Turkey Cookies

When planning your holiday menu, table decor and desserts, don’t forget about the kiddos who’ll be at your house for the big day. While the littles are sure to be excited about the Thanksgiving feast they’ve been hearing about all month, the truth is that they’re notoriously fussy when it comes to food. I was the same as a kid: I couldn’t even get excited about pumpkin or fruit pies, but our fudge-stripe turkey cookies are the perfect Thanksgiving treats for kids!

Fudge-stripe turkey cookies are made with four store-bought ingredients, assembled to look like little fan-tailed turkeys. Kids love to see and eat them, and they’ll also be thrilled to help you make the treats. These fudge-stripe turkey cookies are a fun no-bake Thanksgiving dessert that you can also make for bazaars, potlucks and school parties.

Ingredients for Turkey Cookies

• Fudge-stripe cookies: Look for packaged shortbread cookies with stripes of chocolate, like Keebler Fudge Stripes.
• Chocolate-covered cherries: These small candies make the turkey’s body. You’ll need 20 chocolate-covered cherries for this recipe.
• Candy corn: This is one of our favorite recipes using leftover Halloween candy. Candy corn, the favorite (sometimes debatable!) fall candy, forms the beaks on the fudge-stripe turkey cookies.
• Chocolate frosting: You’ll need something to stick all these ingredients together, and chocolate frosting is perfect for the task. Pick up an easy-to-squeeze tube of store-bought frosting, or transfer your favorite canned chocolate frosting brand to a piping bag.

Directions

Step 1: Prepare the cookies

Place 20 cookies on a flat surface, solid-chocolate side down. Trim the remaining cookies to create a flat edge.

Editor’s Tip: The striped cookies used as the turkey base can be left whole, but the tail pieces need a little trimming. Use a sharp knife to trim a little bit off the edge of each of the remaining cookies so that they’ll sit flat when attached to the base.

Step 2: Attach the tails

With frosting, attach a chocolate-covered cherry to the top of each base cookie. Position the cut cookies perpendicular to each base cookie, flat edge down, and attach with frosting.

Editor’s Tip: Position the chocolate-covered cherries toward the cookie’s front edge to form the turkey’s body. Then, attach the cut cookie pieces behind the cherries so that they stand up and look like a turkey’s tail.

Step 3: Attach the heads

With a dab of frosting, attach one piece of candy corn to the front of each cherry for the head. Let stand until set.

Editor’s Tip: Spread the frosting on the wide ends of the candy corn and position the candies pointy side down to make the turkey beaks.

Taste of Home

Recipe Variations

• Replace the cherries: Other rounded candies can be used for the turkey bodies—think Rolos, store-bought or homemade chocolate truffles, malted milk balls or mini peanut butter cups. Or, skip the candies and use small chocolate donut holes.
• Use homemade cookies: Store-bought fudge-stripe cookies are convenient, but you can always go homemade if you love to decorate cookies. Use flat, round sugar cookies that are 2-1/2 inches to 3 inches in diameter. Create a flat edge on 20 of the cookies, then use orange, red, yellow and brown frostings to decorate them to look like turkey feathers. Let the frosting set before assembling the turkeys.
• Add detail: Give your fudge-stripe turkey cookies more character by spooning chocolate frosting into a small piping bag with a tiny opening. Use it to put eyes on the candy corns—or to attach candy googly eyes. Or, pipe a line of red frosting on one side of the candy corn to make a waddle and yellow frosting to add feet to the turkeys. You can also add candy corn to the tail feather cookies to make them more colorful.

How to Store Turkey Cookies

Once set, carefully transfer the fudge-stripe turkey cookies to a storage container with enough headspace to cover them without crushing the tails. Cover the container tightly and store the cookies at room temperature. Knowing how to store cookies means they’ll last longer and taste their best.

How long do turkey cookies last?

When stored at room temperature in a tightly sealed container, fudge-stripe turkey cookies will last up to three days.

Turkey Cookie Tips

MARK DERSE FOR TASTE OF HOME

What else can you serve with turkey cookies?

These easy-to-make fudge-stripe turkey cookies can be served with other Thanksgiving dessert recipes or used as a really cute place setting for children at the main or kids’ table. If you want to make a dip for dunking turkey cookies, try a fluffy strawberry fruit dip or festive caramel pumpkin dip. Or, balance the sweet treat with a side of fresh berries or a layered fresh fruit salad—two dessert sides that adults will love too.

Want to go all in on the turkey theme? Make this adorable chocolate turkey cake as the dessert table centerpiece and surround it with fudge-stripe turkey cookie chicks!

How do you cut the cookies without breaking them?

You should be able to use a sharp kitchen knife to cleanly slice off the edge of a cookie without causing it to crumble. If the cookies seem too brittle, place them in a sealed container with a slice of soft bread or an apple for about an hour. The moisture should help soften your cookies and make them easier to slice.

What can you use instead of candy corn?

If you can’t find candy corn (or just don’t like the candy), use another candy to make the turkey beaks: Use a knife to give fruity Mike and Ike candies a pointed tip, or cut triangles from chocolate, fruit leather or fondant. You may also be able to find other tiny edible cake decorations in oblong or triangular shapes.