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Best Homemade Thanksgiving Turkey Cake Pops Recipe

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Adorable and delicious turkey-shaped cake pops made with yellow cake mix, cream cheese frosting, and candy melts. Perfect for Thanksgiving gatherings, these make-ahead treats are fun to decorate and sure to impress guests of all ages.

Ingredients

Scale
  • 1 box yellow cake mix (Duncan Hines or Betty Crocker)
  • 3 large eggs, room temperature
  • 1/2 cup vegetable oil (or melted butter)
  • 1 cup water (or milk)
  • 1/2 cup cream cheese frosting (store-bought, e.g., Pillsbury)
  • 1/4 cup vanilla frosting
  • 12 ounces brown candy melts (Wilton brand)
  • 1 tablespoon coconut oil or shortening
  • 48 candy eyes (6mm size)
  • 48 orange candy corn pieces
  • 24 red candy melts or red M&Ms
  • 1/2 cup assorted fall-colored candy melts (orange, red, yellow)
  • 48 lollipop sticks (6-inch)

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C). Grease a 9×13-inch metal baking pan. Mix cake mix, eggs, oil, and water according to package directions (about 2 minutes on medium speed). Pour into pan and bake 28-32 minutes until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool completely in pan.
  2. Crumble the completely cooled cake into a large bowl using your hands until fine, even crumbs form (about 3-4 minutes).
  3. Add cream cheese frosting and vanilla frosting to crumbled cake. Mix with hands or spatula until mixture holds together when squeezed (like damp sand). If too dry, add another tablespoon of frosting; if too wet, add more crumbled cake.
  4. Using a cookie scoop, portion out uniform cake balls (about 35-40 grams each). Roll each between palms until smooth. Place on parchment-lined baking sheet. Refrigerate at least 1 hour or freeze 20 minutes.
  5. Place brown candy melts and 1 tablespoon coconut oil in a microwave-safe bowl. Microwave in 30-second bursts, stirring thoroughly between each, until completely smooth and thin enough to drip steadily from a spoon.
  6. Remove only 4-5 cake balls from refrigerator at a time. Dip tip of a lollipop stick into melted candy, then insert about halfway into a cake ball. Return to refrigerator for 5 minutes to set.
  7. Holding the stick, submerge cake ball completely in melted brown coating. Gently tap stick on edge of bowl to let excess drip off. Rotate pop slowly as you lift it out. Insert stick into Styrofoam block. Repeat with all pops.
  8. While coating is still wet, press two candy eyes into each pop. Add one orange candy corn piece for the beak (pointing downward). Add one red candy melt or M&M for the wattle. Work quickly; if coating hardens, microwave for 10 seconds to reheat.
  9. Melt fall-colored candy melts separately. Transfer each color to a small piping bag or zip-top bag with a tiny corner snipped off. Pipe small feather shapes onto parchment paper in sets of three (one orange, one red, one yellow per turkey). Let set completely, about 10 minutes. Gently peel off parchment.
  10. Dab a tiny amount of melted brown coating on the back of each feather set. Press onto the back of each turkey cake pop, positioning like a fan. Let set completely, about 20 minutes. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

Notes

Keep cake balls very cold before dipping to prevent coating from cracking. Add coconut oil a teaspoon at a time to achieve a thin, smooth coating. For best results, bake the cake the day before and break the process into manageable steps. If cake balls spin on the stick, use more melted coating as glue on the stick tip.

Nutrition

Keywords: Thanksgiving, turkey cake pops, cake pops, holiday dessert, turkey dessert, easy cake pops, make-ahead dessert

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