No matter how much we indulge ourselves on Thanksgiving with turkey and all the fixings, we still seem to find room for dessert. Anything made with apples or pumpkin is fitting for the occasion, and if we can find time to throw in a handful of pecans or sweeten up some winter squash, so much the better. Apple Dumplings, that is apples stuffed with sugar and spice and cloaked in pastry, are actually easier to prepare than apple pie and a pumpkin cheesecake, with its gingersnap cookie crumb crust and crunchy pecan praline topping, could become the new tradition on your holiday dessert table. A smooth and creamy butternut squash pie, fragrant and filled with the fall flavors of cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and cloves, is noteworthy for its hint of honey – local, of course, a gift from long-time friend of my family, Bluffton’s Vicki Nash. And, should you wish to dress up the crust of your pie, nothing could be more festive than to adorn it with a garland of cutout pastry “leaves.” If there’s a single day of the year when it’s most meaningful to treat ourselves and those we love to special celebratory foods, Thanksgiving would be it. Savory or sweet, it’s all good, and dessert, like icing on a cake, just makes it better.

Sue Ade is a syndicated food writer with broad experience and interest in the culinary arts. She has worked and resided in the Lowcountry of South Carolina since 1985 and may be reached at kitchenade@yahoo.com.