Go Back
+ servings
Chocolate Turkeys

Chocolate Turkeys

Delicious and festive Chocolate Turkeys made with milk and dark chocolate, perfect for holiday treats.
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Cooling Time 15 minutes
Total Time 45 minutes
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Servings 60 truffles
Calories 200 kcal

Equipment

  • squeeze bottle
  • zip-top bag
  • parchment paper
  • Baking Sheet
  • egg mold
  • pastry bag
  • Double Boiler
  • non-stick skillet

Ingredients
  

Chocolate Turkeys

  • 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

Decorations

  • 120 pieces candy eyes (⅜ inch look best)
  • 60 pieces orange candy-coated sunflower seeds
  • 60 pieces red candy-coated sunflower seeds

Pumpkin Ganache

  • 8 ounces Libby's 100% Pure Pumpkin
  • ¼ cup packed brown sugar
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • ½ teaspoon ground ginger
  • teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
  • 1 cup packed Edy's Slow Churned Pumpkin Patch Ice Cream (see notes if unable to find pumpkin ice cream)
  • 18 ounces good-quality white chocolate with cocoa butter in the ingredients
  • cup Nestle Butterscotch Morsels

Instructions
 

Chocolate Turkeys

  • 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 dries 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.

Decorations

  • 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.

Pumpkin Ganache

  • 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.

Notes

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.

Nutrition

Serving: 1truffleCalories: 200kcalCarbohydrates: 25gProtein: 3gFat: 10gSaturated Fat: 6gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 3gCholesterol: 10mgSodium: 50mgPotassium: 100mgFiber: 1gSugar: 18gVitamin A: 150IUCalcium: 30mgIron: 1mg
Keyword candy decorations, chocolate eggs, Chocolate Turkeys, holiday treats, pumpkin ganache, turkey truffles
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!