A simple Thanksgiving treat—Nutter Butter® Turkey Cookies made with Nutter Butter cookies, candy corn, edible eyes, and a miniature red candy. These Thanksgiving cookies make for great edible table decor!

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Nutter Butter Turkey Cookies

Nutter Butter Turkey Cookies

These Nutter Butter Turkey Cookies only need six ingredients and are quick to whip up. They make a fun treat (Who doesn’t love a Nutter Butter now and again?!) and can double as table decor for your Thanksgiving dinner.

My kiddos get a kick out of these fun cookies and they love to “help” assemble them — it makes a great project to include the little ones.

You can buy everything for these cookies pre-made at the store. Which is a nice shortcut when you have lots to prep for the big eating day! Here’s what we’ve got in these cookies:

  • Large Nutter Butters. These peanut-shaped, peanut butter-flavored sandwich cookies can be found next to other baked cookies in the store.
  • Nutter Butter Minis. These are also called Nutter Butter Bites. You’ll usually find them near the bigger Nutter Butter cookies.
  • Candy corn. The candy corn makes the beak and feather of the turkey. The colors are great for this cookie design, even if the flavors clash a little. Guests can pick them off and eat them on their own if they want.
  • Mini M&M’s. Use M&M Minis baking bits instead of buying the small tubes of mini M&M’s. The baking bits are cheaper and easy to find. Look for them near the baking chips at the store. You only need red ones for this recipe—save the rest for another treat like Chewy Granola Bars!
  • Edible eyes. You can find candy eyes at most grocery stores, craft stores, or online! I like getting mini edible eyes for these Nutter Butter Turkey Cookies. Here is the exact kit I use. (I use the smallest eyes in the package.)
  • Frosting. Many grocery stores sell freshly made frosting in the bakery section (just ask!). Or instead, frosting from the tub works great, or you can make your own!
Step-by-step shots of the turkey cookies assembly: 1. frost back of smaller cookie. 2. Press to attach to larger cookie. 3. Frost and attach edible eyes. 4. Frost and attach candy corn. 5. Cut candy corn, frost, and attach. 6. Frost and attach mini M&M

While you don’t need any special tools to attach the candies to these cookies, I do find a  piping bag fitted with a #3 tip is helpful when attaching the smaller pieces onto the turkey’s face.

Quick Tip

If you prefer, you can use a small plastic bag instead of a piping bag to attach the candies to the cookies. Add all the frosting into the bag and press it to the corner. Seal the bag without air in it and then snip off the tip with scissors — homemade piping bag for the win!

Recipe Variations

  • For the true peanut butter lover, replace the cream cheese frosting with peanut butter frosting (I share my recipe for peanut butter frosting in this Banana Cupcakes post). Replace the regular candy corn with peanut butter candy corn instead.
  • Replace the miniature Nutter Butter cookie “face” with a mini Reese’s peanut butter cup.
  • Not a fan of candy corn? Leave them off if you want; a bald turkey is cute too! ๐Ÿ™‚
  • Press these Nutter Butter Turkey Cookies into these cake mix cupcakes as a festive cupcake topper.
  • Press in 2 mini brown M&M’s at the bottom of the Nutter Butter as “turkey feet”
Close-up of a Nutter Butter Turkey fully assembled.

Recipe tips

  • Use a very sharp serrated knife to cut the candy corn “beak” for the turkey.
  • Use fresh frosting — if it sits out for a bit and is dry or crusty, the ingredients won’t stick as nicely.
  • Be gentle when handling these Nutter Butter Turkey Cookies. Even when the frosting hardens, they are pretty fragile and can fall apart easily. If you want super sturdy turkey cookies, use royal icing instead of regular frosting.
  • These cookies are best made fresh — when these assembled cookies sit out, they become stale or softened from the frosting — especially if you live in a humid area.
  • Use fresh candy corn. When using old/hard candy corn, they crumble and break when cutting them into a beak. The fresher the candy corn, the nicer they cut and shape into a beak.

