Candy-Decorated Thanksgiving Cupcakes
These Candy-Decorated Thanksgiving Cupcakes are sure to make your holiday even better! Not only do they taste great, but they’ll look great on your Thanksgiving table. Stick to just one of these decorations or try out both … either way your friends and family are sure to love them.
Ingredients
For the cupcakes
- 2 tablespoons Sue Bee® Honey
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 3 teaspoons baking powder
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon allspice
- 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 sticks of butter, at room temperature
- 2 cups sugar
- 4 eggs
- 1 1/2 cups pumpkin puree
- 1/3 cup hot water
For the white buttercream frosting
- 3 tablespoons Sue Bee® Honey
- 1/2 cup butter, room temperature
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 1/2 tablespoon of milk
- pinch of salt
For the chocolate buttercream frosting
- 3 tablespoons Sue Bee® Honey
- 1/2 cup butter, room temperature
- 1 1/3 cups powdered sugar
- 1/3 cup cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1/2 tablespoon of milk
For decorations
- 1 small bag of candy corn
- yellow M&M's (amount will vary depending on amount of cupcakes)
- 1 bag of caramels
- green Dots candy
- candy-coated or chocolate-covered sunflower seeds
- Sixlets
Directions
For the cupcakes
- Preheat oven to 350 F and line 2 standard cupcake pans with 12 paper baking cups each.
- Sift together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg and salt on a sheet of wax or parchment paper; set aside.
- Place the butter in the bowl of a stand mixer. Beat on medium speed until fluffy. Stop to add the sugar, then beat on medium until well incorporated.
- Add the eggs one at a time, mixing slowly after each addition. Mix in the pumpkin puree and honey.
- Reduce the speed to low. Add 1/3 of flour mixture to the butter mixture; gradually add 1/3 of the hot water, beating until well-incorporated.
- Add another third of flour mixture, followed by another third of the hot water; scrape the bowl as needed. Add the remaining flour mixture, followed by the remaining hot water and mix slowly until just combined.
- Fill cupcake papers until 2/3 full. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes (start checking at 20 minutes) or until toothpick comes out clean.
- Transfer to wire rack to cool completely.
For the frosting(s)
- Place all of the ingredients in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment; beat until well-combined and desired consistency is reached.
For the Thanksgiving dinner decorations
- Frost cupcakes with white buttercream frosting.
- For each turkey, unwrap three caramels; place on small piece of waxed paper and microwave on high for 5-7 seconds or until softened.
- Break off desired amount for the body, roll into an egg shape. Roll two smaller pieces into wings and two pieces into legs. Press onto body to attach.
- For leaves, roll out green Dots candies to 1/8-inch thickness; cut leaf shapes. Place a turkey on top of each cupcake; arrange leaves, sunflower kernels and Sixlets around turkeys.
For turkey decorations
- Pipe the white buttercream frosting onto the cupcake.
- Pipe the chocolate buttercream frosting in the center to create the turkey's body.
- Place 5 pieces of candy corn to create the feathers and a yellow M&M on top of the chocolate buttercream for the face.
- Using an edible marker, carefully draw eyes on the yellow M&M.
- Using dyed frosting or an orange rainbow chip and a heart confetti sprinkle, create the beak and wattle of the turkey.
