Maybe lemon bars or cookies.

Dark chocolate truffles are always welcome and tiny. Rolled in different nuts, coconut, or just cocoa powder. My neighbor makes a dozen varieties i look forward to every holiday. I'm her tester, : )
You could simplify a bit and make all your standards in mini sizes. I make small pies, 8 inchers. No one wants dessert but has a 1/2inch slice, then another, and another until it is gone....then asks the next morning where the pie is....
I tend to like the 'classics' since it is just once a year...a pumpkin pie, pecan pie. Both of our families like dark rich chocolate. So i will be making a special addition this year. The
'Saucisson Au Chocolat Et Aux Figues~Dolci' posted here recently.
I have a dozen different dried fruits like strawberries, blueberries, some crystalized ginger, and a dozen nuts...just trying to figure out combinations that make sense.

Here is a link that might be useful: Saucisson Au Chocolat

I am not a dessert person so I can offer no help there. There are many others here who will step up and help with the sweets.

I did want to say welcome to the Cooking Forum Hannah!

Teresa

My vote is for Ann T's shortbread cookie cups filled with either chocolate, lemon, or nutella (all suggested on the below thread). Quite delightful!

Here is a link that might be useful: Ann's thread about shortbread cookie cups

I would suggest Pumpkin Whoopie Pies - done in mini version. I have been making this recipe for several years and now make them so they are ping pong ball sized and everyone loves the 1 or 2 bite treat.

Alexa

Pumpkin Whoopie Pies
Cookie Cake Ingredients:
2 egg yolks
2c brown sugar
1c vegetable oil
2c cooked pumpkin (or 1-15 oz can)
1 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. ginger
1 tsp cloves
1 tsp cinnamon
3c flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
Beat egg yolks, brown sugar and oil together, add pumpkin and vanilla and beat until smooth.
Mix in dry ingredients.
Drop heaping tablespoons of batter on lightly greased cookie sheets. Bake 350 degrees for 12 minutes. Cool on cookie rack. Mix filling ingredients and fill cookies like a sandwich. Makes about 18 pies.

Filling Ingredients:
1/2c butter
4 oz. marshmallow fluff
8 oz. cream cheese
1/2 tsp cinnamon
2 1/2c powdered sugar
1/2 tsp nutmeg

When I invite people for Thanksgiving, everyone always volunteer to bring dessert. As a result, I don't get to make dessert often.

Oh yes! welcome to the Cooking Forum. Let see some more of your cooking.

dcarch

Gale Gand has a recipe for Tiny Lemon Angel food cakes on her show "Sweet Dreams" on the Cooking Network

Tiny Lemon Angel Cakes with Lemon Confit

ingredients

CONFIT:
2 large lemons
1 cup granulated sugar

CAKE:
1 1/8 cups sifted cake flour
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1 1/2 cups egg whites (from about 12 eggs), preferably at room temperature
1 1/4 teaspoons cream of tartar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 lemon, zest finely grated
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

GLAZE:
1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 1/2 cups confectioners sugar
Special tools: pastry bag with a large plain tip, 1 large or 2 small mini muffin tins, ungreased
.
Directions

To make the confit: Cut a slice off the top and bottom of each lemon to expose the flesh. Cutting from top to bottom and following the contours of the fruit, cut off the peel and white pith in 1-inch wide strips. Scrape off any pulp adhering to the strips, but leave the pith intact.
You now have several 1 inch wide strips of lemon peel and pith. Cut each one into long strips, about 1/4 inch by 3 inches each.
Meanwhile, boil a kettleful of water. Pour about 2 cups of the boiling water into a small saucepan, bring back to a boil add all the lemon rind, and boil for 30 seconds. Drain in a strainer and rinse the rind under cold running water. Repeat 2 times more, using fresh boiling water each time.

Combine the sugar and 2 cups of tap water in the saucepan and bring to a boil. Add the blanched rind and reduce the heat to a simmer. Simmer the rind until tender, about 1 hour. Drain the rind in a strainer (reserve the sweet, lemony syrup for sweetening drinks, if you like). Arrange the strips on a wire rack, using your fingers to gently spread them out so that they do not touch each other. Let them cool and store them in an airtight container.

To make the cake: Heat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Sift the sifted cake flour with 1/2 cup of the sugar 3 times (this is to aerate the mixture and make it lighter). Set aside.

Whip the egg whites in a mixer fitted with a whisk attachment until foamy. Add the cream of tartar and salt and continue whipping until soft peaks form. With the mixer running, gradually add the remaining cup of sugar and continue whipping until the egg whites are stiff and the sugar is dissolved, about 30 seconds more.

Fold the sifted flour-sugar mixture into the whites by hand just until incorporated. Fold in the lemon zest and vanilla extract.

Spoon or pipe the batter into the cups of the ungreased mini muffin tin, filling the cups until almost full (they will not expand much). Bake until the cakes are light golden brown, 12 to 16 minutes.

