Larry the Turkey does double duty at Thanksgiving, letting Larry know where to sit at the beginning of the meal and providing a dessert for him at the end. A delicious combination of pumpkin cupcakes, caramel frosting, and ginger cookies, this turkey will be gobbled up in no time. Of course, the best part is naming each turkey and hearing the kids scream, “Hey, look, everybody, Uncle Larry’s a turkey!”
Ingredients:
- 24 standard Pumpkin Spice cupcakes baked in white paper liners
- 24 mini Pumpkin Spice cupcakes baked in white paper liners
- 1 cup vanilla frosting
- 1/2 cup chocolate frosting
- 24 thin ginger-flavored scalloped cookies (Anna’s Ginger Thins)
- 2 cups candy corn
- 1 1/2 cups caramel jimmies
- 1 can (16 ounces) plus 1 cup caramel frosting
- 24 pieces Indian candy corn
- 48 brown chocolate-covered sunflower seeds (available at gourmet candy stores)
- 1 roll red fruit leather (Fruit by the Foot)
- 24 graham cracker sticks (Honey Made Graham Sticks)
- 12 marshmallows
Instructions:
- Spoon the vanilla and chocolate frosting into separate ziplock bags, press out the excess air, and seal. Snip a 1/8 inch corner from the bag with the vanilla frosting and pipe a dot of frosting on 7 adjacent scallops on each ginger cookie to make the tail fan. Add a piece of candy corn to each dot of frosting, pointed end facing in.
- Place the caramel jimmies in a small shallow bowl. Spread the caramel frosting on top of all the cupcakes, standard and mini, and smooth. Roll the edge of the standard cupcakes in the jimmies. Dip the top edge of the mini cupcakes in the jimmies.
- Press 1 piece of Indian candy corn into the center of each mini cupcake, flat side down, for the break. Pipe 2 dots of the vanilla frosting above the break for the eyes and insert 2 brown sunflower seeds, pointed end down. Cut the red fruit leather into twenty-four 1 1/2 inch long teardrop shapes and lay them over the beak to make the wattle.
- Snip a 1/8 inch corner from the bag with the chocolate frosting and pipe names on the flat side of the graham cracker cookies.
- Enlarge the hole in the corner of the bag with the chocolate frosting to 1/4 inch. Using clean scissors, cut the marshmallows in half on the diagonal. Place 1 marshmallow half, cut side down, near the edge of one of the standard cupcakes, with the tapered end facing the center, to make a support for the tail. Pipe a dot of chocolate frosting on the tapered end. Place the tail cookie on the marshmallow, pressing the undecorated edge into the frosting on the marshmallow. Add the mini cupcake head on top so that half of it is resting on the undecorated edge of the cookie and the other half is pressed lightly into the frosting to secure.
- Add the graham cookies at the base of the mini cupcakes, securing with a dot of frosting.
- Arrange the turkeys on the table as place cards. Place 2 candy corns on the table in front of each turkey to make the feet.
