Thanksgiving Cookie Dough Turkeys are simple, delicious, and fun for Thanksgiving! A great dessert recipe for a class party or Thanksgiving dinner. Best of all, easy enough for little hands to help make them!
I have to admit – as much as I love being a food blogger, there are times when it can feel purely daunting. Times like when you have to negotiate with a brand or learn a new way of doing something or re-make a recipe seven times to get it just right…..
I’ve come to learn, over time, that these things are just part of the deal. And I’ve come to expect them. But one thing I never expect is the sheer terror I feel when someone in my real life asks me to do something foodie related for them. Not because I don’t want to do it….but because I feel so. much. pressure!
Case in point: these Thanksgiving Cookie Dough Turkeys. Aka the “cooking” activity I did with Greta’s Brownie troop so they could earn their badge! Let’s just say 24 second graders is a whole new level of daunting….but the good news? They’re suckers for all things cute! And if there’s one thing these little turkeys are, it’s cute.
As you can imagine, we ended up having a blast. The girls measured and poured and mixed and rolled and each got to decorate their own little turkey. As it turned out, they’re not just cute….but easy to make and incredibly delicious!
Making Thanksgiving cookie dough turkeys is the perfect activity for the next time you want to have some fun with your kids….or make something super cute….or both!
Gobble, Gobble….Enjoy!
Thanksgiving Cookie Dough Turkeys
Ingredients
- 1 stick unsalted butter softened
- ¾ c. packed brown sugar
- 1 tsp. vanilla
- 1 c. flour
- ½ tsp. salt
- 1 Tbsp. milk
- 40 small pretzel sticks
- 8 small pretzels
- 1 c. red candy melts
- 1 c. orange candy melts
- 1 c. yellow candy melts
- 16 candy eyeballs
- orange and red chocolate covered sunflower seeds
Instructions
- Cream butter and sugar; add vanilla and mix to incorporate.
- Add flour and salt and mix thoroughly. (Dough will be crumbly.)
- Stir in 1 Tbsp. milk.
- Chill dough until firm enough to roll into balls.
- Meanwhile, melt candy melts and dip pretzel sticks to coat. Leave 1 cm. at the bottom of each stick. These will be the feathers.
- Dip small pretzels in red candy melts for the turkeys' feet.
- Roll dough into 8 balls.
- Decorate with candy eyeballs, sunflower seeds, and pretzel sticks.
- Place each turkey on top of a small red-coated pretzel.
More adorable Thanksgiving treat recipes to make:
Turkey Rice Krispie Treats, from Shugary Sweets
Reese’s Turkeys, from Inside BruCrew Life
Rachel says
These are just too cute! Not showing any pictures of them to my boys or I know they’ll be begging to make them ASAP!! 🙂
Cathy Trochelman says
Haha! I’ll have to show you a picture of Nora’s….she made 6 of them ALL on her own yesterday! You could totally do it with your boys (just saying’) 😉
Dorothy @ Crazy for Crust says
These are so flipping adorable!!
Cathy Trochelman says
Thanks, Dorothy!!! The girls are *in LOVE* 🙂
marcie says
I’m glad it’s not just me, Cathy — I feel total pressure when I’m asked to make food for people or events! I feel like I can’t screw up, and we know there’s always the chance, right? These turkeys are so cute — almost too cute to eat! I’m sure I’d have no problem downing a few, however! 🙂