Let the cakes cool in the tin, then run a butter knife around the edges to cut the cakes free, leaving the browned walls and bottom of the cake in the pan. Remove the cakes from the tin and place on a wire rack set over a sheet pan.

To finish the dessert, stir the glaze ingredients together until smooth, Turn the cakes over to the brown top becomes the base. Dip the new top (the white side) of each cake into the glaze, then carefully place it on the wire rack, glaze side up, to set.

Chop the lemon confit (you may not need all of it) and make a little mound of chopped confit in the center of each cake. Let the glaze set for 30 minutes before serving the cakes.

And Sunny Anderson does a great little mini Pecan Pumpkin Pie in mini cupcake tins that I've made often-- good taste & nice presentation.

Here is a link that might be useful: Mini Pecan Pumpkin Pies

I've noticed that everyone seems to always find room for a mini cheesecake! Someone in my family makes them occasionally for large gatherings using paper liners in muffin cups, and a vanilla wafer for a bottom crust, with cheesecake filling on top. You could make those and offer a variety of fruit toppings, like fresh sliced and sweetened strawberries, cherry pie filling, etc.

Oh boy, I can see so many possibilities here. I like the mini cheesecake idea, maybe use a gingersnap on the bottom of some and make pumpkin cheesecake. The Princess (my granddaughter) won a prize at the fair for sweet cherry hand pies, so that might be an interesting addition to the mini pecan tarts. Wine glasses can be used to hold trifle or mousse or a fruit compote served with a stick of shortbread. Here they are called "shooters" and the current fashionable thing is to serve them in half pint canning jars for individual servings. I've also seen rounds of cake cut into the size of the container and layered with fruit or lemon curd or ganache filling. I often use ramekins to make individual fruit crisps or cobblers, including one of my favorites:

Pear and Maple Cobbler

Filling

3 lbs pears, peeled, cored, quartered
2/3 cup pure maple syrup
2 tbsp flour
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp nutmeg
Pat of butter on top of each cup

Topping

1 1/2 cups flour
2 1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp nutmeg
6 tbsp butter
9 tbsp whipping cream
9 tbsp pure maple syrup
1 tsp vanilla extract
Melted butter
Sugar, to taste
Nutmeg, to taste

For the filling, combine the pears, 2/3 cup syrup, 2 tablespoons flour, 1 teaspoon vanilla and 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg in a bowl and mix well. Divide evenly among 6 custard cups or soufflé dishes. Place a pat of butter on top of each one. Bake at 425 degrees for 18 to 20 minutes or until heated through.

For the topping, place the remaining 1 1/2 cups flour, baking powder and 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg in a food processor. Add 6 tablespoons butter and pulse until fine crumbs form. Add the cream, 9 tablespoons syrup and 1 teaspoon vanilla and process until combined. Drop by spoonfuls onto the hot filling. Brush with melted butter and sprinkle with sugar and nutmeg. Bake for 14 minutes or until firm to the touch and golden brown.

Oh, and don't forget the ice cream....

Happy Thanksgiving, and welcome to the Cooking Forum.

Annie

Ding, ding, ding! That is a winner...ann-t's shortbread mini cups. I think i could handle that.
The cups could hold any favorite filling.
But i don't have mini anything. I just have the classic metal tart tins, the ones with a removable bottom...8"-12". I stopped in ChefCentral last friday for other things and see that thousands of tiny tart items are available. Silicone is still a 'creep' texture thing for me. Weird and floppy. DH was with me and we did laugh at so many strange odd cooking items.
So, the thousand dollar question...what is your favorite tiny tin if you could only have one set?
This one too cute? (I'm not a doily person...ruffles make me nervous) I'm a levi's and cowboy boot kinda gal.

Here is a link that might be useful: mini baking cups

Only ONE?? Wow, you're tough!

I guess it would be my mini-cheesecake pan (has a dozen openings in the pan and the bottoms remove.

I also really like my mini-loaf pans (great for gifts), mini-brownie pan, mini-pie pans (5" pies - just enough for two servings), and of course mini-muffin. I consider all of these to be essential in my kitchen. Seems everybody, including us, is eating smaller scale nowadays. The mini pans are perfect for freezing also.

Do not like silicon pans at all. IMO, they're hard to work with and they stick. Did I mention that they STICK? :)

/tricia

I think every meal should end with chocolate.

"---I think every meal should end with chocolate."

When it comes to chocolate, "end" often becomes "begin".

dcarch :-)

Thank you SO much for all of the suggestions! Some really great ideas. My problem is going to be only making SOME of them. But, Cmas is just around the corner and it would be fun to do some of these for holiday parties. I'll report back after Thanksgiving with pictures!

I have to agree with Tricia about the silicone. HATE it. Made a bunch of brownie bites a couple of years ago and thought the silicone pans would make it so much easier. Ha! What a disaster. Even though I greased them very well, they still stuck like glue. Tossed those pans right into the trash.