I sure hope you all had a "sweet" Thanksgiving.
Yep. Totally being intentional with a corny segway into me sharing the desserts I baked this year.

I invited a cheesecake to my table of pies this year.
Other than that, I stuck with three of my favorites...
In fact, the same exact pies I shared the recipes for last year.

The Only Pumpkin Pie

click HERE for recipe

Chocolate Chip Pecan Pie

click HERE for recipe

Crumb-topped Apple Pie

click HERE for recipe

Our Family Cheesecake

I apologize in advance for no recipe - my mother has forbidden me for years to share the recipe

which is why this is the only time you've ever seen me mention it on my blog. *eye roll*

I figured the cheesecake deserved four photos since it's never made an appearance on the blog before. *wink*

I sure hope you all enjoyed the time with family and friends as you celebrated Thanksgiving.
It was hard sending Ella back to school today and I'm already counting down the days to Christmas break!!

Love you guys!!

xoxo,
Jess

KEEPiNG iT REAL
These desserts look almost perfect, don't they!?
Nope....

1. Pumpkin Pie - seemed too sweet to me this year for some reason? Also, the leaves were a tiny bit overdone. Thank goodness golden browns fit right into the Thanksgiving color scheme. Ha!!

2. Crumb-Topped Apple - the best pie on the planet. Again. Forgot to bring the vanilla ice cream though.

3. Chocolate Chip Pecan Pie - seemed exceptionally chocolatey this year? And it was nowhere as pretty as the pie last year. I couldn't add the pretty whipped cream accents with chocolate chips + pecan for the photos since we were traveling. I knew it would look like doo doo train after a 2+ hour drive. So I left it plain. Boo.

4. Cheesecake - doubled the crust this time to accommodate a new pan I was trying out. Mistake. Way too much crust for even this crust lover and was nearly impossible to slice through. AND...the 2 hours and 40 minutes of traveling to even get to Thanksgiving dinner caused it to soften - even though it was on ice. Oh let's be real people!! I also regretfully admit it's the first time I've ever under-baked a cheesecake - which added to it not setting up properly and being too soft by the time we served it. Wah!  Still tasted amazing though. Ha!

RECIPE | Crumb Topped Apple Pie

Good morning my sweet, sweet friends!
We have been stuck on Pie #4 from my "Five Days of Pie"...haven't we?

Truth be told..."stuck" is exactly how I've been feeling over the last month or so.
I was wiped out from my projects with Hersheys along with various "life" things that have been going on behind the scenes and I just could not muster up the energy to re-bake this crumb-topped apple pie for you after realizing I didn't have any great photos of this particular one.

And then it also seemed silly to share the pie since the Christmas holidays are over AND I have been trying to avoid sweets. I just couldn't convince myself baking an apple pie in January made any sense when I wouldn't be able to eat any of it. (or shouldn't eat any of it). *wink*

The good news is...I tossed all sense out of the window and baked it anyway.
Mainly because I just couldn't see myself posting anything else when my Five Days of Pie had not been properly finished out. I couldn't just skip right over it and move onto something else. Not right.

Most importantly, this Crumb-Topped Apple Pie is something I know you all will love and I just HAVE to share it with you. Especially because there have been so many of you asking for the recipe ever since I mentioned it!

So...my apologies for keeping you waiting while I crawled out from the creative crater I'd fallen into.
I promise...you most definitely want to tuck this delicious recipe into your pocket for the next time you are looking to bake a pie - especially because this pie is easier than average since it doesn't require a standard pastry crust.

DOWNLOAD THE RECIPE CARDS RIGHT HERE

One to print for you and one for a friend...all on the same sheet for printing!

If you are just joining us for the "Five Days of Pie", here are the direct links to the other four pies shared previously...all come with cute printable recipe cards too! *wink*

The Only Pumpkin Pie
Chocolate Chip Pecan Pie
The Only Key Lime Pie
Mama's Blueberry Pie

And if you'd like to see the short step-by-step video I created when Ella and I made this pie for Thanksgiving...

Crumb-Top-Apple-Pie from Jessica Kirkland on Vimeo.

Thanks again for loving me despite my imperfections!
You guys are sweet as apple pie and I appreciate your love + support...always!!

xoxo,
Jess

KEEPiNG iT REAL
I had ordered a NEW PIE DISH to bake the apple pie in for Thanksgiving BUT of course it arrived AFTER the fact. *frown*

So....when I re-baked this crumb topped apple pie specifically for this post, I finally got to use it and I have to say it's lovely! If you are looking for a pretty, white, deep dish pie plate this one gets five stars from me!!

SUGAR | Super Easy No-Bake Salted Caramel Mini Apple Pies

We are days away from Thanksgiving and time is a-tickin'!
If you haven't quite figured out what you want to make for dessert yet or maybe you've been scouring Pinterest for something super simple but with some "wow" factor…stop looking. This is it.

I'm back with another "deconstructed" dessert idea that's soooo easy it just might be illegal.
Okay, I'm exaggerating but you may want to keep the easy part a secret for a few days to allow your guests to continue to rave about how awesome you are for slaving in the kitchen during the busy holidays just to make these special treats for them. (Ha!)

No-Bake Salted Caramel Mini Apple Pies

I've definitely been on a "no-bake" kick lately - looking for easy alternatives that are high on taste and low on time in the kitchen. You KNOW I love being in the kitchen and I prefer "from-scratch" any day over items that are store bought. Let's be realistic though. There are certain instances when from-scratch just isn't going to happen so instead of letting that push me to buy a box of cookies or a boring store-bought pie, I've found it equally satisfying to find ways to create things that are half-way homemade. You know what I mean…buying store-bought items and throwing them together to make them LOOK and almost TASTE homemade. It's a great way to still feed that creative urge I have for whipping up special treats (and making them look pretty). It also allows me to feel like I still had SOME sort of input on the overall taste of the dessert.  Maybe it's just a way to get rid of the guilt for not having time to do homemade? Regardless, I'm loving the turnout! (and so is my family). *wink* Here's all you need for making these darling Salted Caramel Mini Apple Pies...