How to Make Chocolate Candy Turkeys for Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving, a national holiday we all know and love, is just around the corner. With it comes an array of mouth-watering baked goods, delectable desserts and a showstopper feast to feed a small army of hungry family and friends.

You’ll probably have your turkey sorted, but if you want to make a quick and easy snack for your guests then chocolate candy turkeys are your next step in making your Thanksgiving extra special this year.

Stuck on where to start with these easy, yet superb snacks? Below we have not one, but two ways to make these sweet treats that require varying levels of effort, but still have an impressive end result. Both recipes are great for getting the kids involved too - or even other willing guests!

Read on to find out how you can make the perfect chocolate candy turkeys for your Thanksgiving bash.

Method 1: Chocolate Truffle Turkeys

This recipe involves making a ganache using only three ingredients before decorating some turkey heads. Don’t forget to factor in chilling time to make the ganache! Makes between 16-20 turkeys.

For this recipe, you’ll need:

• 300g good-quality chocolate
• 300g double cream
• 50g unsalted butter
• A pack of chocolate-covered raisins or peanuts
• A pack of mini candy corns
• A pack of orange candies, like Smarties or Skittles
• Candy eyeballs
• Some melted chocolate or caramel pieces for ‘glue’
• Cocoa powder

First, you’ll need to make your ganache. Melt your good-quality chocolate in a bowl over a pan of boiling water, or melt in the microwave, checking every 30 seconds to make sure the chocolate doesn’t burn.

Gently heat the double cream and butter on the stove, making sure the mixture doesn’t reach boiling point. When hot, pour over the melted chocolate and gently mix together. If you’re feeling fancy, you can add in other flavourings at this stage like orange zest or vanilla essence.

Once fully incorporated, leave in the fridge to cool for at least four hours. This gives the ganache time to set so you can roll it into balls.

While you’re waiting for the ganache to set, melt your chocolate or caramel pieces to use as the glue for assembling your turkey heads. Carefully place your orange candies of choice and candy eyeballs onto the chocolate covered raisins or peanuts, using the melted chocolate or caramel to keep them in place. Place on a tray and leave in the fridge to chill.

Once your ganache is ready, sprinkle some cocoa powder on a plate or tray. Scoop out some of the ganache, which should be solid enough to form into a ball, with a spoon. Form into a ball with your hands and roll the ball in the cocoa powder. If you like, you can leave the turkey bodies as is or dip them in more chocolate for an extra chocolatey finish.

Secure the prepared heads onto the body with more melted chocolate or caramel pieces, or simply press on the body if you dipped the bodies in chocolate. Press the candy corns into the body behind the head to mimic turkey feathers - if the ganache is the right consistency, they should indent into the turkey body and keep in place.

Refrigerate for ten minutes until everything is set, and your chocolate truffle turkeys are ready to go!

Method 2: Cheat’s Chocolate Turkeys

Want the look of a cute chocolate turkey, but you’ve left it to the last minute? We have another option for the time-pressed Thanksgiving host that still wants to make a sweet treat for their family and friends. Makes between 20-30 mini chocolate turkeys, depending on your pack size.

For this recipe you’ll need:

• A large pack of Rolos or Reese’s mini peanut butter cups
• A pack of mini pretzels
• A pack of orange candies, like Smarties or Skittles
• Candy eyeballs
• Some melted chocolate or caramel pieces for ‘glue’
• A pack of candy corns

First off, prep all of your Rolos or Reese’s pieces so they’re flat side up. Melt your chocolate or caramel pieces over the stove or in the microwave until melted, checking regularly to make sure the mixture doesn’t burn.

Place a blob of the mixture on the base of each Rolo or Reese’s piece with a toothpick or a piping bag - you can easily make one by cutting the tip off of a Ziploc bag if you don’t have one at home.

Stick the narrow end of a pretzel onto the melted blob of chocolate or caramel, then hold in place until set. Once ready, flip the candies back over and stick on the orange candies of your choice and candy eyeballs with your melted caramel or chocolate ‘glue’ to complete the cute turkey face.

You’re now ready to create the wings. The turkey face will be on all of these, so you have some creative licence here! Try sticking a Rolo or Reese’s piece to two pretzels to create the wings effect without any extra decor, sticking mini candy corns on top of the pretzel, or even using some Thanksgiving-themed candy decorations, like fall leaves, for an interesting twist.

Place in the fridge for everything to set for ten minutes, and your cheat’s chocolate turkeys are good to go for your guests to devour - or should we say, gobble up?

Final thoughts

Both delicious and fun, these chocolate turkeys are great for a Thanksgiving crowd. You can make these in advance or on the day, turn it into an interactive activity for your smaller guests to keep them entertained, or hand these out as Thanksgiving presents - the options are endless.

Better yet both of these recipes are easily scalable by simply doubling or tripling the ingredients ratio, depending on how many you’d like to make for your Thanksgiving celebration. Appleton Sweets has everything you need and more to make these two recipes a storming success.

Make sure you’re stocking up on those candy corns and chocolate bars you’ll need for this easy recipe with our wholesale sweets range, available to ship worldwide.