Have you ever sat down and tried to think of Thanksgiving cupcake ideas? I’ll tell you, there really aren’t that many cute ideas out there for Thanksgiving-themed desserts. This might be because Thanksgiving tends to be dominated by all of those delicious pie recipes. While Christmas and Halloween have lots of fun-themed desserts, when it comes to Thanksgiving, the options are a bit more limited. In any case, I decided to make these super cute turkey-decorated cupcakes for thanksgiving, and I’m so excited about them. I know your kids will get a kick out of these, or maybe bring a batch to the office potluck this year. You might also enjoy making a turkey dessert cheese ball. He’s pretty cute too!
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
Ingredients in Turkey Cupcakes
For the chocolate cupcakes:
Flour, Baking Soda, Salt, and Cocoa Powder: The dry ingredients give the cake volume, flavor, and leavening.Eggs: Two large eggs, at room temperature, will mix in and give the cake batter the perfect finished texture.Granulated Sugar: Don’t be shy, these cupcakes are certainly not sugar-free! But they’re not overly sweet either.Vegetable Oil and Milk: This adds the perfect moistness to these chocolate cupcakes. Vanilla Extract: A good quality pure vanilla extract brings out the richness of the cocoa, plus it will make your kitchen smell amazing while these bake.
To decorate the turkeys you’ll need:
Chocolate Frosting: Homemade Chocolate Buttercream works best, but canned frosting works fine.Mini Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups: To make 12 turkeys you’ll need twelve of these, unwrapped. Candy Eyes: I used small candy eyes that I found at the craft store. Bigger ones might be cute too. Reese’s Pieces: We only need the orange ones. You can snack on the rest! Cut six of them in half, carefully, to create beak shapes. Red Gummy Worms: These will turn into the wattle of the turkey. Candy Corn: To make this turkey tail design, you’ll need ten pieces per turkey.
Complete list of ingredients and amounts can be found in the recipe card below.
How to Make TurkeyThanksgiving Cupcakes
Tips for Making Turkey Cupcakes
Don’t Overmix. The cupcake batter will not rise up nice and fluffy if it’s mixed too much. Mix the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients just until no dry spots remain. Try a Variation. Vanilla cupcakes or your favorite cupcake recipe will work here too. Get creative with different types of candy that you think will work and swap them out if you like. Cool them down. Putting frosting on warm cupcakes is a recipe for a melty disaster. Be patient and wait for the cupcakes to cool down completely before starting to decorate. Along the same theme, you may want to keep the candy in the fridge until you’re ready to use it so it doesn’t melt in your hands.
What to Serve with Turkey Cupcakes
Thanksgiving! If you’re here reading this recipe, I bet you’re also somewhere in the middle of planning or cooking a Thanksgiving meal. I have a ton of tested Thanksgiving recipes, including a post with the ultimate Thanksgiving Turkey Guide that includes free printable Thanksgiving planners. The Rest of the Thanksgiving Desserts. Set these cupcakes out with your holiday pies. You should definitely try my Pecan Pie Recipe and this one for Pumpkin Cheesecake that is to-die-for. Holiday Sides. After desserts, the side dishes might be my favorite part of Thanksgiving dinner. Go here to see all of my side dish recipes, but definitely try this one for Crockpot Green Bean Casserole. Have fun making these adorable turkey cupcakes! Make sure to Pin this so everyone can see how simple they are. © Little Sunny Kitchen
