This Turkey Cupcakes Recipe is a fun one for Thanksgiving!
Use up your leftover candy corn and create a fun cupcake that kids are going to love this Thanksgiving, with homemade chocolate frosting and candy eyes.
This recipe uses a store bought cake mix or our Homemade Chocolate Cake Mix to create these super cuke turkey desserts.
Thanksgiving Cupcakes
Thanksgiving is a fun time to pull out kid friendly recipes like these Turkey Cupcakes.
They are easy enough to make and would be a fun cooking project to work on with your kids.
Plus they would make a great addition to any other Thanksgiving Table Decorations for Kids that you might be planning to do this year.
You might also like to add Turkey Toes to the table. Make sure you grab the FREE Printable needed to make them.
Ingredients Needed
- Chocolate Cake Mix
- Vegetable Oil
- Nutter Butter Bites: 24 pieces.
- Butter: 1 cup (2 sticks), softened.
- Milk: 3 tablespoons.
- Unsweetened Cocoa Powder: ½ cup.
- Powdered Sugar: 2½ cups.
- Creamy Peanut Butter: 1 cup.
- Vanilla Extract: 1 teaspoon.
- Candy Eyes: 48 pieces.
- Red Decorating Icing: For the turkey’s wattle.
Tip: You can use a store bought chocolate cake mix or our homemade recipe for chocolate cake here.
How to make Turkey Cupcakes
The full directions are in the printable recipe card at the bottom of this page. Here’s a quick look at how to make these turkey cupcakes.
Step 1: Prepare and bake cupcakes according to box cake directions or use our Homemade Chocolate Cake Mix.
Allow to cool.
Step 2: Once the cupcakes have cooled completely, beat the softened butter and creamy peanut butter in a large bowl until creamy.
Step 3: Add the powdered sugar and cocoa powder about ½ cup at a time, mixing until combined.
Step 4: Add the vanilla extract and milk. Beat on high for about 3 minutes until the frosting is light and fluffy.
Step 5: Spoon the frosting into a piping bag fitted with a star tip, if using. Gently knead the bag to remove air pockets.
Step 6: Pipe the chocolate peanut butter frosting onto the cooled cupcakes.
Step 7: Place a Nutter Butter Bite toward the front of each cupcake.
Stand Reese’s Pieces upright behind it in three rows of yellow, brown and orange to make feathers.
Step 8: Pipe more icing from the front edge to the middle of each to make turkey neck and face.
Step 9: Push 1 candy corn into head to make beak. Place 2 eyes above beak.
Step 10: Place red melting chips into corner of zippered sandwich bag.
Microwave for 45 seconds and knead to insure that they are melted and smooth.
Step 11: Clip corner and pipe a waddle on the beak and down the neck of each turkey.
Turkey Cupcakes
Ingredients
- 13.25 oz box Betty Crocker Triple Chocolate Fudge cake mix plus ingredients needed to make specified on box
- 9 oz bag Reese’s Pieces
- 24 pieces Nutter Butter Bites
- 48 candy eyes
- Red decorating icing
Chocolate peanut butter frosting:
- 1 cup 2 sticks butter, softened to room temperature
- 1 cup creamy peanut butter
- 2 ½ cups powdered sugar
- ½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3 tablespoons milk
Instructions
- Preheat oven and line cupcake tins with cupcake liners. Prepare and bake the cupcakes according to box instructions. Allow to cool completely before decorating.
- Once cupcakes have cooled, prepare the frosting. In a large mixing bowl, add the softened butter and creamy peanut butter. Beat with an electric hand mixer until creamy.
- Add the powdered sugar and cocoa powder about ½ cup at a time and blend until well combined.
- Add the vanilla extract and milk. Beat on high-speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
- Spoon the frosting into a piping bag fitted with a star tip. Gently knead it to get rid of air pockets.
- Pipe the cupcakes with the prepared frosting.
- Place a Nutter Butter Bite on top of each frosted cupcake, towards the front.
- Arrange the Reese’s Pieces behind it in 3 rows. One row of yellow, then brown, then orange. Just gently press the Reese’s Pieces into the frosting upright.
- Dab the backs of two candy eyes with a little frosting and place them on the top half of the Nutter Butter Bites.
- Cut 12 yellow or orange colored Reese’s Pieces in half for the beaks.
- Dab the backs of the cut part of the Reese’s Pieces with frosting and then attach it onto the Nutter Butter Bites right under the eyes.
- Use the red decorating icing to make the gobble by piping a little on just one side of the beak.
Notes
If you can’t find Nutter Butter Bites you can use a full size Nutter Butter and cut it in half. You can also swap it for mini reese’s peanut butter cups.
If you don’t want to use red decorating icing you can cut a red gummy worm, twizzler, or red air head for the gobble.
Using frosting can cause the eyes and beak to fall off if it’s bumped on accident. If you want something that sticks better, you can melt some chocolate candy melts or chocolate chips and use that to secure the eyes and beak.
Nutrition
Nutritional information is automatically calculated with ingredients and serving size and may not be accurate. Please always double check with your own nutritional apps as well.