More Festive Thanksgiving Recipes

5 from 2 votes

Nutter Butter Turkey Cookies

Nutter Butter Turkey Cookies are the cutest Thanksgiving treat! Made with Nutter Butter cookies, candy corn, edible eyes, and a red candy, they double as adorable edible table decor.
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 20 minutes
Servings: 32 turkeys

Equipment

  • #3 piping tip with piping bag

Ingredients

  • 1 (16-ounce) container cream cheese frosting store-bought or homemade, see note 1
  • 1 (16-ounce) package Nutter Butter cookies I use 32 for this recipe
  • 1 (8-ounce) package mini Nutter Butter Bites see note 2
  • 64 candy eyeballs see note 3
  • 1 (20-ounce) bag candy corn see note 4
  • 32 miniature red candies I use mini M&M’s

Instructions 

  • Fill a plastic bag with the frosting or use a frosting bag fitted with a #3 tip. I find using a piping bag fitted with a #3 tip is helpful when attaching the smaller pieces onto the turkey’s face. If using a plastic bag, add all the frosting into the bag and press it to the corner. Seal the bag without air and snip off the tip with scissors—homemade piping bag for the win!
  • Lay out the large Nutter Butter Cookies. Frost the back of 3 candy corns and gently press to attach them to the top of the cookies. Frost the back of the mini Nutter Butter Bites and attach to the bottom 1/3 of the cookies. Frost the back of two edible eye candies and attach them to the small cookies.
  • Take some of the candy corns and cut off the yellow and white part with a sharp, serrated knife. Cut the orange part in half and shape with your fingers to make a beak. Frost the back of that “beak” and attach it to the mini Nutter Butter below the edible eyes.
  • Frost the side of a miniature red candy and attach it to the side of the “beak.”
  • Allow the frosting to dry and set. Enjoy! Move these cookies carefully, because they can fall apart easily.

Video

Recipe Notes

Note 1: A lot of grocery stores sell freshly made frosting in the bakery section that can be used instead of tub frosting. Or try my homemade cream cheese frosting! If using from the tub, you won’t use all the frosting, so store leftovers covered in the fridge according to package directions.
Note 2: If you can’t find miniature Nutter Butter bites, use mini Reese’s cups instead (unwrapped and attached wavy side up on the Nutter Butter).
Note 3: Edible eye candies can be found at craft/hobby stores, most larger chain grocery stores, and online! I like getting mini edible eyes for these cookies—here is the exact kit I use (I use the smallest eyes in the package).
Note 4: Old candy corns do not cut well, so make sure you have fresh candy corn. 
Nutrition Note: Nutrition information is calculated based on packaged frosting.
Storage: These are best enjoyed the same day they’re made—as they sit out, the frosting makes the cookies soggy and the cookies can become stale.

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving | Calories: 134kcal | Carbohydrates: 28g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 3g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 1mg | Sodium: 75mg | Potassium: 5mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 26g | Vitamin A: 1IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 1mg | Iron: 1mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Meet Chelsea


Hello, and welcome to Chelseaโ€™s Messy Apron! Iโ€™m Chelsea, the recipe developer, food photographer, and writer behind the site. Iโ€™m passionate about creating simple, reliable, and delicious recipes that anyone can make.

Thanks for stopping byโ€”I hope you find something delicious to make!

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5 from 2 votes

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Recipe Rating




13 Comments

  1. Hadley says:

    These Nutter Butter Turkey Cookies are absolutely adorable! I love how creative and fun they lookโ€”perfect for a Thanksgiving treat. I canโ€™t wait to try making them with my kids; theyโ€™ll have a blast decorating! Thanks for the awesome recipe, Chelsea!

    1. Chelsea says:

      Thanks Hadley!

  2. Rebecca says:

    5 stars
    Love Love these

    1. Chelsea Lords says:

      Thanks Rebecca! ๐Ÿ™‚

  3. aimee says:

    Oh my gosh Chelsea, these are the cutest cookies I have ever seen! I love how simple they are to make too!

  4. Tin says:

    This would make the kids go nuts!

    1. chelseamessyapron says:

      Thank you so much Tin!! ๐Ÿ™‚

  5. Ashley says:

    I haven’t had nutter butters in soooo long! And now I want some. These are adorable!!

    1. chelseamessyapron says:

      Thanks Ashley!! Aren’t they so good? Haha!

  6. haley says:

    These are so stinking cute!!!!!

    1. chelseamessyapron says:

      Thanks Haley!! ๐Ÿ™‚

  7. Kayle says:

    5 stars
    ooooh these are so cute!!!!!

    1. chelseamessyapron says:

      Thank you Kayle! ๐Ÿ™‚