Thanksgiving Desserts Made Easy with #PCPlus Points

Thanksgiving is one of my favourite times of the year – the crisp fall air, the yummy food and spending time with family are all things I’m grateful for.

And, since I rarely have to cook (thank you to my mother-in-law and sister for that!), I contribute to the meal in my own, special way… dessert.

I get giddy just *thinking* of what dessert I’ll make, and Pinterest is my enabler. 😉

Luckily, there’s a No Frills in my neighbourhood to help me execute my crazy plans. I was so excited to find they had all of the staples I needed for my holiday baking – including PC Organics unbleached flour and PC Organics sugar. (The best part of my shopping trip (other than easily finding everything on my list) was the bill… I had enough PC Plus points to get over $100 in free groceries! Woo hoo! Did I mention I love getting free groceries?)

So, here’s the plan…

This year, I’ve decided to bring some yummy banana muffins for a quick, easy weekend breakfast. My mother-in-law loves cooking big breakfasts for everyone, but this year I thought she might like some help, because in addition to making Thanksgiving dinner, she’ll also be elbowing for a chance to hang out with her newest grandchild, who was born on Wednesday. (Welcome to the world, Myles… we love you!)

Then, after we stuff our faces full of the best turkey and bacon/celery/sage dressing I’ve ever tasted (seriously), I thought we’d indulge in a new recipe – no-bake key lime cheesecake!

When I mentioned this idea to my kids, they were horrified. (“What’s a key lime? I don’t liiiiiike that!!”) So, before I added the key lime to the cheesecake mixture, I separated the batter and made a few chocolate ones (shown below) for the kids.

I’m excited to share these recipes with you!

Great-Grandma’s Banana Bread 

(I make this recipe as muffins… they make a good breakfast on-the-go!)

1/2 c. butter
1/2 c. sugar
2 eggs
6 over-ripe bananas
2 c. flour
1/2 tsp. salt
2 tsp. baking soda

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (325 degrees F if you use a convection oven). Grease two glass loaf pans (or put muffin papers into two muffin tins). Cream butter and sugar together; add eggs and mashed up bananas and thoroughly blend with mixer. Add dry ingredients until just mixed. Divide batter evenly between pans and bake for 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the centre comes out clean.

Tip: baking time for mini-muffin tins is around 15 minutes


Yield: 2 loaves or 24 regular sized muffins

No-Bake Mason Jar Cheesecake… Two Ways!

Base
2 1/2 c. graham cracker crumbs

3/4 c. butter, melted

3 tbsp. sugar

Key Lime Filling
16 oz cream cheese

1 can sweetened condensed milk

1/2 tsp. vanilla

6 tbsp. key lime juice (fresh, if you can find the limes)

1 c. key lime-flavoured greek yogurt (optional)

Chocolate Filling
Same as above, but delete the key lime juice and yogurt and ADD hot chocolate powder to taste

Optional: garnish with more graham crumb mixture, chocolate flakes or whipped cream… or whatever you like!

Yield: 12 – 250 ml / 1 c. mason jars

Tip: Make average mason jar lids look pretty by decorating them with sticky-backed shelf paper. I found this pretty blue one at my local hardware store, then I had my daughter cut the circles out with our 2.5″ diameter craft punch. It adds a nice touch to an otherwise ordinary jar!

Do you have a traditional Thanksgiving recipe you love? If so, feel free to share it in the comments below. I love trying new dishes!!

Wishing you all a very Happy (and sweet!) Thanksgiving!