Make adorably cute Chocolate Turkeys for Thanksgiving. Your family will fall in love with these sweet holiday treats. You can make them using solid chocolate or filled with delicious pumpkin ganache.
When I made these chocolate turkeys, I filled them with delicious pumpkin ganache but I've had some readers ask about making them using solid chocolate instead. You can make them either way. I'll share instructions for both.
Spending an afternoon making these Turkey Truffles was so much fun. Not only did I develop the best-tasting, most amazing pumpkin-flavored ganache for inside these truffles, but the chocolate turkeys turned out so cute, that I can't stop smiling.
To make these truffles I started with a pumpkin-flavored chocolate ganache that I used to make my Chocolate Pumpkin Truffles. Then, I took inspiration from my Chocolate Raspberry Ice Cream Truffles where I melted ice cream and used it in place of whipping cream in my chocolate ganache recipe. I knew I could do something similar using pumpkin.
This recipe makes a lot of pumpkin ganache. It is enough to make 60 Turkey Truffles. I know that is a lot of chocolate turkeys.
You can cut it in half if you want to make fewer candies.
Chocolate Turkey Truffles filled with Pumpkin Ganache
Ingredients
Chocolate Turkeys:
- pure milk and dark chocolate (made with cocoa butter) or compound milk and dark chocolate (known as candy melts, almond bark, melting wafers, or confectionery coating)
If you use pure chocolate, you must melt and temper the chocolate (heat and cool it to exact temperatures) in order for it to harden properly. If you use compound chocolates like candy melts or almond bark, you can simply melt it.
**For instructions on melting chocolate or confectionery coating, see my Chocolate Making Tips Page.
Decorations:
- candy eyes (⅜ inch look best)
- orange candy-coated sunflower seeds - You'll use these candies to make the beaks on your chocolate turkeys.
- red candy-coated sunflower seeds - These candies will be used to create the turkey's wattle.
Optional Pumpkin Ganache:
- pure pumpkin puree - You'll need 1 cup of pumpkin. You can scoop one cup out of a large can and use the rest for another recipe if you cannot find small 8-ounce cans.
- light or dark brown sugar - Either will work fine in this recipe.
- cinnamon
- ground ginger
- freshly grated nutmeg - This spice always tastes the best when freshly grated.
- pumpkin ice cream - I used Edy's Slow Churned Pumpkin Patch Ice Cream. If you can't find pumpkin ice cream, use vanilla ice cream instead and increase the spices according to the recipe below.
- white chocolate - Be sure to(with cocoa butter in the ingredients)
- ⅓ cup Nestle Butterscotch Morsels
Supplies
- 2 ¼ or 2 ½ inch egg-shaped candy molds
- small squeeze-it mold painters or squeeze bottles, pastry bags or zip-top bags
You can find supplies needed to create this recipe on Amazon. I earn a small commission when you use the sales links in this post to make a purchase at no extra cost to you.
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Instructions
Make the turkey's tail feathers.
- Use dark chocolate to pipe the outline of turkey tail feathers onto a parchment-lined baking sheet. I filled a squeeze bottle with the chocolate but you can use a zip-top bag instead.
- Fill inside the chocolate feathers with milk chocolate.
- Once you have piped in the milk chocolate, tap the tray to remove air bubbles. Do this as you make each one.
- Refrigerate (pure chocolate) or freeze compound chocolate (candy melts, almond bark, melting wafers) for 5-10 minutes until set.
- Don't leave them in the refrigerator for too long or they can curl or crack.
Make the chocolate egg shells for the turkeys' bodies.
- Combine 16 ounces of milk chocolate with 16 ounces of dark chocolate.
- Paint a thin layer of chocolate into each egg-shaped cavity in your candy molds.
NOTE: I combined the two types of chocolate to get a nicely flavored yet not-so-dark chocolate egg for my turkeys. I wanted the flavor of semi-sweet chocolate to contrast the sweet pumpkin ganache, but it was just too dark in color, so adding the milk chocolate lightened it while maintaining a rich flavor. I tried using all milk chocolate, but I found the truffles to be too sweet.
If using tempered chocolate, you'll need to re-temper it to use it for various stages of this recipe.
Make sure you fill in any thin spots or holes and be sure the chocolate goes all the way up to the edge of the egg cavity. Wipe the excess chocolate off around the edge of the eggs.
If using pure chocolate pop the molds in the refrigerator for about 5 minutes.
If using confectionery coating, place in the freezer for about 5 minutes.
