Holiday Recipes for Thanksgiving

roasted turkey on white ceramic plate

By Sesa Graham

With Thanksgiving in a few days, here are some easy and delicious recipes to try!

CORN PUDDING

*SERVES ABOUT 6

TOTAL TIME: 1 hour

INGREDIENTS

8.5 oz Jiffy corn muffin mix

2 eggs

1 cup sour cream

11 oz can whole kernel corn (drained)

14.75 oz creamed corn

½ cup (1 stick) butter

2 tbsp sugar

2 tbsp honey 

1 tbsp black pepper

½ tsp cayenne pepper

INSTRUCTIONS

  1. Grease a 1 & 1 ½ quart baking dish with butter; make sure you grease all around the dish even up the sides
  2. Sprinkle a little sugar over the buttered baking dish
  3. In a large bowl add and whisk: Jiffy mix, sugar, and black pepper
  4. Whisk the eggs in a separate bowl
  5. To a large bowl add: melted butter, the whisked eggs, creamed corn, drained whole kernel corn, sour cream, honey, and cayenne pepper
  6. Mix together with a spoon 
  7. Add all ingredients from bowl to baking dish
  8. Bake at 375° on the middle rack for about 1 hour. Depending on your oven it can bake anywhere from 40 minutes to 1 hour. The trick is to make sure the center is firm. Then it is done.
  9. Serve with a drizzle of honey and enjoy! 

Recipe from: Melissa Joreal Recipes

BAKED MAC N CHEESE

*SERVES ABOUT 8 

TOTAL TIME: ABOUT 1 HOUR

INGREDIENTS

4 cups sharp cheddar cheese (shred)

1 cup manchego cheese (shred)

1 cup gouda cheese (shred)

½ cup butter

½ cup flour

2 cups half and half 

1 pound macaroni noodles

3 cups milk

1 cup bread crumbs

INSTRUCTIONS

  1. Bowl macaroni noodles then drain
  2. Combine butter and flour, then whisk in milk and the half and half
  3. Cook the sauce until nice and thick
  4. Add in the cheeses, stir well
  5. Combine sauce with cooked pasta
  6. Transfer half of the mac and cheese to a baking dish, sprinkle with more of the shredded cheeses
  7. Top with the rest of the mac and cheese, top with more of the shredded cheeses
  8. Bake and prepare thoroughly
  9. Once mac and cheese is baked, top with bread crumbs
  10. Enjoy! 

Recipe from: The Chunky Chef

SWEET POTATO CASSEROLE

*SERVES ABOUT 6

TOTAL TIME: ABOUT 1 HOUR 30 MINUTES

INGREDIENTS

SWEET POTATO MASH

4 Lg sweet potatoes

1 stick butter 

4 tbsp heavy whipping cream

1 tsp vanilla

1 tsp cinnamon

½ tsp salt 

1o big marshmallows

STREUSEL TOPPING

1 cup light brown sugar

½ cup flour

1 cup chopped pecans

1 stick salted butter

INSTRUCTIONS

  1. Bake sweet potatoes at 425° for 1 hour. Peel the skin off sweet potato’s and combine sweet potatoes with melted butter, heavy whipping cream, vanilla, and cinnamon. Beat thoroughly with a hand mixer for about 3-4 minutes to increase the fluffiness of the sweet potato mixture
  2. Pour mixture into the baking dish (around a 2-quart dish) then add marshmallows
  3. Melt the stick of butter and combine with brown sugar, flour, and chopped pecans. Spread on top of sweet potatoes
  4. Bake at 350​​° for 30-40 minutes
  5. Enjoy!

Recipe from: CookItErica

HOLIDAY DIP

*SERVES ABOUT 5

TOTAL TIME: ABOUT 30 MINUTES

INGREDIENTS

1 box white cake mix

16 oz. cool whip

1 cup vanilla pudding

*add sprinkles if wanted

INSTRUCTIONS

  1. Take the white cake mix, cool whip, vanilla pudding, and sprinkles (if wanted) then mix in a larger bowl
  2. Once you have mixed all those ingredients together, enjoy! Tastiest if dipped with apples, graham crackers, or Teddy Grahams!

Recipe from: Kristyn Cole

APPLE BLONDIE CHEESECAKE BARS

*SERVES ABOUT 4

TOTAL TIME: 

INGREDIENTS

APPLE BLONDIES

1 cup butter

2 cups brown sugar

3 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

2 cups flour

1 tbsp cornstarch

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp cinnamon

½ tsp salt

2 red apples

CINNAMON CHEESECAKE

16 oz cream cheese (at room temperature) 

½ cup sugar

1 cup heavy cream

1 tsp vanilla

½ tsp cinnamon

BROWN BUTTER MAPLE ICING

¼ cup butter

1 cup powdered sugar

2 tbsp maple syrup

½ tsp cinnamon

½ tsp vanilla

pinch of salt

INSTRUCTIONS

APPLE BLONDIES

  1. Preheat oven to 350°
  2. Add the butter to a pan over medium heat. Stir while the butter melts. After a few minutes, the butter will begin to bubble, keep stirring. 
  3. Once the butter starts to foam up, then the foaming will subside and you will be left with brown, nutty-smelling butter. Take off the heat.
  4. Add the brown sugar and stir until combined. Let the mixture cool for at least 10 minutes. After it has cooled, add the eggs (one at a time) stirring between each. Then add the vanilla and stir again.
  5. Add flour, cornstarch, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt. Stir until just combined, making sure there are no large lumps. Peel and core the apples, then chop them into small pieces, about ¼” cubes. Add the apples and stir to combine.
  6. Transfer the mixture to a 9×13” pan lined with parchment paper (or thoroughly grease the pan). Pour the mixture into the pan and spread it evenly out. Bake for 30-40 minutes until the top is beginning to brown and the middle is just set.
  7. Let the blondies cool completely before topping with the cheesecake layer. If you are in a hurry, the blondies can cool in the fridge.

CINNAMON CHEESECAKE

  1. Combine the room temp cream cheese and sugar in a bowl. Using a stand mixer or hand mixer, beat the cream cheese and sugar for 2 minutes. Add cinnamon and vanilla and mix them in.
  2. In a separate bowl whip the heavy cream until stiff peaks form. Transfer the whipped cream to the cream cheese mixture. Carefully fold the whipped cream in, being careful to not deflate the whipped cream.
  3. Once the blondies are completely cooled, add the cheesecake mixture on top of the blondies. Smooth the layer out, cover the pan with plastic wrap, and transfer it to the fridge. The cheesecake layer takes at least 4 hours to set up but can stay in the fridge overnight. 

BROWN SUGAR MAPLE GLAZE

  1. Just before serving, make the brown butter maple glaze. Add the butter to a small pan. Stire as the butter melts. After a few minutes, the butter will begin to bubble. Keep stirring. After a couple more minutes, the butter will foam up, then the foaming will subside and you’ll be left with brown, nutty-smelling butter. Take off the heat.
  2. Add the powdered sugar and maple syrup and whisk to combine. Add cinnamon, vanilla, and a pinch of salt. Whisk until the mixture is smooth. 
  3. Slice the blondies with a sharp knife. Right before serving, drizzle the glaze over the blondies and enjoy!

*The blondies are best enjoyed within 1-2 days. After this, the moisture from the cheesecake seeps into the blondies and they don’t taste as fresh. So enjoy them while they’re fresh! If you have any leftovers, for those 1-2 days, store the blondies in a sealed container in the fridge.
Recipe from: The Palatable Life