20 Fun Unique Thanksgiving Desserts

This list is full of 20 fun and unique Thanksgiving desserts that will surely impress everyone. You could make a traditional pumpkin pie for Thanksgiving OR you might be looking for something exciting and different from this list. It might be hard to pick just one! These recipes have step by step photos and videos to make them even easier to follow along.

These pumpkin pie cookies are my top rated recipe this year. They're like mini pumpkin pies! With a crisp, buttery shortbread crust and a silky smooth creamy pumpkin filling. They can be made 1-2 days ahead of time or you can pre-make the cookie crust and freeze them for up to 5 days before adding the filling to ensure the cookie stays crispy.

If you're looking for only pumpkin dessert recipes, check out this list of my 15 best easy pumpkin desserts. If you want a mixture of all the fall flavors, continue browsing this list of fun Thanksgiving desserts!

1. Pumpkin pie cookies

Pumpkin Pie Cookies

These pumpkin pie cookies are buttery, brown sugar cinnamon shortbreads with a creamy pumpkin pie filling! They have a dollop of fluffy whipped cream for the whole pumpkin pie experience - in a cookie. The combination of crisp buttery shortbread cookie and creamy, spiced pumpkin filling makes these the perfect fall and Thanksgiving cookie. They’re like mini pumpkin pies!

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2. Sweet potato crème brûlée - inside a sweet potato!

Sweet Potato Crème Brûlée

This sweet potato crème brûlée is creamy, full of cinnamon and sweet potato flavor, and has a crunchy caramelized sugar topping. And you can even have the crème brûlée inside of sweet potatoes for a completely edible treat! Crème brûlée is so easy to make and comes together in 5 minutes. The recipe includes instructions on how to make sweet potato crème brûlée inside of sweet potatoes and/or ramekins - makes 4-6 crème brûlées!

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3. Easy salted caramel spiced apple cheesecake bars

Caramel Apple Cheesecake Bars

These caramel apple cheesecake bars have a spiced graham cracker crust, a creamy cinnamon caramel no bake cheesecake filling, and the ultimate, spiced caramel apple topping! You’re going to love how easy it is to make each of the components. The rich caramel, cinnamon, cloves and cardamom bring out the apple flavor and add so much fragrant flavor. These are the best apple cheesecake bars.

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4. Pumpkin cheesecake roll

Pumpkin Cheesecake Roll

This pumpkin cheesecake roll is made using soft sponge cake and filled with a creamy no bake cheesecake filling. It’s packed full of creamy, perfectly spiced pumpkin flavor and topped with a fluffy spiced whipped cream. This roll is actually very easy to make and this recipe has all the tips and tricks you need to successfully create a perfect pumpkin swiss roll.

5. Easy pumpkin cheesecake bars

No Bake Pumpkin Cheesecake Bars

These no bake pumpkin cheesecake bars are easy to make, creamy, and packed with pumpkin flavour! The thick brown sugar graham crust has a touch of pumpkin spice. They are topped with fluffy whipped cream and more pumpkin spice. The cheesecake base uses whipped cream (no cool whip) to make it fluffy and creamy.

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6. Cinnamon swirl bundt cake

Cinnamon Bundt Cake

This cinnamon bundt cake is fluffy, moist, buttery, and has a gooey cinnamon swirl in the middle. It's topped with a cream cheese glaze. It's like a cinnamon roll in bundt form! The cinnamon bundt cake is moist and fluffy from the sour cream, and mixture of butter and oil. The butter gives it all that delicious buttery flavour and the oil keeps it moist and fluffy for days. The perfect easy fall bundt cake.

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7. Brown butter pumpkin pie bars

Pumpkin Pie Bars

These pumpkin pie bars have a brown butter shortbread crust, a creamy spiced pumpkin filling, and fluffy whipped cream! They’re much easier to make than pie and have the perfect 1:1 crust to filling ratio. The brown butter adds a toasty and cozy layer of flavor, pairing perfectly with the pumpkin filling. Sweetened condensed milk makes the pumpkin filling ultra creamy, rich, and smooth. And you can’t have pumpkin pie without whipped cream!

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8. Easy pumpkin cake with brown butter cream cheese frosting

Pumpkin Spice Cake

This pumpkin cake is soft, moist, flavorful, and topped with an ultra creamy, flavorful brown butter cream cheese frosting. The cake comes together in one bowl without an electric mixer. The frosting is ultra creamy, tangy, and has a nutty, caramel flavor. The perfect pumpkin cake for any fall or Thanksgiving party. 

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9. Pumpkin spice cinnamon roll pancakes

Pumpkin Spice Pancakes with Pumpkin Spice Swirl 

These pumpkin spice pancakes are ultra soft, fluffy, and have a caramelized pumpkin spice cinnamon roll swirl! And a cream cheese glaze, reminiscent of cinnamon rolls. They’re so easy to make too, and are packed full of pumpkin and spice flavor. The pumpkin spice swirl is so easy to make and transforms the pancakes by adding so much flavor and crispiness to the edges. These pancakes will transform your breakfast routine in the fall!

