Alternative fall desserts

Classic, but boring

By Katherine Spiers, Special to Metromix

Listen, just because it’s Thanksgiving doesn’t mean you have to eat pumpkin pie. The beloved—for one month out of the year— squash has its virtues, but surprise factor is not one of them. (This Marie Callender’s wannabe, here? Boooooring!)

L.A. restaurants are spicing up desserts with fall’s full harvest of ingredients: cranberries, pecans, pears and persimmons, in the most creative forms and combinations. We find these unusual beauties so inspiring—yet altogether down-home comforting—that we’ve gathered them here to show that there is life beyond the frozen pie and aerosol can of whipped cream. And if it just doesn’t feel like Thanksgiving without spiced squashy puree, pumpkin gets a couple makeovers so sexy you may not recognize them from across the darkened room.

Click through this cornucopia of sweet indie delights. Who knows? You may just get inspired to whip up one of these for your own Thanksgiving table. But warning: The sudden onset of hunger pangs, excessive salivary activity and lightheadedness is inevitable. We recommend you take it slow.