Turkey Cupcakes

These chocolate cupcakes are decorated with candy corn, peanut butter cups, and candy eyes to look like Thanksgiving turkeys. Serve them as a festive dessert alongside your Thanksgiving pies.

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

1. Scratch Cupcake Recipe. This chocolate cupcake recipe is totally foolproof; I make it all the time. It’s really easy to make a cupcake from scratch, and it’s not overly sweet.
2. Turkey Cupcakes! Seriously, how cute are these little guys? Reese’s peanut butter cups and candy corn turn regular cupcakes into a perfectly themed fall dessert.
3. Easy Decorating. These candy turkeys don’t require any special artistic talent or candy making experience. Just store bought candies properly arranged will make these turkey cupcakes perfect. 

Ingredients in Turkey Cupcakes

For the chocolate cupcakes:

• Flour, Baking Powder, 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:

Complete list of ingredients and amounts can be found in the recipe card below.

• 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. 

How to Make Turkey Cupcakes

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C).
2. Mix Dry Ingredients: In a bowl, combine the dry ingredients (flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt).
3. Mix Wet Ingredients: In a separate bowl, combine the eggs with sugar, oil, milk, and vanilla.
4. Mix Batter: Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, and mix until incorporated but not overmixed. 
5. Bake: Fill the cupcake liners ¾ full. Bake for 18-22 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean from the center. Allow the cupcakes to cool down in the pan. Be sure they are completely cooled before frosting and decorating.

1. Frost: Cover each cupcake with a thin layer of chocolate frosting. 
2. Decorate: Using the image as a guide, create a turkey design on each cupcake. Start by using a mini Reese’s cup as the turkey’s head, adhering the eyes, beak, and wattle with a bit of frosting. Then use the candy corn to create the turkey’s tail. 

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. 

Make Ahead and Storage

You can bake the cupcakes one day ahead. Let them cool completely, then store them unfrosted in an airtight container at room temperature. Decorate them the day you plan to serve them for the neatest candy details.

Store decorated cupcakes in a single layer in an airtight container at cool room temperature for up to one day. For longer storage, refrigerate them for up to 3 days, then bring them to room temperature before serving. Refrigeration may make the candy decorations slightly sticky or cause condensation, so decorating the day of serving gives the best appearance.

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. 

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