These fun Thanksgiving cupcakes include instructions on decorating pumpkins, pilgrim hats, pie, and turkey cupcakes!
These fun and festive Thanksgiving cupcakes include tutorials on decorating different Thanksgiving and fall themed cupcakes. With only a few simple ingredients and frostings, you can decorate your own homemade pumpkin cupcakes, turkey cupcakes, and more!
They are a fun dessert the whole family can enjoy making. Plus, they're a great way to use up leftover Halloween candy!
Ingredients and Tools
For all methods of cupcakes you'll need the following:
- Cupcakes: you can use your favorite cupcake recipe. Chocolate, yellow cupcakes, red velvet, spiced cupcakes, etc. Whatever flavor you want totally works.
- Frosting: You can use your favorite buttercream frosting recipe such as American Buttercream, Swiss Meringue Buttercream, Italian Meringue Buttercream, or Ermine Frosting colored with gel food coloring for more vibrant colors. Chocolate buttercream also works great for the brown frosting.
Pumpkin Cupcakes
- Cupcakes and Orange Frosting
- Piping Bags with Tip (Wilton 1M and/or 1A or 2A)
- Stems: you can use melted and cooled chocolate, pretzels, Rolo candies, etc.
Here are two different version of easy decorated pumpkin cupcakes:
For the tall pumpkins use a Wilton 1 M tip and orange frosting and pipe a swirl onto the cupcake and add a stem. For the flat pumpkins, use a large or medium round tip such as a Wilton 1 or 2 A and piped curved lines, working from the outside inward. Then, add a stem and optional green frosting for leaves or vines and you’re done! You can also mix up the tips for different effects.
Turkey Cupcakes
There are so many different ways to decorate turkey cupcakes! You can really use your imagination. Here are some fun and easy ones:
- Cupcakes
- Brown Frosting
- Feather: You can use candy melts, candy corn, or colored candy like M&Ms.
- Turkey Head/Body: Using brown frosting, mini candy bars, or regular or mini Reese's cups, Nutter Butter Cookies, etc.
- Candy Eyes: You can also use white and black frosting.
- Nose: Any type of orange candy – half of an orange M&M or Skittles, cut up pieces of candy corn, etc.
- Turkey Waddle (optional): Red frosting, red royal icing, or red gel icing such as this gel frosting.
Candy Melt Turkeys
Melt yellow, red, orange, and brown candy melts according to the instructions on the package. While melted, use a spoon or offset spatula to spread the melted chocolate in the shape of a ghost on a piece of parchment or wax paper. Let dry.
Pipe a bit of brown frosting onto a cupcake. Then, you can add either more frosting or unwrapped mini chocolate candy such as mini Reeces, or Nutter Butter Cookies for the turkey head. Using a bit of frosting as glue, add the eyes, nose, and optional turkey waddle to the turkey head.
Candy Corn Turkeys
These are my favorite turkey cupcakes and super easy! Add a bit of brown frosting to the top of a cupcake and then lay the cupcake frosting side down on a piece of parchment. Put in the fridge or freezer until the frosting is hard, about 15-20 minutes. While the cupcakes are in the freezer, cut the mini Reese's peanut butter cups in half.
When firm, gently remove the cupcakes from the parchment. Using a bit of frosting as glue, add on the halved peanut butter cup to the bottom half of the cupcake. Surround the peanut butter cup with candy corn so it looks like feathers. Using more frosting as glue, add on eyes, a nose, and an optional turkey waddle.
Pilgrim Hat Cupcakes
- Frosting: Brown, Cream, White, or Orange
- Full Size Reese's Peanut Butter Cup or Chocolate covered cookie such as this
- Mini Reese’s
- M&Ms, Skittles, or other small candy
Pipe colored frosting on a cupcake. Then, top with a Reese’s peanut butter cup, cut in half horizontally, or a cookie such as this. Add a bit of frosting to the middle and add a mini Reese’s peanut butter cup. Pipe frosting around the bottom of the mini peanut butter cup, and add an M&M.
Pumpkin Pie Decorated Cupcake
- Orange Frosting
- Cream/Light Brown Colored Frosting
- White Frosting
- Ateco or Wilton 44 Tip
Using the same method as the flat turkey cupcakes, add a bit of brown frosting to the top of a cupcake and then lay the cupcake frosting side down on a piece of parchment. Put in the fridge or freezer until the frosting is hard, about 15-20 minutes. While the cupcakes are in the freezer, fill a pastry bag with cream colored frosting fitted with a small, flat basketweave tip such as a Wilton or Ateco 44.
