Welcome toThe Cheaters Guide to Thanksgiving.
Perhaps you dont have the time or patience to cook five desserts for Thanksgiving.
Maybe you despise baking.
Reserve the right to fudge the rules.
Buy your desserts, and fake your way to success.
Theres no shame in purchased desserts, but consider them unfinished.
You dress up for special occasionsyour dessert should too.
Buying from a local bakery will likely look far more convincingly homemade.
However, the trade off is price.
That said, sometimes its worth it.
But thats why we have tricks.
it’s possible for you to save moneyandstill have a lovely fake-n-bake dessert spread.
That will usually come in the form of toppings, garnishes, or subtle manipulation tactics.
Dressing up store-bought cheesecakes
I highly recommend buying a cheesecake to cheat your way through Thanksgiving dessert.
Baking your own cheesecake requires long baking and cooling times, maybe a water bath, and careful unmolding.
Thats a lot of time where you could be peeping the football game or locating the Advil.
How to do it
Buy a cheesecake from your grocery store or the local bakery.
To dress it up and add extra flavor, you have a few choices.
Add a crumb to the side, add a topping, or add both.
For the sides, carefully scoop graham cracker crumbs into the palm of your dominant hand.
Press the crumbs up the sides of the thawed cheesecake.
You shouldnt have to press too hard, itll be moist.
If you want something more dramatic than crumbs, try a topping.
You could spoon softly whipped cream in the center or pipe rosettes around the edges.
Makea simple ganacheand spread it over the top of the cheesecake so it drips attractively down the sides.
Spread some cherry pie filling on it, or heap fresh berries on top for a tart twist.
This will improve the flavor, and revive the pastry.
After that, work your garnish magic.
My local ShopRite had an apple strip that looked nice.
The pastry was baked but not too browned, and only had a sprinkle of sugar as a finish.
Before Thanksgiving dinner is in full swing, line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Unpackage the pastry and put it on the baking sheet.
Bake it at 350F for eight to 10 minutes.
If its floppy or anything but crisp, broil it for one or two minutes.
Do not take your eyes off of it.
The pastry was lightyears better after this treatment.
I might do it for non-holidays too.
Cake is also easy to fake because its easy to dress up with your personal touches.
Allow me to explain.
Buy the stores bakery brand of cake.
I advise against Entenmann’s or any other brand that is too recognizable.
Take the cake out of whatever container its in and put it on a serving plate.
For crumb or streusel topped cakes, toast a big handful of nuts in a frying pan until fragrant.
Mix half of the nuts with some caramel sauce until you have a loose, nutty mixture.
Put the cake on a serving dish.
Dollop the nutty caramel around the top of the cake so it oozes down the side slightly.
Scatter the rest of the nuts over the cake.
Top with powdered sugar.
Use the same garnish and scatter it decoratively along the outer edge too.
Slice the cake and line up the wedges or rectangles in a decorative fashion on a long platter.
Not only does this make it easier for guests to grab, but it interrupts any decorations that looktooperfect.
Beautifying store-bought pies
Pies are pretty tough to fake, actually.
Grocery stores sell frozen, pre-made pies that you could bake fresh at home.
The problem is the tin.
Youd probably use a glass or metal pie plate if you had made it from scratch.
Trust me, I tried.
Frozen store pies are just small enough where the crust wont hook over a regular nine-inch pie plate.
Otherwise, go to the freezer aisle and grab a pie you like.
The day youre ready to cook the pie, take it out of the freezer.
Bake it according to the package directions.
Dont be afraid to mix and match garnishes, and embrace imperfections.