Alternatively, you can use a polycarbonate egg mold to make the chocolate egg shells.
Fill the mold completely with chocolate, then pour out the chocolate leaving behind a thin shell,
Scrape off the excess.
OR make solid chocolate eggs.
Just fill the egg cavities in the mold and refrigerate them for about 20 minutes until hardened (or freeze candy melts, almond bark, etc.).
If you make solid chocolate eggs, skip the next few steps.
Pumpkin Ice Cream Ganache
Cook the pumpkin, brown sugar, and spices in a skillet.
- Pour the pumpkin, brown sugar, cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg into a small non-stick skillet.
- Heat over medium heat, stirring occasionally for five minutes.
- Continue to heat stirring constantly for 3 more minutes, until the mixture thickens, turns deep golden brown, and reduces by about half.
- Remove the pumpkin from the heat and allow it to cool for 15 minutes.
Make the pumpkin ice cream ganache.
- Meanwhile, set up a double boiler, with 1 inch of water in the bottom pan and the ice cream, white chocolate, and butterscotch morsels in the top pan.
- Set over low heat. Stir occasionally.
I put my pumpkin through a fine-mesh strainer before adding it to the melting chocolate to make sure there were no lumps. I'm not sure this is absolutely necessary, but I really wanted to make sure I ended up with a smooth ganache.
- Continue to stir the ganache, occasionally, until almost all of the chocolate is melted.
- Turn off the heat and allow the remaining chunks of chocolate to melt.
- The butterscotch chips will be the last thing to melt. I had to smash them with a spoon to get them to melt completely.
- Pour the hot ganache into a glass measuring cup or bowl. Cover it and allow it to cool to room temperature, for at least one hour.
Fill chocolate shells with pumpkin ganache.
- Pipe pumpkin ganache into the chocolate shells, leaving enough room to top the ganache with a thin layer of chocolate.
- Let the eggs sit for 1 hour at room temperature until the ganache thickens and dries on top.
Top with chocolate.
- Spread a layer of chocolate over the top of the ganache and scrape off any excess chocolate.
- Pop them in the refrigerator for pure chocolate and freezer for confectionery coating for 5 minutes until the topcoat is hardened.
Unmold the chocolates.
- Carefully turn the mold upside down over a baking sheet or countertop and allow the chocolate eggs to fall out.
Turn chocolate eggs into turkeys.
- Put a teaspoon-sized dollop of the blended milk and dark chocolate on a piece of parchment paper.
- Allow it to thicken a bit, then set one chocolate truffle egg, with the rounded side down, in the middle of it.
- Hold it until it hardens in place.
- If the chocolate is thick enough, you can just set the egg on top and it will stand up.
- Repeat creating little chocolate stands for all of your truffle eggs.
Decorate the chocolate turkeys.
- To assemble, use melted chocolate to attach two eyes, one orange candy-coated sunflower seed beak, one red candy-coated sunflower seed waddle (the thing that hangs down around the beak,) and one tail feather.
- The backside of the tail feathers (pictured on the right) looks nicer and is flat, so brush on some chocolate and press it onto the back of the chocolate egg.
Storage
- Store pumpkin ganache-filled chocolate turkey truffles in an airtight container at room temperature for up to a week.
- You can refrigerate these chocolate turkey truffles for up to 2 weeks if you have to. Package them in a cardboard box on a few layers of paper towels. The cardboard and paper towels will wick up any condensation that may form on the chocolates.
- Remove the box from the refrigerator and set it on the counter for a few hours before opening it. If you expose the cold chocolates to warm air, your chocolates can become sticky.
- Solid chocolate turkeys can be stored at room temperature for up to 3 months.
Related Recipes
If you have fun making these delicious chocolate turkeys, you might also enjoy making these other chocolate turkey-themed recipes.
Be sure to check out all of my amazing Thanksgiving Recipes.
Recipe
Make solid chocolate turkeys or pumpkin ganache-filled chocolate turkey truffles for Thanksgiving dessert. They make a great hostess gift too.
- 28 ounces pure milk chocolate melted and tempered or light cocoa candy melts or almond bark melted
- 20 ounces pure dark chocolate melted and tempered or dark cocoa candy melts or almond bark melted
- 120 candy eyes (⅜ inch look best)
- 60 orange candy-coated sunflower seeds
- 60 red candy-coated sunflower seeds
- 8 ounces 1 cup Libby's 100% Pure Pumpkin
- ¼ cup packed brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground ginger
- ⅛ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
- 1 cup packed Edy's Slow Churned Pumpkin Patch Ice Cream (see notes if you are una)ble to find pumpkin ice cream
- 18 ounces good-quality white chocolate, with cocoa butter in the ingredients
- ⅓ cup Nestle Butterscotch Morsels
-
Fill a squeeze bottle or zip-top bag with melted and tempered pure dark chocolate or melted compound chocolate (candy melts, almond bark, melting wafers).
