These Thanksgiving Cake Pops are SO FUN and Easy to Make!

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Thanksgiving cake pops are easy to make and so fun. They really make the perfect Thanksgiving dessert. Plus the kids will love them!

Thanksgiving Cake Pops

These turkey cake pops are perfect for the kids table on Thanksgiving or to send home as gifts with your guests. I’m telling you how to make them, and sharing some tips & tricks I learned along the way!

Ingredients needed:

One box of cake mix in your chosen flavor
One tub of frosting in your chosen flavor
16 oz melting chocolate (I used this milk chocolate flavor so they tasted great!)
Candy corn
Candy eyeball sprinkles
Ritz crackers
Red decorative icing
Cake pop sticks (like these – if you’re shopping in store, these are with the specialty baking near the crafts)

How to make Thanksgiving cake pops:

Something I learned along the way making these – give yourself A LOT of time! These cake pops require freezing and chilling in between most of these steps, so make sure to make these in advance of when you need them.

Prepare your cake mix according to the instructions on the box. Let cool completely.
Once cake is cool, transfer cake to a large bowl. Break up the cake and crumble into a sand texture.
Add the tub of frosting and mix well until you have a soft dough (think playing with Play-Doh).
Once you have totally mixed the cake and frosting, chill in the fridge for a minimum of 2 hours (or speed this up by putting in the freezer).
Take your cold dough and begin to roll out 1.5″ balls. Try to get them as round and smooth as possible. Transfer to a cookie sheet lined with wax paper. Place in the freezer for 30 minutes.
Melt a small amount of your chocolate. This will act as a little glue on the end of the cake pop stick when you insert it into each pop. Dip the end of the stick in the chocolate, and then immediately insert into a ball while the chocolate is still liquid. The stick should be directly in the center of each ball.
Place in the freezer for as long as possible – overnight is ideal! This will ensure your cake pops stay nice and firm when you coat them in chocolate.
Melt more of your chocolate according to the instructions on the package. Transfer to a shallow dish or bowl.
Dip a Ritz cracker in the chocolate on one side and place on a piece of wax paper.
Before the chocolate hardens, place four candy corn at the top center of the cracker. These are your feathers!
Repeat until you’ve prepared feathers for all of your turkeys. Place in the freezer to let the chocolate harden completely.
Melt the rest of your chocolate. Make sure the chocolate is smooth but be careful not to overheat.
Dip each cake pop into the melted chocolate until completely coated. Tap and spin a little to let excess chocolate drip off. The chocolate will harden quickly, so do the next steps immediately.
Press and hold a candy corn in the middle of the pop for the turkey’s beak.
Add two candy eyeballs right above the beak.
Make sure your chocolate is still liquid on the back (add a little more if it has hardened already) and press and hold your Ritz cracker for about 10 seconds to make sure it is firmly attached.
Cake pops need to stand to dry and let the chocolate harden. You can use a Styrofoam block or a sturdy box with holes poked in it. Place in the freezer for a 20 minutes to allow everything to set completely.

There you have it! These cake pops are the perfect Thanksgiving dessert because they’re not too heavy, and they’re fun and easy to eat.

How far in advance can you make cake pops?

You can easily start your cake pops well in advance of Thanksgiving. Once you make the balls, you can freeze in wax paper and an airtight container for up to three months.

Once dipped in chocolate and turned into turkeys, cake pops will last about 5 days in the fridge.