Once it's firm gently remove the cupcakes from the parchment. Using the cream colored frosting, pipe a boarder around the edge of the cupcake, gently moving back and forth slightly so it looks like a pie crust. Finish with a dab of white frosting in the middle to look like whipped cream.
Looking for more Easy Thanksgiving Desserts? Check These Out!
- Easy Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes
- No Bake Peanut Butter Pie
- Easy Cinnamon Bread
- Full List of Easy Thanksgiving Desserts!
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Decorated Thanksgiving Cupcakes
Equipment
- piping bags and tips
INGREDIENTS
All Thanksgiving Cupcakes
- Cupcakes your favorite cupcake recipe
- Frosting see notes
Pumpkin Cupcakes
- Piping Bags with Large Tip Wilton 1M and/or 1A or 2A
- Stems chocolate chips, pretzels, Rolo candies, etc.
Pilgrim Hat Cupcake
- Full Size Reese's Peanut Butter Cup cut in half
- Mini Reeses unwrapped
- M&Ms Skittles, or other small candy
Turkey Cupcakes
- Feathers candy melts, candy corn, or colored candy like M&Ms
- Turkey Head/Body brown frosting, mini candy bars, or regular or mini Reese's cups
- Nose Any type of orange candy – you can use half of an orange M&M or Skittles, cut up piece of candy corn, etc.
- Turkey Waddle, optional red frosting, royal icing, or red gel icing
- Parchment Paper
Pumpkin Pie Decorated Cupcake
- Ateco or Wilton 44 Tip
- Parchment Paper
Instructions
Tall Piped Pumpkin Cupcakes
- Piped frosting to look like pumpkins is so easy! For the tall pumpkins I used a Wilton 1 M tip and orange frosting.
- Pipe a swirl on the cupcakes. Then add a stem.You can also add some optional green frosting for leaves and vines. That's it!
Flat Piped Pumpkin Cupcakes
- Start with orange frosting in a pipe large with a large or medium round tip, such as a Wilton 1 or 2 A.
- Pipe curved lines, working your way from the outside in.
- Finish with a line in the middle and add a stem. You can also add optional green frosting for leaves or vines.
Candy Melt Turkeys
- Melt yellow, red, orange, and brown candy melts according to the instructions on the package.
- While melted, use a spoon or offset spatula to spread the melted chocolate in the shape of a feather on a piece of parchment or wax paper. Let dry.
- Add a mini peanut butter cup, half a mini candy bar, or just pipe more brown frosting for the head.
- Surround the head with the dried candy melts so they look like feathers.
- Using a bit of frosting as glue, add the eyes, nose, and optional turkey waddle to the turkey head.
Flat Turkeys
- Add a bit of brown frosting to the top of a cupcake and then lay the cupcake frosting side down on a piece of parchment.
- Put in the fridge or freezer until the frosting is hard, about 15-20 minutes.
- While the cupcakes are in the freezer, cut the mini Reese's peanut butte cups in half.
- When firm, gently remove the cupcakes from the parchment.
- Using a bit of frosting as glue, add on the halved peanut butter cup to the bottom half of the cupcake.
- Surround the peanut butter cup with candy corn so it looks like feathers.
- Using more frosting as glue, add on eyes, a nose, and an optional turkey waddle.
Pilgrim Hat Cupcake
- Pipe colored frosting on a cupcake.
- Then, top with an unwrapped Reese’s peanut butter cup, cut in half horizontally.
- Add a bit of frosting to the middle and add a mini peanut butter cup.
- Pipe frosting around the bottom of the mini peanut butter cup, and add an M&M.
Pumpkin Pie Decorated Cupcake
- Using the same method as the flat turkey cupcakes, add a bit of brown frosting to the top of a cupcake and then lay the cupcake frosting side down on a piece of parchment.
- Put in the fridge or freezer until the frosting is hard, about 15-20 minutes.
- While the cupcakes are in the freezer, fill a pastry bag with cream colored frosting fitted with a small, flat basketweave tip such as a Wilton or Ateco 44.
- Once it's firm gently remove the cupcakes from the parchment.
- Using the cream colored frosting, pipe a boarder around the edge of the cupcake, gently moving back and forth slightly so it looks like a pie crust.
- Finish with a dab of white frosting in the middle to look like whipped cream.
Notes
- You can use your favorite buttercream frosting recipe such as American buttercream, Swiss Meringue buttercream, Italian Meringue buttercream, or Ermine frosting, colored with gel food coloring for more vibrant colors.
- Chocolate buttercream works great for the brown frosting.
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