How to Decorate Cupcakes for Thanksgiving

Complement a Thanksgiving dinner with harvest-hued cupcakes.

Sweeten your Thanksgiving dinner table with turkey-inspired cupcakes that look as good as they taste. Use candy, cookies and other other treats to decorate the mini cakes with a festive flair. Display the cupcakes on a platter or on a tower in the middle of the table to double as an inexpensive table centerpiece. Make vanilla, chocolate or pumpkin-flavored cupcakes from scratch or buy unfrosted versions from a bakery or grocery story to save time.

Things You'll Need

• Cupcakes
• Frosting
• Spatula
• Candy corn
• Round or oval-shaped cookies
• Icing
• Red string licorice
• Chocolate candy sprinkles

Instructions

1. Top the cupcakes with frosting featuring a turkey-inspired color, such as chocolate brown, deep orange or golden yellow, using a small spatula.

2. Insert five pieces of candy corn, pointed side down, into the back of the cupcakes to create the turkey's tail feathers.

3. Stick two small oval or circular cookies in either side of the cupcake to from the turkey's wings. Use chocolate cookies with light-colored frosting or shortbread cookies with dark frosting for a contrasting look.

4. Decorate the top of a third cookie to resemble the turkey's head. Use white or black icing, depending on the cookie color, to create an eye to appear as the turkey is looking to the side. Break the white tip off of a piece of candy corn and press it onto the side of the cookie as a beak. Attach a piece of red string licorice to the side of the beak using icing as glue to create a wattle.

5. Sprinkle brown chocolate sprinkles around the undecorated portions of the frosting as small feathers.

References

• Disney Family Fun: Sweet Tom Turkeys
• Betty Crocker: Turkey Cupcakes