Turkey Cupcakes
A fun Thanksgiving cupcake recipe to make with the kids, these Turkey Cupcakes can be made from scratch or using pre-made cupcakes.
Turkey Dessert Recipe
Do you have a cute nickname for your kids when they are being cheeky?
I always call my daughter and the daycare kids “a bunch of turkeys” when they are being cheeky, so of course I had to embrace the bird of the season and make some cute turkey cupcakes for all my little turkeys.
I always try to have one non-pie dessert at Thanksgiving, especially for the kids, and this year I’ll be putting out all of the ingredients for all the nieces, nephews and little cousins to make these cute turkey cupcakes for themselves.
There are a few things you can do to make these turkey cupcakes even easier:
- use premade cupcakes
- use a boxed mix
- prep in advance and freeze the baked cupcakes (frosting free) until about 4 hours before you plan to serve them
You can decorate the cupcakes and serve, but I think it’s a bit more fun to just decorate one example and let the kids make their own.
These turkey cupcakes would also be super cute for a classroom treat just before school lets out, or bringing to a meeting before the holiday.
Turkey Cupcake Ingredients
- Chocolate Cupcakes, prepared and unfrosted
- Chocolate Frosting
- Nutter Butter Cookies
- Swedish Fish, assorted colors
- Orange Mini M&M’s
- Edible Eyes
- Red Fruit Roll Up
Scroll down to the printable recipe card for full measurements.
Makes 6 cupcakes.
Kitchen Tools You May Find Helpful
- Cutting board
- Kitchen knife
- Piping bag (or offset spatula) <– a basic piping set will have all you need
How to Make Turkey Cupcakes
Cut the bottom third off each cookie and discard. You will only use the larger part of the cookies.
Put a dab of frosting on the back of the edible eyes and attach 2 of them to each cookie.
For the beaks, put a dab of frosting on the edge of each M&M and attach 1 on each cookie.
Cut 6, thin 1 inch long slivers from the fruit roll up and attach 1 on each cookie on the side of the beak. Make sure it hangs down from the beak so it looks like a wattle.
Frost each cupcake with a thick layer of frosting and stick a turkey cookie into the middle of each one so it’s standing upright. You only need to press it in just a bit to the cake, the thick layer of frosting will help it stay upright.
Take 4 different colors of the fish and stick them in the cupcake in a row behind the cookie to look like the feathers. You’ll want to stick about a third of the fish down into the frosting and cake.
Repeat with all cupcakes and serve!
Pin this Super Simple Thanksgiving Dessert Recipe:
Grab your free printable for our easy turkey cupcakes recipe:
Turkey Cupcakes
A super easy and fun Thanksgiving cupcake recipe kids can make. Use homemade or store-bought cupcakes and use candies to decorate to look like turkeys!
Ingredients
- 6 Chocolate Cupcakes, prepared and unfrosted
- 1 pkg. Chocolate Frosting
- 6 Nutter Butter Cookies
- 1 pkg. Swedish Fish, assorted colors
- 6 Orange Mini M&M’s
- 12 Edible Eyes
- 1 Fruit Roll Up, red
Instructions
- Cut the bottom third off each cookie and discard. You will only use the larger part of the cookies.
- Put a dab of frosting on the back of the edible eyes and attach 2 of them to each cookie.
- For the beaks, put a dab of frosting on the edge of each M&M and attach 1 on each cookie.
- Cut 6, thin 1 inch long slivers from the fruit roll up and attach 1 on each cookie on the side of the beak. Make sure it hangs down from the beak so it looks like a wattle.
- Frost each cupcake with a thick layer of frosting and stick a turkey cookie into the middle of each one so it’s standing upright. You only need to press it in just a bit to the cake, the thick layer of frosting will help it stay upright.
- Take 4 different colors of the fish and stick them in the cupcake in a row behind the cookie to look like the feathers. You’ll want to stick about a third of the fish down into the frosting and cake.
- Repeat with all cupcakes and serve!
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Nutrition Information:
Yield:
6Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 358Total Fat: 13gSaturated Fat: 7gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 5gCholesterol: 41mgSodium: 154mgCarbohydrates: 59gFiber: 4gSugar: 35gProtein: 4g
Sugar, Spice and Glitter uses an auto-generate nutrition calculator. Nutrition information isn’t always accurate unless analyzed in a scientific lab, so these should be considered more of a guideline than medical information.
I’d love to hear how or when you serve these turkey cupcakes!
For more fun Thanksgiving-inspired treats that kids can make, check out our Peanut Butter Cup Turkey Candies or our No-Churn Pumpkin Pie Ice Cream.
Check out our other Delicious Cupcake Recipes: