways to use cupcakes for your Thanksgiving table than we can talk about here. Take a look at these images — and get baking!