Finallyyy!!!! Our test is over with and I can get back on track with my baking endeavors. I planned on taking a nap after our 4 hour exam, but when I laid down expecting to pass out, all I could think about were these adorable turkey cake balls I had been planning on making this afternoon. So despite my sound machine’s best attempts to lull me to sleep, I hopped out of bed and got going on these little guys:
As you can see, there are a lot of components, so it’s no wonder I was losing sleep over them. But they were so much fun to make! At first I had planned on making regular ol’ Bakerella-style cake balls, but at the last minute I decided to do a brownie ball version instead. Brownies are moist enough that you don’t have to add a can of frosting so that was one less step for me, and on a day like today, I’ll cut any corners I can. They’re dense but boy oh boy are they good.
If you google image “turkey cupcake” you’ll see a lot of creative attempts, some certainly Cake-Wrecks worthy. Out of all the ideas out there, I liked the use of candy corn for feathers, Whoppers for heads, and tic-tac for beaks best. I used some peppermint pearls (found in the wedding section of Michaels or Joann’s) with edible marker for the eyes too. I love how they all came out looking googly-eyed, makes them that much cuter.
I’m really happy with how these came out, they could be a little neater but I think the bright candy corn and googly eyes overpower the somewhat messy chocolate. No one’s going to complain about messy chocolate, unless of course it’s because it ends up all over their hands/face/clothes (I may or may not have washed my hands 30 times today, my cuticles hate me).
Brownie Balls – Turkey Style
BROWNIES:
3/4 cup melted butter
1-1/2 cups sugar
1-1/2 tsp vanilla
3 eggs
1/2 cup cocoa
3/4 cup all purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
DECORATIONS:
1 bag candy corn
1 box Whoppers
1 box Cherry Passion Tic-Tacs
Peppermint Pearls
Black edible marker
For the brownies:
– Preheat the oven to 350 degrees
– Beat together butter, sugar, vanilla, and eggs
– In a separate bowl combine the dry ingredients and then slowly add the mixture to the wet
– Mix in the chocolate chips until well-combined
– Pour batter into a 9×13″ well-greased pan and bake for 22-25 minutes
– Let brownies cool
– With your hands, form 1″ balls with the cooked brownies
– Lay them on a parchment paper lined cookie sheet and chill them in the refrigerator for 30 minutes to an hour
To decorate:
– Use the edible marker to draw pupils on the peppermint pearls
– Melt 1 square of baking chocolate according to the package’s directions
– Using a toothpick, use the melted chocolate as glue to attach the pearls and tic tacs to the Whoppers. Let these dry for about 20 minutes
– Melt 1 box (6 squares) of baking chocolate according to the package’s directions
– Dunk each brownie ball into the melted chocolate with a spoon, tapping the spoon on the edge of the bowl to remove excess chocolate
– Place the ball back on the parchment paper covered cookie sheet, and immediately attach the Whopper head and 3 candy corns (this takes some finesse, trust me)
– Allow them to dry and start listening for the “Awwwwww’s”
Hey, found your site through Tasty Kitchen. You’ve got some cute and yummy looking recipes on here. I look forward to reading about them! :)
I made these for my niece and nephew for Thanksgiving! They turned out so cute and I know the kiddos will love them. Thanks so much for sharing :-).
Thanks for the creative idea! I just made 45 of these little turkeys for my daughter’s Thanksgiving feast at school. They were a huge hit! Thank you. :)
I am a big fan of your blog! All of your photos are beautiful and your recipes are delicious. I wanted to invite you to join the Favorite Family Recipes Virtual Recipe Swap I’m hosting on my blog. Hope you’ll sign up! http://topnotchmom.com/v2/virtual-recipe-swap/