ScheckEats Thanksgiving Guide

Thanksgiving is my favorite food holiday! I like a balance of fresh flavors alongside decadent, classic dishes. 

Post Contents:

Make Ahead recipes:
Cranberry Pie, Grandma’s Twice Baked Potatoes, Grandma’s Challah Stuffing, Butterscotch Crinkle Cookies, Mom’s Kale Salad

Make Day-Of Recipes: 
Maple Za’atar Carrots, Sweet Chili Miso Brussels Sprouts

Make-Ahead Final Prep Checklist: 
The final assembly or baking steps for the day-of.

Written Recipes
Some of the recipes are linked out to full posts on here, but the Challah Stuffing and Cranberry Pie are written out in full at the bottom of this post (never shared before). 

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Make Ahead:

Cranberry Pie (full recipe below)

• Pie Dough can be made weeks early and frozen. Simply defrost the wrapped dough disks in the fridge overnight before using (preferable) or at room temperature for around 1-2 hours. Video
• A double-crusted fruit pie like this can be assembled raw and frozen whole two days before serving. 
• Bake between 8-24 hours before serving. The filling needs time to set at room temperature. 

Grandma’s Twice Baked Potatoes – Video

• Can be prepared up to 2 weeks early. Prepare steps 1 through 5, then skip 6. Then, place the prepared potatoes in a container, cover tightly with foil, place in a plastic bag and freeze. Take out of the freezer 2-3 days before serving and place in refrigerator to defrost. Bake at 400° F for 12-15 minutes, garnish with chives.This is how the potatoes look before the second bake. You can either freeze at this step or go right into the second bake and serving.

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Grandma’s Challah Stuffing (full recipe below)

• Can be prepared a week early, frozen, then defrosted Tuesday for Thursday baking.
• Or prepare Tuesday night and keep in the fridge until Thursday.

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Butterscotch Spice Crinkle Cookies

• The dough can be made 2 weeks early. Follow the recipe through step 4, then freeze the balled dough without rolling them in powdered sugar.
• Since these cook quickly and are best the day-of, I would bake in between dinner and dessert. 
• Before baking, thaw the dough in the fridge overnight, then roll them in powdered sugar before baking (one tray at a time) for 10 minutes or so. They should look puffed with a bit of browning around the edges. They may look wonderful and crinkly on top. If desired (and I strongly recommend), press 3 extra butterscotch chips into each warm cookie when they come out. It gives them a little more visual appeal.

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Mom’s Kale Salad

• Can be made (and dressed) the day before, just don’t add the toasted pine nuts until you serve!
• The video is linked for free and the full written recipe is in my cookbook – 44% off. 

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Make Thanksgiving Day:

Maple Za’atar Carrots – Video

• This recipe is made entirely on the stove, freeing up your oven for whatever you need to cook or reheat on Thanksgiving day.

Sweet Chili Miso Brussels Sprouts

• In my cookbook! It’s 44% off!

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Day-of Final Checklist for Make-Ahead Recipes:

• Cranberry Pie: This is fully baked the day before serving or in the morning, at least 8 hours before dinner.
• Twice Baked Potatoes: The defrosted prepared potatoes need to bake at 400° F for 12-15 minutes.
• Challah Stuffing: When you’re ready to serve, bake the prepared, refrigerated or defrosted mixture in a preheated 375° F oven (convection) or 400° F (standard) — 30 – 40 minutes until golden brown and slightly puffed.
• Butterscotch Spice Crinkle Cookies: The prepared balls of dough are rolled in powdered sugar and baked for around 10 minutes the day of serving. I also press in a few additional butterscotch chips after baking. I honestly recommend doing this in between dinner and dessert for the freshest cookies, but you can also bake them in the morning if you don’t think it’s realistic while people are over.
• Mom’s Kale Salad: Just toast the pine nuts in a dry skillet 3-4 minutes, or until toasty. Then, mix in with the already-dressed salad.

