Thanksgiving and a Sweet Ending

It's a tough call deciding which part of the thanksgiving meal is the best- but shopping at the Little Italy Mercato might turn you into a full fall dessert worshipper. Why make traditional desserts when you can peruse all the offerings at the market and create your own dish full of splendor, spice, and everything nice?

Persimmon Cookies: Plain and simple and easy to bake. Use fresh persimmons from Terra Bella Ranch and bake with spices like ginger, nutmeg and cinnamon. Or you can buy a bag of cookie or sweet bread mix from Sustainable Pantry and just add the wet ingredients at home for a simple, satisfying dessert. 

Ginger roasted Pears: There are amazingly sweet and juicy Asian pears at the market from Lone Oak Ranch that are begging to be smothered in a sweet ginger syrup using fresh ginger from Vang Farms and roasted until they're tender and warm. Serve hot out of the oven with a cup of spicy chai tea from Cafe Virtuoso.

Delicata squash muffins: Either along with or in place of that good old pumpkin pie, try using the naturally sweet Delicata squash from Suzie's Farm to make spiced dessert muffins. Use fresh eggs from Paradise Valley Ranch, a mixture of fall spices from Just Spice (ginger, cinnamon and allspice blend really well together) and use maple syrup or honey in place of sugar to give them extra moisture. You can also chop up some roasted honey almonds from Hopkins AG for added crunch! It's such a delightful way to finish off your dinner and to prolong the thick conversations with friends and family.
Happy Thanksgiving!