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10. Apple cider donut bundt cake

Apple Cider Bundt Cake

This apple cider bundt cake is tender, moist, and fluffy. It tastes just like apple cider, and is basically an apple cider donut cake! It’s coated in brown butter and a cinnamon sugar mixture for the perfect apple fall flavor. The cake has applesauce, apple cider, and apple chunks for lots of apple flavor. Reduced apple sauce is poured over the top right after baking to keep it extra moist and tender for days.

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11. Pumpkin spice donuts with pumpkin custard

Pumpkin Spice Donuts with Pumpkin Custard [no knead]

These pumpkin donuts are crispy, soft, and filled with a creamy pumpkin custard that tastes exactly like pumpkin pie. They’re coated in a sugar and pumpkin spice mixture. The donut dough has pumpkin puree and pumpkin spice to really amp up that pumpkin flavour! Oh and the dough is a no knead dough which gives the donuts beautiful open middles perfect for filling. They turn out so soft and pillowy. You will need just over a 16 oz can of pumpkin.

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12. Chai cake with spiced apple filling

Chai Cake with Spiced Apple Filling

This chai cake is soft, fluffy, moist, and packed full of chai flavor. It has a gooey spiced apple filling and is frosted with a creamy cream cheese frosting. The gooey apple filling complements the fluffy chai cake layers perfectly, and I topped it off with a caramel drip. It combines all of the best fall and winter flavors in one cake!

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13. Savory and sweet pumpkin spice butter board

Pumpkin Spice Butter Board

This pumpkin spice butter board is sweet, salty, spiced, and the perfect party appetizer (think charcuterie board but butter). It’s meant to be shared and served on bread or crackers. The pumpkin infused butter is topped with crispy sage, pumpkin seeds, flaky salt, and maple syrup. Perfect for hosting fall parties.

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14. Salted caramel apple pie cinnamon rolls

Caramel Apple Pie Cinnamon Rolls

These caramel apple pie cinnamon rolls are super soft, fluffy, have a gooey spiced apple filling, a crisp cinnamon crumble topping, and a salted caramel cream cheese glaze. It’s like a caramel apple crumble pie - but in a cinnamon roll! These rolls have all the textures - soft, crisp, and gooey. And the dough is an easy no knead dough recipe that you don’t need a mixer for. They’re the perfect comforting cinnamon rolls to make for fall and the holidays. 

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15. Brown butter toffee chocolate chip cookies

Toffee Cookies with Foolproof Homemade Toffee

These brown butter toffee cookies are soft with crispy edges, chewy gooey middles, and packed with bits of toffee and chocolate. The toffee melts into the cookie creating puddles of chewy caramel that are just so delicious! The cookie dough has brown butter which complements the deep nutty flavor of the toffee oh so well. These cookies are very buttery and so delicious.

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16. Pumpkin crème brûlée - inside a pumpkin!

Pumpkin Creme Brulee

This pumpkin creme brulee is creamy, full of spiced creamy pumpkin flavor, and has a crunchy caramelized sugar layer on top. Creme brulee is so easy to make, it comes together in 5 minutes, and you can even bake it inside of mini pumpkins like I did here. The recipe includes instructions on how to make them inside of mini pumpkins and/or ramekins. This recipe makes approximately 4 creme brulees.

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17. Salted caramel apple pie bars

Salted Caramel Apple Pie Bars

These salted caramel apple pie bars have a crisp brown sugar shortbread base, gooey caramel apple filling, a crisp crumble topping, and smothered in salted caramel sauce. There's salted caramel sauce in the apple filling! This recipe has everything you need to know to make a homemade caramel sauce but you can use storebought for a shortcut. They're the perfect alternative to a pie because they're much easier to make and serve.

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18. Pumpkin chocolate cake

Pumpkin Chocolate Cake

This pumpkin chocolate cake is packed with pumpkin puree and topped with the silkiest pumpkin chocolate buttercream. It's chocolatey, rich, moist, and has a subtle spice to it. It tastes like pumpkin and chocolate! The cake batter is an easy one bowl recipe. It's baked in a sheet pan - no need to stack and frost the sides (options for turning this into a layer cake are in the recipe notes). There are mini pumpkins piped all over the top. The perfect cake for a fall celebration!

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19. Pumpkin cheesecake cookies

Pumpkin Cheesecake Cookies

These pumpkin cheesecake cookies are crispy on the edges, chewy in the middles, and have a creamy pumpkin cheesecake middle. The cookie has ribbons of graham crumbs for extra flavour and texture. The cookie dough is so easy to make and comes together in one bowl without an electric mixer. This recipe makes 12 large cookies. You can make smaller cookies if you prefer but I prefer the larger proportion of filling with the larger cookies.

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20. Pistachio cardamom brown butter chocolate chip cookies

Pistachio Chocolate Chip Cookies

These pistachio chocolate chip cookies are packed full of pistachios, milk chocolate, and dark chocolate. They have crisp edges, perfectly chewy centers and loads of pistachio and chocolate flavor! Brown butter and cardamom adds so much depth and flavor and pair so well with the toasty pistachio flavor. If you love pistachios and thin crispy chewy chocolate chip cookies, these are the perfect cookies for you to make.

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