No oven necessary for these 3 Thanksgiving desserts

This is a sponsored post by Challenge butter, but the text and opinions are all mine. Thank you for supporting brands that make Kylee's Kitchen possible! 

Today I’m sharing three dessert ideas that don't require use of an oven, so you don't have to worry about competing for oven space on Thanksgiving day! Two of the desserts are no-bake recipes, and the last dessert is made in a slow cooker. 

Pumpkin tiramisu

1. Traditional tiramisu custard is made with eggs, but the pumpkin puree in this desserts acts as a binder, which means no eggs necessary.
2. Make sure to use crunchy ladyfingers when making tiramisu because sponge ladyfingers get too soggy. 
3. If you don’t have access to an espresso machine (I certainly don’t) just buy instant espresso and mix a teaspoon with 1/2 cup boiling water. Traditionally, tiramisu also has a little alcohol mixed in with the espresso. You can use rum, brandy, cognac, any variety of liqueurs, or just omit it. 
4. Another tip for avoiding soggy ladyfingers is to use a pastry brush to brush them with the espresso instead of dipping them in it.

Pumpkin tiramisu

Yield: 9 pieces

Ingredients

For the mousse

• 1 1/4 cup (300 grams) pumpkin puree
• 8 ounces mascarpone cheese
• 1 cup (113 grams) powdered sugar
• 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 cups (360 milliliters) heavy cream

For espresso mixture

• 3/4 cup boiling water
• 1 Tablespoon (4 grams) espresso powder
• 1 Tablespoon (15 milliliters) brandy, Bailey’s, rum, cognac, or hazelnut liqueur (optional)

For assembly

• 7 ounces Italian ladyfingers, crunchy

Directions

For the mousse

1. In large bowl, beat together pumpkin puree on low speed with mascarpone, powdered sugar, pumpkin pie spice, vanilla extract and salt.
2. Slowly pour in heavy cream while continuing to beat on low speed. Once heavy cream is incorporated, beat mixture at medium speed until soft peaks form.

For espresso mixture

1. Mix espresso powder with boiling water. Once cooled, stir in alcohol.

For assembly

1. Use pastry brush to brush ladyfingers with espresso mixture. Place in single layer at bottom of 9x9-inch baking dish.
2. Scrape half of pumpkin mousse mixture on top of lady fingers.
3. Use pastry brush to brush remaining ladyfingers with espresso mixture. Place in single layer on top of mousse. Scrape remaining mousse on top of lady fingers and smooth.
4. Cover and refrigerate at least 6 hours but overnight is preferable.
5. When ready to serve, garnish with pumpkin pie spice, if desired.

Chocolate Grand Marnier pie

1. The crumb crust is just Oreo crumbs and butter. I used 1/2 package of cookies to make a 9-inch pie crust. The crumb mixture should be the consistency of wet sand. Freeze the crust 15 minutes before pouring the filling in--no need to bake it.
2. You can use dark, bittersweet, or milk chocolate depending on your taste preference. I actually found dark chocolate with orange flavoring at Trader Joe’s which worked perfectly for this recipe.
3. Since this is a no-bake recipe, it’s very important to use high qualityChallenge salted butter ingredients. That’s why I only use Challenge dairy products. I used Challenge salted butter for the crumb crust and Challenge cream cheese for the filling. The salted butter perfectly balanced the sweetness of the Oreo cookie crumbs. And the silky cream cheese is made with real milk, cream, and natural ingredients for superior flavor and an ultra smooth finish. 

Chocolate Grand Marnier Pie

Yield: 8 servings

Ingredients

For the crumb crust

• 210 grams Oreo cookie crumbs (about 20 cookies pulverized in food processor)
• 6 Tablespoons Challenge salted butter

For the filling

• 8 ounces Challenge cream cheese
• 1 cup (113 grams) powdered sugar
• 1 Tablespoon Grand Marnier
• 1 Tablespoon orange zest
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 10 ounces bittersweet chocolate, melted
• 2 cups (480 milliliters) heavy cream

Directions

For the crumb crust

1. Mix crumbs with melted butter.
2. Press evenly into bottom and up sides of 9-inch pie dish. Freeze for at least 15 minutes before adding filling.

For the filling

1. With whip attachment on mixer, beat cream cheese and powdered sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
2. Add Grand Marnier, orange zest, vanilla, and salt, and mix to combine.
3. With mixer running, slowly add warm chocolate and whip on low speed until just combined.
4. With mixer still running, add heavy cream in slow steady stream. 
5. Once heavy cream is fully incorporated, whip on medium speed to medium stiff peaks. 
6. Pour filling into pie crust and spread into even layer. Cover directly to surface with plastic wrap and refrigerate until set—at least 6 hours.
7. Decorate with chocolate curls and/or candied orange peels when ready to serve.

Slow cooker white chocolate macadamia nut bread pudding

1. Make sure your bread cubes are very dry so they soak up the cream/egg mixture as much as possible. I like to dry mine out in an even layer on a baking sheet overnight. If you don’t have time for that, you can bake them in the oven at 300 degrees Fahrenheit for about 10-15 minutes, or until they feel dry. 
2. Strain the cream/egg mixture over the dried bread cubes so no stringy egg parts make their way into the bread pudding.
3. Let the bread cubes soak up the cream/egg mixture for at least an hour before cooking.
4. Because it's made in the slow cooker, there are no crunchy top pieces like you get when you make bread pudding in the oven. And some people may find the texture too mushy. But you can fix that if you brûlée the bread pudding! Just sprinkle some sugar on top and using a kitchen torch on it lightly. 

Slow cooker white chocolate macadamia nut bread pudding

Yield: 8 servings

Ingredients

• 4 large eggs
• 1/2 cup (100 grams) granulated sugar
• 1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
• 2 cups heavy cream
• 2 Tablespoons Challenge unsalted butter
• 4 cups (6 ounces) challah, brioche, or French bread, cut into 3/4-inch cubes, crusts removed, dried out overnight
• 4 ounces white chocolate, coarsely chopped
• 3/4 cup (94 grams) macadamia nuts, chopped and toasted
• 4 ounces white chocolate, grated

Directions

1. Beat eggs, sugar, and vanilla extract on low speed in large bowl. Beat in heavy cream on low. Set aside.
2. Butter 4 or 5-quart slow cooker. Place bread cubes and white chocolate in slow cooker.
3. Strain cream/egg mixture over bread cubes and stir to combine. Let stand at least an hour so bread absorbs cream/egg mixture.
4. Sprinkle macadamia nuts on top. Cover and cook on low for 2 - 3 hours, or until bread pudding is mostly set but still slightly jiggly and edges are starting to turn golden brown. (If you prefer, bake in oven at 375 degrees Fahrenheit for 40 - 45 minutes)
5. Optional: When done baking sprinkle top of bread pudding with more granulated sugar and use a kitchen torch to brûlée the top of the bread pudding.
6. Sprinkle top of bread pudding with grated white chocolate. Cool 20 minutes and serve.