Serve turkey for dessert this Thanksgiving. Your family will happily gobble up these milk chocolate-covered pretzel turkeys. They make a fun dessert or party favor.
Thanksgiving just wouldn't be the same without turkey, so when I was designing new pretzel crafts for this holiday, I just had to make some turkeys.
As with the Chocolate Pretzel Scarecrows I shared with you earlier this week, I decided to use modeling chocolate to create the decorations because it's easy to make, tastes great, and is firm enough to hold its shape without getting brittle.
If you've not ever made modeling chocolate, you've got to try it. All you need is chocolate and corn syrup. It's so easy and it tastes great.
When designing these turkey pretzels I drew inspiration from my Chocolate Turkey Rice Krispie Treat Pops.
I used white and black modeling chocolate to create the eyes on those treats. You can make them any size you like and add the pupils where you like.
For the chocolate-dipped pretzel turkeys, I simply added jumbo candy eyes. They are cute but not quite as quirky.
Let's make some chocolate-dipped pretzel turkeys.
Ingredients
(makes 20-24 turkeys)
Snyder's of Hanover Pretzel Dipping Sticks - These pretzel sticks are longer and thicker than traditional sticks. I've used the thinner sticks to make white chocolate pretzel chicks for Easter. You just need to make everything smaller.
melted and tempered pure milk chocolate or melted Light Cocoa Candy Melts (also known as confectionery coating, melting wafers, almond bark).
white modeling chocolate - Click the link to see the 2-ingredient modeling chocolate recipe.
yellow, orange, and red food coloring
jumbo candy eyes - Or you can make the eyes out of modeling chocolate.
Supplies
chocolate dipping fork or kitchen fork
parchment paper lined baking pans
non-stick silicone mat
fondant rolling pin (or you can dust a wood rolling pin with powdered sugar)
triangle cookie cutter or knife
tear drop cookie cutter or knife
leaf plunger cutter
You can find the supplies needed to create these Chocolate Pretzel Turkeys on Amazon.com. I earn a small commission when you make a purchase using the links below at NO extra cost to you.
Snyder's of Hanover, Pretze...Shop on Amazon 
Callebaut 823 33% Milk Choc...Shop on Amazon 
Wilton Color Right Performa...Shop on Amazon 
Wilton Light Cocoa Candy Me...Shop on Amazon
NY CAKE Leaves Set Plunger ...Shop on Amazon 
Ateco Plain Tear Drop Cutte...Shop on Amazon 
Ateco 6 pc Stainless Steel ...Shop on Amazon 
Wilton Easy Flex Silicone 1...Shop on Amazon
Instructions
Dip the pretzels in chocolate.
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Set one pretzel at a time in the chocolate. Remove using a dipping fork, allow excess to drip off, then set on parchment paper. Dip another pretzel and set it next to the first. Continue until you have 5 pretzels attached together.
Refrigerate for 3-4 minutes until the chocolate sets.
Cut out the beaks and wattles.
Color some of your white modeling chocolate orange and some red.
Roll out onto a non-stick silicone mat or lightly dust a countertop with powdered sugar and roll out on it.
Cut out orange triangles for the beaks using a 1 - 1 ½ inch triangle cutter or knife.
Cut out a red teardrop shape for the wattle. The teardrop cutter should be similar in length to your triangle.
Attach two jumbo candy eyes, a wattle then a beak using dabs of melted chocolate.
Marble the modeling chocolate.
To make the tail feathers, you'll also need to color some modeling chocolate using yellow coloring.
Roll some yellow, red, and orange modeling chocolate into logs. Press them next to each other, twist, turn, and twist again, marbleizing the colors. Don't over-mix, or you'll just end up with orange modeling chocolate.
Roll out onto a silicone mat.
Cut out the leaf-shaped feathers.
Use a leaf plunger cutter or a teardrop cutter to make the tail feathers that are about 2 ½ inches long.
Arrange four feathers together, and press down on the bottom edge where the feathers come together, flattening out the bump that is formed.
Use some chocolate to attach the tail feathers to the chocolate pretzel turkey.
The modeling chocolate will firm up as it dries so you can package these turkey pretzels in cellophane bags to give as gifts or party favors.
You will have extra chocolate leftover after dipping. Add some broken pretzels to it and spread it out on some parchment paper. Refrigerate until set, break, and enjoy a snack.
If you’d like to have the ultimate guide to working with Candy Clay (modeling chocolate) be sure to get your printed or e-book copy of Candy Clay Creations.
Variations
You can make chocolate turkey pretzels using chocolate-dipped pretzel rods instead.
Dip a pretzel rod in one layer of milk chocolate and allow that to harden. Then, dip it into the milk chocolate again and use a fork to create spikes. Let the chocolate begin to cool and thicken and then press a fork onto the chocolate, pull the fork away quickly, and the chocolate will form spikes.
Do that all over the chocolate pretzel to give it a fuzzy texture. Then add small orange beaks and wattles. Add two candy eyes and a few swirled orange, red, and yellow leaf-shaped feathers.
Related Recipes
If you think these decorated chocolate pretzels are fun, check out my other designs.
Chocolate Snowman Pretzel Craft • Black Crow Pretzels
Chocolate Covered Pretzel Turkeys • Chocolate Penguin Pretzels
White Chocolate Pretzel Olaf • Chocolate Pretzel Scarecrows
Also, check out all of my Thanksgiving Recipes.
Recipe
- 96 Snyder’s of Hanover Pretzel Dipping Sticks (from 1 or 2 bags)
- 18 ounces melted and tempered pure milk chocolate or melted Light Cocoa Candy Melts/confectionery coating
- 12 ounces white modeling chocolate
- yellow, orange, and red food coloring
- 48 jumbo candy eyes
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Dip one pretzel in melted and tempered chocolate.
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Set on a parchment paper lined baking sheet.
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Dip 4 more pretzels in chocolate and set them up against each other creating a rectangle.
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Repeat, creating 24.
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Refrigerate for 3 minutes until the chocolate sets.
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Roll out red, orange and yellow modeling chocolate.
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Cut out 1 orange triangle beak and 1 red tear drop shaped wattle per turkey.
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Attach two jumbo candy eyes, a break and a wattle to the chocolate pretzel using melted chocolate.
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Roll yellow, orange and red modeling chocolate into logs.
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Press the logs up against each other.
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Twist, and turn, and twist again to marbleize the three colors together.
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Roll out marbleized modeling chocolate.
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Cut 4 leaf shaped feathers for each turkey.
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Attach 4 feathers to the backside of each turkey using melted chocolate.
Store your chocolate pretzel turkeys in an airtight container at room temperature for up to a month. If you use really fresh pretzels, they make keep for even longer.
You will have lots of leftover pretzels. You'll need 96 Dipping Pretzels to make 24 turkeys. You may find enough good pretzels in one bag but you may need two bags if too many are broken.
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The Partiologist says
I do think these pretzel turkeys would be gobbled up in no time, I love their feathers too, so cute!
Beth says
Me too. I am keeping them for our Thanksgiving dinner and hope everyone likes them:)