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There are some foods that are indispensable to the holiday season. For each family it might vary but these are the menu items that never get changed from year to year, and the recipes get passed down amongst the generations.
As seasonal traditions go, special fare ranks right up there among the most important.
One of the main contenders for Thanksgiving, along with the turkey, is pumpkin pie. I just realized this again in the process of planning a Thanksgiving I was about to host. My mother-in-law and I were going over the menu on the phone to make a turkey day game plan. We were talking about how someone was bringing a pumpkin cream cheese roll, and I planned to make these delicious pumpkin muffins we had just tried at my son’s preschool Thanksgiving party. They were a real hit with the kids and adults alike. So I figured between these two items, who needs pumpkin pie?
Some people love pumpkin pie so much they have it at all through the late year holidays. For me, not so much. I love all things pumpkin, except pie. I could take it or leave it. Give me apple, cherry, pecan, or lemon meringue any day! Once I went to Thanksgiving at my brother and his wife’s house and took my usual courtesy tiny slice of what I thought was the pumpkin pie. I tasted it and immediately asked my sister in law for the recipe. I should have known; it was sweet potato, not pumpkin.
But when I entertained the idea of dropping the pumpkin pie this year, I heard that telltale silence through the phone line. Then as my mother in law’s voice took on a wistful tone, I realized that we better not skip it. It was then I remembered my own mom is very particular about having pumpkin pie at Thanksgiving dinner as well. While mom might have told it to me straight, I know my mother in law wouldn’t have dished it to me like that. But the writing was on the wall: we NEED the pumpkin pie at Thanksgiving!
Now we were running up against a tight deadline. The kitchen had just been completed at 5 PM the Wednesday night before Thanksgiving so we were bringing up items from the basement as they were needed. Between the renovation cleanup, cooking/coordinating a simple, but huge dinner, and the delicate balancing act of keeping two small children occupied (here honey, can you count these napkin rings?) in between, it was a bit hectic. This is where the frozen pumpkin pie came in. When my better half headed out to the grocery store to pick up our last minute items, I asked if he could grab one of them.
Having just gone through our kitchen renovation, we learned a whole lot about frozen foods. My husband could write a book about how to doctor up certain frozen items, but pumpkin pie is not one of them. There is no way to add more spice or make the crust flakier. However, with a dollop of whipped cream, ice cream or whipped topping (another family preference), it’s more than acceptable!
There are certain foods that you just have to have at holiday meals. What are some of your favorite traditional holiday recipes?
©2026 CDKitchen, Inc. No reproduction or distribution of any portion of this article is allowed without express permission from CDKitchen, Inc.
To share this article with others, you may link to this page:
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Pass on the Pumpkin Pie? No Way!
As seasonal traditions go, special fare ranks right up there among the most important.
One of the main contenders for Thanksgiving, along with the turkey, is pumpkin pie. I just realized this again in the process of planning a Thanksgiving I was about to host. My mother-in-law and I were going over the menu on the phone to make a turkey day game plan. We were talking about how someone was bringing a pumpkin cream cheese roll, and I planned to make these delicious pumpkin muffins we had just tried at my son’s preschool Thanksgiving party. They were a real hit with the kids and adults alike. So I figured between these two items, who needs pumpkin pie?
Some people love pumpkin pie so much they have it at all through the late year holidays. For me, not so much. I love all things pumpkin, except pie. I could take it or leave it. Give me apple, cherry, pecan, or lemon meringue any day! Once I went to Thanksgiving at my brother and his wife’s house and took my usual courtesy tiny slice of what I thought was the pumpkin pie. I tasted it and immediately asked my sister in law for the recipe. I should have known; it was sweet potato, not pumpkin.
But when I entertained the idea of dropping the pumpkin pie this year, I heard that telltale silence through the phone line. Then as my mother in law’s voice took on a wistful tone, I realized that we better not skip it. It was then I remembered my own mom is very particular about having pumpkin pie at Thanksgiving dinner as well. While mom might have told it to me straight, I know my mother in law wouldn’t have dished it to me like that. But the writing was on the wall: we NEED the pumpkin pie at Thanksgiving!
Now we were running up against a tight deadline. The kitchen had just been completed at 5 PM the Wednesday night before Thanksgiving so we were bringing up items from the basement as they were needed. Between the renovation cleanup, cooking/coordinating a simple, but huge dinner, and the delicate balancing act of keeping two small children occupied (here honey, can you count these napkin rings?) in between, it was a bit hectic. This is where the frozen pumpkin pie came in. When my better half headed out to the grocery store to pick up our last minute items, I asked if he could grab one of them.
Having just gone through our kitchen renovation, we learned a whole lot about frozen foods. My husband could write a book about how to doctor up certain frozen items, but pumpkin pie is not one of them. There is no way to add more spice or make the crust flakier. However, with a dollop of whipped cream, ice cream or whipped topping (another family preference), it’s more than acceptable!
There are certain foods that you just have to have at holiday meals. What are some of your favorite traditional holiday recipes?
Cinnamon-Sugar Pumpkin Muffins
Made with baking powder, pumpkin, vegetable oil, eggs, ground cinnamon, ground nutmeg, ground cloves, ground ginger, sugar, baking soda
Made with baking powder, pumpkin, vegetable oil, eggs, ground cinnamon, ground nutmeg, ground cloves, ground ginger, sugar, baking soda
Serves/Makes: 12
- 1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 cup canned solid-pack pumpkin
- 1/3 cup vegetable oil
- 2 large eggs
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/8 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 1/4 cup sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
***Topping***
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line or grease muffin tin.
Whisk together pumpkin, oil, eggs, spices, sugar, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl until smooth, then whisk in flour mixture until just combined.
Stir together topping ingredients in another bowl.
Divide batter among muffin cups, filling each about 3/4ths full. Sprinkle tops with cinnamon-sugar topping mixture. Bake until puffed and golden brown and wooden pick or skewer inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean, 25 to 30 minutes.
Cool in pan on rack five minutes, then transfer muffins from pan to rack and cool to warm or room temperature.
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©2026 CDKitchen, Inc. No reproduction or distribution of any portion of this article is allowed without express permission from CDKitchen, Inc.
To share this article with others, you may link to this page:
https://www.cdkitchen.com/cooking-experts/pamela-chester/1110-indispensable-pumpkin-pie/