The Cutest Nutter Butter Turkey Cupcakes for Thanksgiving
To add a dash of creativity and whimsy to your Thanksgiving dessert table, consider making these Nutter Butter Turkey Cupcakes.These adorable treats combine the beloved Nutter Butter cookies with cupcakes to create delightful turkey-themed confections that will have everyone at your Thanksgiving gathering gobbling them up with delight.
In addition to being tasty and visually appealing, Nutter Butter turkey cupcakes are a fantastic conversation starter and a great way to involve kids in the holiday preparations. This is one of the most fun recipes we have helped make for Thanksgiving at our house!
Why We Love Nutter Butter Turkey Cupcakes
These delightful treats are not only fun to make but also provide an opportunity to get creative with your Thanksgiving desserts. They make a perfect addition to your Thanksgiving table or a wonderful surprise for the little ones at your gathering. No doubt, Thanksgiving food has evolved over the years, and now we welcome cute turkey-themed desserts and side dishes these days!
They can be taken daycare parties or school parties (IF your school doesn’t have a “store-bought only” rule as our school does), and the kids will squeal in delight!
Ingredients
For the Cupcakes:
- 3 cups sugar
- 3 cups flour
- 1 ½ cups cocoa powder
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 4 eggs
- ½ cup oil
- 2 tablespoon vanilla
- 1 ½ cup milk
- 1 ½ cup water
For the Frosting:
- 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 1 tablespoon salt
- 3-4 tablespoons milk
- 4 cups powdered sugar
- 1 cup cocoa powder
- ½ cup candy corns
- Candy eye balls (2 per turkey)
- Orange M&M candy pieces or Reese’s Pieces
- Nutter Butter Cookies (one per cupcake)
These turkey faces take a little bit of time to assemble, but it goes fast once you do the first one! You can also optionally do this part ahead of time and them assemble and serve later.
Storage, Advance Prep, and Reheating Instructions
- Store leftover nutter butter turkey cupcakes in the fridge for up to three days for ideal taste and texture. You can also freeze them for up to three months. If you are storing already frosted cupcakes, make sure to store them in a container with enough room to make sure the presentation isn’t disturbed.
- You can make the Nutter Butter Turkeys a day ahead, just make sure to store in an airtight container once the candy has set and until you’re ready to assemble. Wait until closer to serving to assemble for best results.
- Note: The candy eye balls will dissolve due to the condensation in the fridge. If you’re going to make these ahead of time, leave off the eyes.
Recipe Tips for Nutter Butter Turkey Cupcakes
If you don’t want to push a whole Nutter Butter into your cupcakes, you can cut off the bottom and use a toothpick to help hold it into place. And if you just so happen to need to eat those broken bottom halves later on so they don’t go to waste, well so be it!
You can use this cupcake decorating concept as a starting point for other festive creations. Try making Nutter Butter turkey cookies or even Nutter Butter turkey cake pops for a diverse Thanksgiving dessert spread.
Substitutions and Variations for Turkey Cupcakes with Nutter Butters
- Instead of candy corn, you can use pretzels to make the wings of the turkey if you’re having a difficult time finding candy corn.
- If you’d rather make your eyes something besides candy eyes, you can use peanut butter M&M’s or another round-shaped candy of your choice.
- If you want to take your Nutter Butter turkey cupcakes to the next level, consider experimenting with different cupcake flavors and frostings. For example, chocolate cupcakes and peanut butter frosting can enhance the Nutter Butter flavor, creating a harmonious and delectable combination.
- If you want to save time with this recipe, you can use a storebought cake mix for the cupcakes or a packaged frosting mix to save time.
A Hack for Nutter Butter Turkey Cupcakes
If you are really wanting to save time during the hectic Thanksgiving preparations, you can opt to buy baker cupcakes with plain chocolate frosting from the grocery store. Then, simply do the magic with the Nutter Butters! Those cupcakes will be gobbled up all the same!
Cute Nutter Butter Turkey Cupcakes
Ingredients
For the Cupcakes
- 3 cups Granulated sugar
- 3 cups All purpose flour
- 1½ cup Cocoa powder
- 1 tbsp Baking powder
- 1 tsp Salt
- 4 Eggs
- ½ cup Vegetable oil
- 2 tsp Vanilla
- 1½ cup Milk
- 1½ cup Water
For the Chocolate Frosting
- 1 cup Unsalted butter softened
- 1 tsp Salt
- 3 tbsp Milk possibly one more tablespoon
- 4 cup Powdered sugar
- 1 cup Cocoa powder
For the Decorations
- ½ cup Candy corn
- Candy eye balls
- 1 cup M&Ms orange ones (or Reese's Pieces)
- 36 Nutter Butters family sized package
Instructions
To Make the Cupcakes
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and prep your muffin pan(s) with liners. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the dry ingredients – sugar, flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt. Whisk to combine.
- To the mixing bowl add the liquid ingredients: eggs, oil, milk, water and vanilla. Mix on low speed for one minute and then bump up the speed to medium and mix for an additional two minutes. Stop the mixer, scrape down the sides and mix again.
- Measure the cake batter to each cupcake liner until about ⅔ full. Bake in the preheated oven for approximately 14-16 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of a cupcake comes out clean. Allow to cool completely before decorating.
To Make the Chocolate Frosting
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the softened butter, salt and about half of the powdered sugar. Mix on low speed until combined. Add in the remaining powdered sugar and mix on low speed until combined. Add in the cocoa powder and mix again.
- Add in 2 tablespoons worth of the milk and mix to combine. Bump up the speed to medium and mix for an additional two minutes until the frosting is smooth and fluffy looking. Only use the remaining milk if the mixture still appears dry and crumbly. Mix again until smooth.
- Transfer about ½ of a cup of frosting to a piping bag without a tip. Transfer the remaining frosting to a piping bag fitted with a large round tip.
To Add the Decorations
- Using a serrated knife, cut off the bottom ¼ section of each Nutter Butter. You will need one cookie for each cupcake. Cut each orange M&M candy piece in half.
- Using the smaller frosting bag, cut a small hole in the end. Pipe a small dollop of frosting on each eye ball and secure to the top ¼ section of the Nutter Butter cookie.
- Pipe a small amount on the cut side of the orange M&M candy piece and secure below the eye balls. Pipe a small line of frosting along side the nose to replicate the turkey’s snood.
- With the large frosting bag, pipe a large mound onto each cupcake. Insert the turkey face in the center of the mound so that it is sticking upwards. Press the frosting around the base of the cookie to secure in place.
- Insert five candy corn pieces behind the cookie with the pointed end into the frosting – this replicates the tail feathers, so spread them out a bit in order to be seen the best.
- Serve and enjoy!
Notes
- We used a large round metal tip to decorate, but you could just cut a large whole in the end of the piping bag as well.
- To store: the condensation of the fridge will make the eye balls dissolve so we recommend decorating just prior to serving.
- Cupcakes can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.
Nutrition
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