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Written Recipes

Cranberry Pie

Pie Crust

• 1 ScheckEats Pie Dough recipe – (both halves chilled a bit colder than room temperature)

For the filling

• 3 lbs (1300g) fresh cranberries
• 1 orange, zested and juiced
• 1 to 1.5 cups (200-300g) sugar, depending on your desired sweetness (it’ll be pretty tart with 1 cup).
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon (optional)
• 2 tablespoons of butter (cut into small pieces)

Final Assembly (egg wash and sugar)

• 1 egg
• 1 tablespoon cream (can substitute milk or water)
• 2-3 tablespoons sugar (raw sugar even better)

Method

1. On a well-floured work surface, roll out half the pie dough to a ~12-inch diameter, so that it can fit into a 9-inch pie plate (preferably metal) with a bit of overhang. Press it gently into the pie plate. 
2. Put the whole thing in the freezer while working on the filling.
3. In a large bowl, combine the cranberries, orange zest and juice, sugar, cornstarch, salt and cinnamon (optional). Mix and set aside.
4. Roll out the top crust into another round, about 10 inches.
5. Take the bottom crust out of the freezer and fill it with the cranberry mixture. Dot the top of the fruit with the butter that’s been cut into small pieces.
6. Arrange the top crust on top, and crimp the edges to seal. Cut some air vents in the middle.
7. Freeze again for 30 minutes (the pastry bakes better from cold). At this step, you could also wrap tightly in plastic and freeze the whole assembled raw pie up to 2 days.
8. Before baking, place a metal half-sheet tray in the bottom third of the oven (the pie will be baked on top of the sheet tray) and preheat the oven to 400° F. 
9. After the unbaked pie is thoroughly chilled, whisk together the egg and cream. Brush the top with the egg mixture and sprinkle generously with sugar.
10. Bake at 400° F for 30 minutes, before lowering the temperature to 350° F and baking an additional 40-60 minutes. The pie is done when you can see the filling bubbling up energetically through the vents, and when there is a golden brown crust on the bottom (the top browns much faster). If you are using a metal pie plate, the bottom will crisp more easily and you don’t need to worry about seeing it as much.
11. Let cool at room temperature overnight before cutting and enjoying with vanilla ice cream.

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Grandma’s Challah Stuffing

Ingredients:

• 1 stick butter (divided)
• Nonstick Spray (or oil)
• 2 challahs, cubed
• 3 large sweet onions, diced
• 6 tablespoons neutral oil
• 5 celery stalks, diced
• 4 garlic cloves, freshly minced
• 5 oz shredded carrots
• 4 cups low-sodium chicken stock (my grandma likes College Inn brand)
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/2 teaspoon sweet paprika
• 1/4 teaspoon white pepper
• 1/2 cup fresh parsley
• 3 large eggs, beaten

Method

1. Grease a 9” x 13” pyrex or casserole with 2 tablespoons butter and then spray with nonstick spray. Preheat the oven to 350° F to toast the challah.
2. Arrange the challah on a sheet tray and bake at 350° F for approximately 20 minutes, or until toasted and dry. Watch it closely to ensure it doesn’t burn. You can proceed to the next step while the challah is in the oven.
3. In a large pot, sauté the onions in neutral oil for 15 minutes over medium heat.
4. Add the celery and sauté for another 20 minutes over medium heat; add 2 tablespoons of butter, minced garlic, and shredded carrots in the last five minutes.
5. Stir in the chicken broth, kosher salt, garlic powder, onion powder, sweet paprika, white pepper, and parsley. Then, turn off the heat.
6. Pour into a large bowl with around 3/4 of the toasted challah. Let it sit for 10 minutes until the liquid is absorbed and cooled.
7. Add the beaten eggs and mix well. It should be pretty moist throughout, but if it looks super wet, add the rest of the challah. 
8. Pour the mixture in the prepared 9” x 13’“ pyrex or casserole. Cover with aluminum foil, then plastic wrap, and freeze (if making more than 2 days early) or refrigerate. 
9. When you’re ready serve, bake in a preheated 375° F oven (convection) or 400° F (standard) — 30 – 40 minutes, until golden brown and slightly puffed.