Sweet Treat Ideas for Your Holiday Table

The holiday season is fast approaching and cooks everywhere are searching for recipe ideas that will knock the socks off their guests! As the saying goes, you eat with your eyes first, so we've come up with a few ideas that you may want to include on your holiday table this year that are not only delicious, but beautiful as well.

Apple Upside-Down Cake

A twist on the traditional pineapple upside-down cake, this delicious dessert is made up of a dense cake and Granny Smith apples to cut some of the sweetness. If you have a bigger sweet tooth, Golden Delicious apples are wonderful substitutes that will still hold its shape throughout the baking process.

Ingredients

Topping

• Granny Smith or Golden Delicious apples (3 ½ apples)
• ½ cup unsalted butter (1 stick)
• 2/3 cup sugar
• ½ cup coarsely chopped walnuts (optional)

Cake Batter

• ½ Granny Smith or Golden Delicious, peeled and finely chopped (use the other half from the topping)
• 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
• 1 ½ teaspoon baking powder
• ¾ teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon cinnamon
• ½ cup unsalted butter, softened (1 stick)
• 2/3 cups sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 tablespoon fresh ginger, grated (you can substitute 2 tsp of powdered ginger)
• 2 large eggs
• ½ cup sour cream

Directions

Topping

1. Peel, cut and core apples, then cut into thick slices.
2. In a 10-inch cast iron or non-stick skillet, melt butter and stir in sugar until it begins to dissolve.
3. Arrange apple slices in the bottom of the skillet and sprinkle walnuts (if you're using them) in the spaces between the apples.
4. Cook the apple mixture over medium-low heat for about 30 minutes without stirring until apples are tender and sauce is a golden in color.

Cake Batter

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a large bowl, combine flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt. Set these dry ingredients aside.
2. In a separate large mixing bowl, combine butter and sugar, beating them together until fluffy. Next, beat in vanilla and ginger. To this mixture, beat in one egg at a time until thoroughly combined, then beat in sour cream. Slowly beat in dry ingredients, and then fold in the finely chopped apple pieces. Carefully pour this mixture over the cooled apple mixture inside the skillet.
3. Place a jelly roll pan or baking sheet in the oven and place the skillet on top of that. Bake the cake 25-35 minutes until golden brown. When a toothpick comes out clean, the cake is done. Take the cake out of the oven and place it on a cooling rack for ten minutes. Use a knife along the edge of the pan to loosen, then carefully invert onto your serving platter.
4. Serve immediately with vanilla ice cream or serve room temperature with a dollop of whipped cream and enjoy!

Fresh Fruit Cornucopias

Convenient and portable, these cute creations are perfect accent for your Thanksgiving table! Give this spin on serving fresh fruit a try at your next holiday gathering and display stacked up on a serving platter, so each guest can help themselves to their very own fruit cornucopia!

Ingredients

• Sugar ice cream cones
• Assortment of fresh fruit (in-season is always best)
  • Grapes
  • Strawberries
  • Melon
  • Pears
  • Peaches

Directions

1. Wash and cut up fruit into bite-sized chunks.
2. Fill the sugar cones with a nice assortment of fruit and stack them on a serving platter. Easy peasy!

We hope these simple treats will add some festive flavor to your holiday table this year. Share this post with your friends on social media to give them some ideas for the upcoming holiday season.

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