Thanksgiving Turkey Cupcakes
Thanksgiving Turkey Cupcakes are so much fun and festive with cake batter baked right into the cone. The kids will love them and they’re perfect for Thanksgiving!
Looking for more festive cupcakes? Here are a few more recipes for your Thanksgiving table… Thanksgiving Turkey Brownie Cupcakes or Turkey Pimento Cheese Ball (a great appetizer). Also, you might want to try this classic Fall favorite for the Thanksgiving season: Classic Pumpkin Pie with Toasted Meringue on top!
Why I love these easy turkey cupcakes
• They’re unique and a little different than traditional cupcakes or regular cupcakes.
• You can impress your entire family with these adorable chocolate cupcakes that look like little turkeys.
• Kids absolutely love making their own turkey cupcakes. The cupcake cone makes them easy to hold and eat too.
• Easiest enough for a beginner baker since these adorable turkey cupcakes are made with a mix and store bought frosting.
• Perfect for Turkey Day! These simple turkey cupcakes are a great family activity while the actual turkey is being prepared.
What you need
Ingredient notes for this easy dessert
Ice Cream Cones – Use your favorite brand but make sure they are the cake cones (not the sugar cones or waffle cones).
Cake Mix – We used a Chocolate box mix for this recipe, but you could use any kind of cake mix you like such as yellow, white, red velvet or pumpkin.
Frosting – We used the chocolate store bought frosting which works nicely in this recipe and is also quick and easy. If you prefer homemade frosting, try my Chocolate Buttercream Frosting recipe.
Bag of Candy Corn – These are easy to find in your local grocery store around the holidays. If you can’t find them, order them online. They’re perfect for creating your turkey tail feathers on your cupcakes.
How to make these Thanksgiving Cupcakes
- In a large bowl, mix up the cake batter with an electric mixer according to package instructions.
- Use a muffin scoop to scoop cupcake batter into greased muffin pans or cupcake pans. (You don’t even need cupcake liners.) Make sure you don’t over-fill them. You only need to fill the muffin cup ⅔ full.
- Add an upside down ice cream cone on top of the batter in each muffin cup.
- Bake cupcakes at 350°F for 20-22 minutes or until toothpick inserted in middle comes out clean. Let cool.
5) Frost cupcakes with chocolate frosting using an offset spatula.
6) For the turkey face: Decorate each frosted cupcake with sprinkles, candy eyes, one piece of candy corn for the turkey’s beak and four candy corns for the turkey feathers. Place the tips of the candy corns down into top of the cupcake to make the feathers. Find the full turkey cupcake recipe below.
Expert tips
• Room Temperature Ingredients – For best results, always use room temperature ingredients for most baking projects. Chilled ingredients mix differently and affect the consistency of the recipe.
• Prepared Pan – It’s very important to grease your cupcake pan very well to make sure your little turkey cakes don’t stick. Use shortening or butter and rub it all over the inside of the pan, covering all the crevices. I used a generous amount of Crisco and they popped out perfectly after baking and cooling.
• Serving Suggestion for Cupcake Cones -If you’re serving them at a Thanksgiving party, place each cupcake in a clear plastic cup with a handful of M&M candies in the bottom of the cup to stablize the cupcake and also look cute (preferrably just the orange, green and brown candies).
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
How much batter do I put in the muffin pan? This is an important question. Make sure you don’t over-fill them. You only need to fill the muffin cup ⅔ full.
Does the ice cream cone burn in the oven? Lots of people have asked this question and the answer is no. As long as you bake your ice cream cone cupcakes on the middle rack of a 350°F oven for about 22 minutes, they will not burn.
How do I store my cute turkey cupcakes? Place cupcakes in the cupcake pan that you baked them in (after it’s cooled). You can place a little bit of aluminum foil around the base of each cone to stablize them, if you wish.
How do I transport my cupcakes? You can transport them the same exact way that you store them in the muffin pan. Then loosely cover with plastic wrap.
Can you make this recipe gluten free? Yes! Just substitute a gluten free cake mix and gluten free ice cream cones instead of the regular cake mix and cones.
Related recipes
Love this recipe? If you try it, be sure to tag me on @Instagram! You can also find me on Pinterest, YouTube and Facebook.
Thanksgiving Turkey Cupcakes
Ingredients
- 1 box cake mix, prepared according to package., We used a chocolate cake mix. Substitute gluten free if desired.
- 1 can store bought chocolate frosting, Or you can make my homemade chocolate buttercream.
- 18 ice cream cake cones, Substitute gluten free if desired.
- 36 candy eyes
- 2 tablespoons sprinkles
- 90 candy corns (5 for each cupcake)
Equipment
Instructions
- In a large bowl, mix up the cake batter with an electric mixer according to package instructions. Use a muffin scoop to scoop cupcake batter into greased muffin pans or cupcake pans. (You don't even need cupcake liners.) Make sure you don't over-fill them. You only need to fill the muffin cup ⅔ full.
- Add an upside down ice cream cone on top of the batter in each muffin cup. Bake cupcakes at 350°F for 20-22 minutes or until toothpick inserted in middle comes out clean. Let cool.
- Frost cupcakes with chocolate frosting. For the turkey face: Decorate each frosted cupcake with sprinkles, candy eyes, one piece of candy corn for the turkey's beak and four candy corns for the turkey feathers. Place the tips of the candy corns down into top of the cupcake to make the feathers.
- How do I store my cupcakes? Place cupcakes in the cupcake pan that you baked them in (after it's cooled). You can place a little bit of aluminum foil around the base of each cone to stablize them, if you wish.How do I transport my cupcakes? You can transport them the same exact way that you store them in the muffin pan.
Fun recipe! Can they be made 2-3 days in advance? do i store the same way in muffin tin with tin foil? Room temp or in fridge.
As in any baked good, they always taste the best the first day. You can store them for 24 hours at room temperature (covered and in a pan as you described).
Hi! Will it still be good if I make it a day before Thanksgiving?
Hi Liza, Yes, that is absolutely fine! Enjoy!