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–+ servings
decorated thanksgiving cupcakes on wooden tray.
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5 from 1 vote

Thanksgiving Cupcakes

These fun Thanksgiving cupcakes include instructions on decorating pumpkins, pilgrim hats, pie, and turkey cupcakes!
Prep Time1 hour
Cook Time1 hour
Total Time2 hours
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Servings: 24
Author: Sophia Assunta

Ingredients

All Thanksgiving Cupcakes

  • Cupcakes your favorite cupcake recipe
  • Frosting see notes

Pumpkin Cupcakes

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