Add a little sparkle to your pumpkin pie this Thanksgiving and make this Thanksgiving Pumpkin Pie! This beautiful dessert will be the center of attention at your family get-together, it's deliciously creamy and totally festive.
Store-bought baked goods rarely make it into my house, because I love to bake. I do sometimes take shortcuts and use store-bought mixes, but I just love having my house smell of fresh baked goods and would be happy experimenting with a new dessert recipe every day.
When I was thinking about ideas for Thanksgiving recipes, I thought it would be fun to add a festive decoration to one of the store-bought pumpkin pies.
I decided I wanted to create a cute turkey to place on top of the pie, so I searched the Internet for the perfect turkey design.
I came across a turkey craft project created by Angie at Burton Avenue that I simply fell in love with. Angie made her turkey out of card stock and attached it to a small tin filled with candy. Although, technically, part of this craft is edible, I was inspired to transform the entire thing into edible art.
The moment I saw this adorable turkey, I immediately imagined this little guy made out of pie dough, covered in colorful sanding sugar, baked to a golden brown, and sitting on top of a pumpkin pie. It is just how my mind works:)
I think it's such a fun way to make a decorated Thanksgiving pie. I hope you enjoy making this at home.
Decorated Pumpkin Pie
Ingredients
8"-10" store bought or homemade pumpkin pie
pie dough (store bought or homemade - you'll need enough to make an 8" crust)
egg wash (one egg mixed with 1 teaspoon water)
colored sanding sugars - orange, yellow, and red
dark brown sugar or brown sanding sugar
2 candy eyes (or use pie dough and a black food marker or mini chocolate chips)
optional: whipped cream
Supplies
egg cookie cutter and/or a knife (I used a 2 ¾" tall egg cutter)*
round cookie cutter (I used a 2 ½" round cutter)*
pastry brush
parchment paper (or Silpat) lined baking sheet
*This will make a turkey that will fit an 8", 9" or 10" pie. I used a 10" pie, so I had room to add a whipped cream border. You can vary the size of your turkey to fit your needs.
Instructions
Roll out pie dough to 1/16" thick (or simply unroll ready-made dough.) Use the template from Burton Avenue as a guide to cutting out the pieces of your turkey.
Use an egg-shaped cookie cutter or knife to cut 6 Turkey feathers. Use the knife to cut the turkey's body, feet, beak, and waddle.
Arrange pie dough feathers as pictured above.
Use a round cookie cutter to cut a circle out of the center of the feathers.
Use the round cookie cutter to cut a circle out of dough.
Use a pastry brush to paint egg wash over each of the pie dough shapes and sprinkle on colored sanding sugar or brown sugar.
I used brown sugar on the body pieces, orange for the feet and beak, and red for the waddle.
I sprinkled on a combination of yellow, red, and orange onto the feathers. Now that I look at the picture of the baked turkey, I think the three sugars blended together to make the feathers look orange.
Up close, you can see the variation of color, but in the picture, the feathers look just like the feet and beak. If I make this again, I'll probably make each feather a different color like Angie did for her turkey tins.
Arrange the pieces on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Set the round in the center of the feathers. Brush a bit of egg wash on the backside of the turkey body and set it on the round. Add egg wash to the backside of the feat, beak, and waddle, and attach to the body.
Press two candy eyes onto the turkey. If you don't have candy eyes, you can just make the eyes out of pie dough. Use black food coloring to make the pupil or use a mini chocolate chip.
Refrigerate pie crust turkey for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
Bake for 10-12 minutes until golden brown. The turkey feathers will brown first, but make sure the turkey's body gets baked all the way through.
Allow the pie crust turkey to cool completely then add it to the center of your pumpkin pie. You can leave your pie like the one pictured above, or you can pipe on a border of whipped cream. Serve and enjoy.
Storage
Keep the pie crust turkey in an airtight container for up to 3 days. Set it on the pie the day you plan to serve your pie.
Related Recipes
If you enjoy making this decorated Thanksgiving pie, you might also like these other turkey-themed dessert ideas.
