When I had my catering business, this crowd-pleasing dessert was one of my most requested. Guests heap their own mini martini glass with a variety of fall-themed cake or blondie bites, ice cream, candies, sprinkles and sauces. This year, surprise everyone with this fun ending to your Thanksgiving feast.
Vanilla Bean Blondies
1 ½ cups flour
½ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
1 ½ cups brown sugar
½ cup butter (1 stick), melted
2 eggs
1 ½ teaspoons vanilla bean paste (or vanilla extract)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line an 8x8 baking pan with parchment. Spray with cooking spray.
In a small bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt.
In a medium bowl, combine brown sugar, butter, eggs and vanilla.
Using a hand mixer, beat flour mixture into sugar mixture until smooth.
Spread evenly into pan and bake 18-20 minutes until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool. Cut into 1” cubes.
Pumpkin Cake
2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
⅛ teaspoon salt
2 ½ teaspoons cinnamon
½ teaspoon allspice
⅛ teaspoon ginger
⅛ teaspoon cloves
¼ cup butter, softened
1 ⅔ cups sugar
1 can pumpkin purée
4 eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
¾ cup vegetable oil
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9x13 pan with cooking spray.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the first eight ingredients. Set aside.
In a large bowl, use a hand mixer to beat sugar and butter until blended. Beat in remaining ingredients. Add flour mixture and beat until smooth.
Pour into pan. Bake 20-25 minutes, until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool and cut into 1” cubes.
Pecan Oat Crumble
½ cup quick oats
½ cup Graham cracker crumbs
½ cup chopped pecans
¼ cup firmly packed brown sugar
¾ teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon ginger
½ teaspoon salt
¾ cup butter, melted
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
In a medium bowl, combine dry ingredients. Stir in butter. Spread onto a baking sheet.
Bake 10-15 minutes, until pecans are toasted. Cool. Crumble and add to the toppings bar.
Judy Beaudin is an award-winning competitive cook with over a decade of experience in the catering industry and the owner of Scrumptious Catering. Her dessert and pastry work has appeared in national marketing campaigns and on HGTV. She has been featured in local and national lifestyle and industry magazines for her food and catering work. Follow her foodie life on Instagram at @scrumptious_judyb and on Facebook at The Scrumptious Life.