Thanksgiving Desserts - What Do You Serve?

Now I don't know about you but when it comes to Thanksgiving meals, there are certain foods I feel are necessary or it's just another day.  I have slowly come to realize that what is on the table at Thanksgiving is a matter of region and individual family traditions. (Heavens, I've heard that some people of Italian descent even serve pasta on the big day!)  I believe we can almost all agree on turkey except for vegetarians.  I guess y'all can have tofurkey.  I think we can all agree on dressing although there are endless varieties of stuffing or dressing.  After that, it gets murky.  But I really thought that Thanksgiving desserts were set in stone.  Then I got married.  That was my first clue that not everyone ate pumpkin or pecan pie on Turkey day.

I have written about suffering through Thanksgiving meals in Mississippi where I thought I'd be safe.  We're in the deep south aren't we?  But there has yet to be a pumpkin pie served to me nor a pecan pie, that other traditional pie, in that state.  Or even a sweet potato pie, that other Southern substitute for pumpkin.  In my family there were only two options for dessert on Thanksgiving, both lovingly prepared and proudly served: pecan and pumpkin pie.  Imagine my dismay when I was served lemon meringue pie one Thanksgiving in Mississippi!  In my family, that's what we serve at fish fries in July!

Recently, several people got together to plan Thanksgiving dinner for a mutual friend who is ill.  I scanned the dessert list and saw things like blueberry pie.  ??  I still didn't see any mention of pumpkin or pecan.  Really, is there something wrong with me?  I did a bit of research this morning and found that pumpkin pie is considered the most common dessert at Thanksgiving but after that it is a free for all with fruit pies like cherry and apple perhaps the next most common.

So good readers, please share with me what desserts you will be serving this Thanksgiving.  I'm really curious.  We will have pumpkin; even my kids demand it and I may have pecan pie but I'm also thinking about pecan pie cake.  Who knows?  Maybe we'll throw tradition to the wind and have some cookies!  No, wait.....we have cookie party coming up.

I'll leave you with one more thought: in my research I came across a small study which showed that men are more turned on by the smell of pumpkin pie than by women's perfume.  Vanilla comes in a close second.  If you are looking for some action this Thanksgiving, give dessert some careful thought.