Be sure to check out all of my amazing Thanksgiving Recipes.
Recipe
Create a pie crust turkey to set on top of a homemade or store-bought pumpkin pie.
- 1 10-inch round of pie dough store-bought or homemade
- egg wash one egg mixed with 1 teaspoon water
- 2 tablespoons orange, yellow, and red sanding sugar
- 1 tablespoon dark brown sugar or brown sanding sugar
- 2 candy eyes, or use pie dough and a black food marker or mini chocolate chips
- 1 homemade or store-bought pumpkin pie
- optional: whipped cream
-
Roll out pie dough to 1/16" thick (or simply unroll ready-made dough.) Use the template from Burton Avenue (https://burtonavenue.com/turkey-favor-tins-free-svg-cut-file/) as a guide to cutting out the pieces of your turkey.
-
Cut out 6 turkey tail feathers using a knife or an egg-shaped cookie cutter.
-
Use a round cookie cutter to cut a circle out of the center of the feathers.
-
Use the same round cookie cutter to cut a circle out of the remaining dough.
-
Cut the turkey's body, feet, beak, and waddle using a knife.
-
Use a pastry brush to paint egg wash over each of the pie dough shapes.
-
Sprinkle orange sanding sugar over the feathers or sprinkle two feathers with yellow, 2 orange, and 2 red.
-
Sprinkle brown sugar over the turkey's body.
-
Then sprinkle orange sugar over the feet and beak and red sugar over the wattle.
-
Arrange the pieces on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet.
-
Set the round in the center of the feathers. Brush a bit of egg wash on the backside of the turkey body and set it on the round.
-
Add egg wash to the backside of the feat, beak, and waddle, and attach to the body. If needed, you can brush off the sugar that will go under these pieces.
-
Press two candy eyes onto the turkey. If you don't have candy eyes, you can just make the eyes out of pie dough. Use black food coloring to make the pupil or use a mini chocolate chip.
-
Refrigerate the pie crust turkey for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
-
Bake for 10-12 minutes until golden brown. The turkey feathers will brown first, but make sure the turkey's body gets baked all the way through.
-
Allow the pie crust turkey to cool completely then add it to the center of your pumpkin pie.
-
If desired, pie whipped cream around the edge of your pie.
Keep the pie crust turkey in an airtight container for up to 3 days. Set it on the pie the day you plan to serve your pie.
This will make a turkey that will fit an 8", 9," or 10" pie. I used a 10" pie, so I had room to add a whipped cream border. You can vary the size of your turkey to fit your needs.
- Irresistible Sweets with Dixie Crystals® - July 13, 2024
- How to make peanut butter? - February 15, 2024
- OREO Penguins - December 20, 2023
Beth Jackson Klosterboer says
Sue, I actually did eat it all on it's own and it was really yummy. I left the pie (well, except for one small slice) for my husband, but I couldn't resist eating the turkey.
sue says
That is super cute, and I bet it actually tasted really good all on its own.
Jesica @ Pencil Kitchen says
oh gosh! the kids would adore that!!!!
Beth Jackson Klosterboer says
Mindy, you could make a savory version using food coloring or spices/herbs to color the pie crust. I was thinking chili powder for the turkey body, tumeric for the feet and beak, and paprika for the feathers. Could work! I'm sure there are many other spices that could be used.
Julee, although I have made homemade pie dough, I do often grab a package of store bought dough, as I did here, to use for my edible crafts. It is a perfect project for a non-baker.
julee says
As a non-pie baker, I love the idea of embellishing store bought goodies! So cute!
Mindy says
Ahhhh, this is ADORABLE!!! Too bad I don't have pie duty. I may have to put him on my cauliflower gratin. :o)
Beth Jackson Klosterboer says
Thanks Jo and Sue. I have to thank Angie for the most adorable turkey design I've ever seen. I just love it:)
Jo and Sue says
Oh. My. Goodness.... I believe that is the cutest thing I have ever seen! You are amazingly creative 🙂 I want to make this right now even though we had our Thanksgiving last month! Bravo *clap clap*