-
Pipe the outline of a turkey's tail feathers onto a parchment paper-lined baking sheet.
-
Fill in the dark chocolate outline with melted milk chocolate.
-
Tap the tray to remove air bubbles. Do this as you make each one.
-
Refrigerate (pure chocolate) or freeze (coating) for 5-10 minutes until set.
-
Make the chocolate egg shells or solid chocolate eggs.
-
Paint a thin layer of a blend of milk and dark chocolate into an egg mold. Repeat.
-
Or, fill the egg cavities in the mold completely with chocolate for solid chocolate turkeys.
-
Chill pure chocolate in the refrigerator or candy melts in the freezer until hardened (5-10 minutes for egg shells and about 20 minutes for solid eggs).
-
Fill a pastry bag with pumpkin ganache (recipe below).
-
Pipe the pumpkin ganache into the chocolate shells, leaving enough room to top the ganache with a thin layer of chocolate.
-
Let the eggs sit for 1 hour at room temperature until the ganache thickens and drys on top.
-
Spread a layer of chocolate over top of the ganache and scrape off any excess chocolate.
-
Chill for about 5 minutes until the chocolate hardens.
-
Unmold the chocolate eggs.
-
Put a teaspoon size dollop of the blended milk and dark chocolate on a piece of parchment paper.
-
Allow it to thicken a bit, then set one chocolate egg, with the rounded side down, in the middle of it.
-
Hold it until it hardens in place.
-
If the chocolate is thick enough, you can just set the egg on top and it will stand up.
-
Repeat creating little chocolate stands for all of your chocolate eggs.
-
To assemble your chocolate turkeys, use melted chocolate to attach two eyes, one orange candy-coated sunflower seed beak, one red candy-coated sunflower seed waddle (the thing that hangs down around the beak,) and one tail feather.
-
Pour the pumpkin, brown sugar, cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg into a small non-stick skillet.
-
Heat over medium heat, stirring occasionally for five minutes.
-
Continue to heat stirring constantly for 3 more minutes, until the mixture thickens, turns deep golden brown, and reduces by about half.
-
Remove the pumpkin from the heat and allow it to cool for 15 minutes.
-
Meanwhile, set up a double boiler, with 1 inch of water in the bottom pan and the ice cream, white chocolate, and butterscotch morsels in the top pan.
-
Set over low heat. Stir occasionally.
-
Continue to stir the ganache, occasionally, until almost all of the chocolate is melted.
-
Turn off the heat and allow the remaining chunks of chocolate to melt.
-
The butterscotch chips will be the last thing to melt. I had to smash them with a spoon to get them to melt completely.
-
Pour the hot ganache into a glass measuring cup or bowl. Cover it and allow it to cool to room temperature, at least one hour before piping it into the chocolate shells.
This recipe makes 60 Turkey Truffles or about 48 solid chocolate turkeys. If you make solid chocolates, you'll use 96 candy eyes and 48 orange and red sunflower seeds.
If you can't find pumpkin ice cream, use vanilla ice cream instead and increase the spices to 1 ½ teaspoons cinnamon, ¾ teaspoon ginger, and ⅛ teaspoon nutmeg.
I combined the two types of chocolate to get a nicely flavored yet not-so-dark chocolate egg for my turkeys. I wanted the flavor of semi-sweet chocolate to contrast the sweet pumpkin ganache, but it was just too dark in color, so adding the milk chocolate lightened it while maintaining a rich flavor. I tried using all milk chocolate, but I found the truffles to be too sweet.
Store truffles at room temperature for up to a week or in the refrigerator in a cardboard box for up to 2 weeks. Thaw in the box for a few hours before opening.
Store solid chocolate turkeys for up to 3 months at room temperature.
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karon says
I LOVE!! your posts... Thank You..
Beth Klosterboer says
Thank you so much. I'm so glad you are enjoying my posts.
