Gobble, gobble, it’s time to make some Rice Krispie turkeys! This fun snack is a seasonal take on the traditional Rice Krispie treat that we all love so much.
October 30 is National Candy Corn Day, which makes it the perfect day to make these Thanksgiving Turkey Pops for the kids to enjoy. They are sweet as can be and your children will just love to help make them.
While you’re making this festive dessert, you can also teach your kids about how the turkey is one of the main symbols of Thanksgiving – we have a post all about it!
Plus, don’t forget to look for the word ‘turkey’ in our Thanksgiving word search and word scramble printables. The word puzzles are an activity the whole family will enjoy!
Many national days are associated with food. What more perfect way to celebrate than with a favorite sweet treat? Find out all about these special days in my national days guide.
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Some of the links below are affiliate links. I earn a small commission, at no extra cost to you, if you purchase through one of those links.
Candy corn is almost a staple of Thanksgiving in our house. I use it all the time in recipes. Check out my candy corn turkey cupcakes for another fun kid’s dessert idea.
The shape and colors of candy corn make it the perfect choice to use as feathers in any turkey inspired dessert.
Gobble, gobble! Our favorite Rice Krispie treat has been turned into Thanksgiving turkey pops with this fun recipe. Check it out on Always the Holidays. Click To TweetMaking these Rice Krispie turkeys for Thanksgiving
Like many fun with food projects, this one is part cooking and part craft. Gather your ingredients and supplies. You’ll need the following items:
- butter
- regular marshmallows
- Rice Krispies cereal
- cake pop sticks
- normal candy corn
- dark orange and brown candy corn (sometimes called Harvest Corn)
- edible eyeballs
- orange frosting
- 5 inch fish bowl
- candy pumpkins
- orange and yellow crinkle cut paper shred
Making the Rice Krispie mixture
Heat the butter in a large container over low heat and stir in the marshmallows.
Continue heating, stirring often until the marshmallows are melted and smooth.
Stir in the Rice Krispie cereal and mix until it is well coated.
Grease your hands with butter and form the mixture into 30 even sized firm balls. Place in the fridge to cool.
Making the Rice Krispie Turkeys
Now comes the fun part – making those balls into little turkeys that the kids will love to gobble down.
Start by cutting off the end of the Harvest Corn pieces to make small rust colored noses for the turkeys.
Insert cake pop sticks into each Rice Krispie ball. Place three pieces of regular candy corn in the top of each ball to make turkey feathers.
Use the orange frosting to pipe a small free form wattle shape. Add frosting to the back of the Harvest Corn and attach as a nose near the wattle.
Finish by adding frosting to the back of the edible eyes and attaching them above the nose.
Place the turkey balls lying down a plate and put in the fridge to set the eyes, nose and feathers in place.
Arranging the Rice Krispie turkey pop display
These turkey pops are fun to display in a mini Thanksgiving candy dish.
Fill a 4 1/2 inch fish bowl with candy pumpkins. This type of candy is also found around Thanksgiving and it is heavier and more solid than candy corn, so it makes a good base to stick the cake pop sticks into.
Top the candy pumpkins with the shredded crinkle-cut paper.
Push the sticks of the turkey pops through the paper and secure in the candy pumpkins and display. The fun Rice Krispie turkey pops will look cute on any Thanksgiving dessert table.
I like the way the turkey display looks with my Thanksgiving leaf tree.
Tips for making the Rice Krispie turkeys
Working with a Rice Krispie mixture is easy when you just cut it into slices as you would do for Rice Krispie treats. When you add candy and eyeballs to it, the process takes a bit more care.
Here are some tips that I found which made it work more easily as I made the pops.
The hardest part is getting the candy corn feathers to stay stuck into the top of the mixture. Placing the balls in the fridge for about 10 minutes so they would set helped to secure them.
When it comes to the eyes and nose, the frosting holds these pieces. Be sure to give the frosting time to harden to the turkey balls and the eyes and nose.
It works best to place them on their back while the frosting hardens.
Don’t insert the pop sticks into foam or the display until the frosting and feathers are well secured.
Store the pops on their backs in an air tight container on the counter, not in the fridge, or the pops will be too hard to eat right away.
Pin these Rice Krispie turkeys for later
Would you like a reminder of these Thanksgiving turkey pops? Just pin this image to one of your Thanksgiving boards on Pinterest so that you can easily find it later.
More recipes for Thanksgiving that the kids will love
The kids will love to help you make any of these ideas. Why not spend some time making one today?
- Fun dirt cups for Thanksgiving. I also used candy pumpkins in this recipe. The sugar cone teepees are so much fun!
- Indian Corn Cakes – Enjoy the colors of fall in this edible and tasty centerpiece for Thanksgiving
- Turkey veggie tray – The kids will love to eat their vegetables when they are prepared this way!
- Turkey cookie place card holders – Another fun turkey that will hold your child’s name for the Thanksgiving table.
- Leaf cookies – Make leaf shaped cookies in the color of fall with this delicious recipe.
- Cute Turkey Cupcakes – Gobble, gobble – time for another Thanksgiving turkey!
- Thanksgiving snack mix – Includes a printable that shows what to be grateful for on Thanksgiving.
- Turkey cookies for Thanksgiving – These fun cookies also have candy cane feathers.
Admin note: This post first appeared on the blog in October of 2013. I have updated the post to add all new images, a printable project card and a video for you to enjoy.
Rice Krispie Turkeys - Thanksgiving Turkey Pops
These fun turkey pops are an adaptation of everyone's favorite snack - Rice Krispie treats. Candy corn and edible eyeballs give the treat a traditional Thanksgiving look.
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons of butter (plus more for hands)
- 10 ounce package of large marshmallows
- 6 cups of Rice Krispie cereal
- 90 pieces of candy corn
- 30 pieces of dark candy corn
- 2 tablespoons of frosting tinted with orange food coloring
- 60 edible eyeballs, 1/4 inch in size
Instructions
- Heat the butter in a large container over low heat until it melts.
- Mix in the large marshmallows and gently cook until they are completely melted. Stir often.
- Add the Rice Krispie cereal and mix well until the cereal is well coated with the marshmallow mixture.
- Coat hands with extra butter and form the Rice Krispie mixture into 30 firm balls.
- Place in the fridge while you prepare a decorating station.
- Cut the ends off of the dark colored candy corn pieces.
- Remove the cooled balls and Insert a cake pop stick into each Rice Krispie ball.
- Place three candy corn pieces, pointed end down into the top of each Rice Krispie ball to form turkey feathers.
- Pipe the orange frosting into a wattle shape.
- Add frosting to the back of the cut candy corn pieces and attach to make noses for the turkeys near the wattle.
- Secure the edible eyes by adding a dab of frosting to the back and attach above the eyes.
- Place the turkey pops on a platter to cool, lying down to secure all the candy pieces.
- Store flat in an air tight container until time to serve.
- Fill the small round fishbowl with candy pumpkins.
- Add the orange and yellow straw above the candy corns.
- Insert the turkey pops into the candy pumpkins through the colored straw and display with pride.
To Display:
Notes
You will also need the following supplies to complete the pops:
30 cake pop sticks, 1 round fishbowl - 4 1/2 inches wide, 1 bag of candy pumpkins, 1/2 bag of orange and yellow crinkle-cut shredded paper.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
30Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 51Total Fat: 1gSaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 0gCholesterol: 2mgSodium: 38mgCarbohydrates: 10gFiber: 0gSugar: 5gProtein: 0g
Nutritional information is approximate due to natural variation in ingredients and the cook-at-home nature of our meals.