Pamela says
Now far in advance can an ordinary chocolate, not ones filled with ganache or anything that might spoil, be made and kept before it will show signs of age? I have fibromyalgia and I need to work as far in advance as possible to accomplish things to be ready for an event or holiday.
thanks
Beth says
Chocolate, itself, has a pretty long shelf life. If you are using pure semi-sweet, bittersweet, or milk chocolate, it will keep for well over a year if stored properly. White chocolate and candy coating will stay fresh for about 6 months from the time it was manufactured. For some reason though, the candy coatings seam to lose some of their flavor after a month or so. If you were to make these turkeys, with the ganache in the center, they should be eaten within 2 weeks. If you fill them with something like caramel or peanut butter fudge, you could make them now for Thanksgiving and they'd be fine.
oscar thomas says
Wow, marvelous post. How long have you been doing this? you made thanksgiving is special to look easy. The overall look of your thanksgiving chocolate is excellent, as well as the content of this. Could you have any thanksgiving outlines. I wants some. Thanks.
Deb Attinella {CookingOnTheFrontBurner} says
Beth, so cute - thanks for linking with us at Best of the Weekend - these are being featured on my blog tomorrow (along with a couple others!)
beth says
Thanks so much for featuring my truffles. I appreciate it. Have a wonderful Thanksgiving.
ariana says
a wonderful idea, and the execution very explicit, I'll try to reproduce and I this wonderful, precise my girls will love. thanks
Vanessa @Vanessa Baked says
These are seriously the cutest chocolate turkeys! Very talented and creative!
beth says
Thank you, Vanessa. I'm happy you stopped by to check them out.
Claudia H says
These are so amazingly adorable, ohmygosh!!!
beth says
Thanks, Claudia. I'm happy you like them;)
Danielle Simmons says
Seriously adorable!! I can't get over how cute these turkeys are. I may need to start brushing up on my chocolate making and try these. #client
beth says
Thanks, Danielle. Making chocolate is so much fun and end results are always a treat.
Anonymous says
where do you get the candy sunflower seeds?
beth says
There are picture links above to purchase them from Amazon, but I usually find them at Jo Ann Fabrics near the check out. Candy stores would probably carry them too. Some Hallmark stores have candy counters and they might sell them as well.
Erin @ Simple, Sweet & Savory says
I saw these at the link party and they are the cutest little treats I've ever seen! Pinning to try on turkey day in just a few weeks!
beth says
Thanks, Erin. I'm happy you stopped by to check them out and I appreciate the pin.
Sarah Hook says
Hello from #FoodieFridays! These Chocolate Turkey Truffles are ridiculous (in a good way)! I love them! They are so cute and look delicious too! Thank you for sharing!
beth says
Thanks for stopping by from the linky party. I'm so happy they attracted your attention!
Michelle @ Giraffes Can Bake says
oh my gosh, these are so adorable! I'm british and I still want to make some little thanksgiving turkey truffles! They sound really yummy too.
beth says
That's so sweet=)
Michelle Nahom says
How cute are those?!! Pinning - what a fun treat! Thanks for linking it up with us at Foodie Fridays!
beth says
Thanks for pinning and for stopping by!
Nicole Neverman says
These are SO cute and such a fantastic idea! That pumpkin ganache sounds great too. I saw this on the Foodie Fridays link up! I would be delighted if you'd stop by http://picnicnz.blogspot.co.nz/ and add this to the Pure Blog Love link party too 🙂
beth says
Thanks so much for stopping by, Nicole. I just added this to your linky party.
The Bearfoot Baker says
WOW! They are adorable! Pinning now!
beth says
I always appreciate pins! Thanks.
Anonymous says
Another great one. I just love these. Thanks again. Trish
beth says
Thanks, Trish :@)
The Partiologist says
I love these little guys and your video of you carving was superb!! I must make the ice cream pumpkin ganache, it sounds so intriguing.
beth says
You'll love the ganache. It really is amazing!
heather gilmour says
These turkeys are too cute!
beth says
Thanks, Heather=)
Lynn says
Absolutely adorable:@)
beth says
Thanks, Lynn.
Karen @ Sugartown Sweets says
I can surely see how these adorable little turkeys lifted your spirits. They lifted mine and I'm already on a Christmas high thanks to a weekend overload of Hallmark movies!!
I can also see why you're sad to put away your pumpkins..they were all so cute!
beth says
They sure did. They took a while to get them just how I wanted, but in the end, they make me smile.
I watched my first Hallmark holiday movie last night too. I didn't do a marathon, like you must have, but even one was enough to move me past Halloween. It wont be long and I'll be posting Christmas. Time really flies.