Be the hero we all need this Thanksgiving and make a Rice Krispie Treat Turkey.
Rice Krispie Treats Turkey
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A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away, I saw a photo on Facebook of a turkey someone made using the Rice Krispie Treats recipe. Like, a whole turkey. As if you had just pulled it out of the oven.
I immediately started cracking up and sent a screenshot to my cousin who has a birthday that falls on or around Thanksgiving each year. She immediately wrote back and said “I want a candle in it!” After that we shared a laugh and moved on with our respective days. But the idea stayed in my head and I knew I had to replicate it.
So in addition to my other desserts that year, there was a lovely Rice Krispie Treat Turkey sharing the Thanksgiving dessert table and many to follow. He was stuffed with Reese’s Pieces and he was amazing!
Tips for making a Rice Krispie
I’ve made this guy several times now and I still find it to be pretty easy to make. Here are some great tips to make this a little easier for you.
- Use non-stick foil. That and my faithful can of cooking spray made everything much easier.
- Use a plastic cup like a red solo cup or disposable coffee cup wrapped in foil to help make forming the carcass a bit easier.
- Grab a friend. it really helps to have another person there to hold the cup while you build the turkey carcass around it.
- Refrigerate it to set. I find that refrigerating it overnight helps it set and makes assembly much easier. Even just 30 minutes in the fridge helps, but overnight is ideal.
- Assemble just before serving. Gravity can be an evil little trickster, specifically in the case of the drumsticks. I’ve have the best luck refrigerating everything and assembling just before serving. If you absolutely must assemble in advance, ball up some of the foil to place under the drums and wings to help keep them from falling.
- Be strategic about placing your tooth picks. Try to keep in mind the spots that are most likely to succumb to gravity- I’ve been know to pop a toothpick into the “bone” part of the drumstick when necessary. Just don’t go overboard as they can cause the pieces to fall apart if you put too many.
- Use common sense when eating this. Make sure you and your guests are mindful of toothpicks that are used to hold the turkey together. Use common sense (like we all should be in general!) and be mindful of the toothpicks that may be in the pieces that you’re eating, especially when giving this to kids.
Make it a meal!
A few great recipes to round out and complete this meal are:
- Orange Rosemary Oven Roast Turkey
- French Onion Creamy Mashed Potatoes
- Grandma’s Baked Artichoke Hearts
- Homemade Cranberry Sauce
- Easy Garlic Green Beans
- Savory Sweet Potato Casserole
- Sausage and Corn Bread Dressing
- Cheesy Corn Casserole
- Chocolate Cream Pie
- Cherry Cheesecake Pie
Helpful tools:
- Cast iron dutch oven
or this kind of dutch oven
- Measuring cups
- Wooden spoon
- Non-stick foil
- Toothpicks
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Be the hero we all need this Thanksgiving and make a Rice Krispie Treat Turkey.
- 6 Tablespoons salted butter
- 8 cups mini marshmallows
- 12 cups Rice Krispies cereal
- Non-stick foil
- A light-weight cup (I used a red solo cup)
- Cooking spray
- White paper
- Clear tape
- Tooth picks
- Reese's Pieces or whatever "stuffing"you want
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Cover the cup with foil and make sure the non-stick side is up on that as well. Spray it well with cooking spray.
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Lay out a large piece of foil with the non-stick side up next to the serving platter.
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Melt your butter over medium heat.
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Spray a mixing spoon with cooking spray and stir in the marshmallows until they've melted. Remove the pan from the heat.
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Add your Rice Krispies and stir until well combined.
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Pour this mixture onto the piece of non-stick foil and allow it to cool for a moment or two (you don't want it to cool completely, just slightly so that you don't burn yourself).
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Working fast, divide the Rice Krispie Treat mixture so that there's 2/3 of it to make the body and set 1/3 of it to the side to make the wings and drumsticks.
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Starting with the 2/3 portion of the Rice Krispie Treat mixture, take a small amount of it and create a base about an inch thick on the serving platter.
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Place the cup on it's side onto the base so that open part of the cup is slightly off of the base where the turkey's opening will be so the majority of the cup is laying on the base.
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Build the rest of Rice Krispie Treat mixture around the cup to create the turkey's carcass with the cup in it's cavity (once this is set you'll be able to pull the cup out and stuff it with candy). Make sure the mixture around the cavity isn't too thin. Be sure to press the mixture in well so that it's not too loose when it dries.
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Next, take the other 1/3 of the Rice Krispie Treat mixture and divide it into four parts.
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Use each part to mold two drumsticks and two wings and set them aside and make sure you press them into shape tightly. (I kept these on the a separate pan lined with non-stick foil- keep in mind that you'll want to shape the wings so that the thinner back parts of them go up in different directions since they will be on either side of the Turkey).
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Cover everything with the nonstick side of the foil and allow it to rest and set for at least 30 minutes in the refrigerator (overnight is preferable).
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To make the bone end of the drumsticks, take strips of white paper, and fold them in half length-wise.
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Cut half way up along the fold every half inch or s and wrap it around the ends of drumsticks and secure with a piece of clear tape.
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Use toothpicks to carefully secure your drums and wings to the turkey (this can be a bit tricky and you'll need to rig it up the right certain spots depending on your drumsticks and gravity).
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Stuff the turkey with candy.
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Serve immediately or cover with non-stick foil until you're ready to serve.
One of our readers Rose Klein gave this awesome tip, "Just made a turkey following your recipe and wanted to add that it looks nicely roasted if you gently dust it with cinnamon, sugar and butter melted into a glaze. It gives it a nice toasty coloring, a slight taste, and cools to a nice moist looking sheen." Thanks Rose!
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44 Comments
Phyllis
November 25, 2015 at 10:56 am I love this!! How creative! I'm so gonna try this. Just followed you on Pinterest too. I'm a newlywed that's always looking for new recipes to try. Thanks! And happy birthday to your cousin :-)Jessy
November 25, 2015 at 11:00 am Thank you! Congrats on your recent marriage! I hope you enjoy the turkey! :)Phyllis
November 25, 2015 at 11:13 am Thank you!Jessy
December 1, 2015 at 4:08 pm :)Huub Ricardo
November 25, 2015 at 2:44 pm This is so cool!!! And loved the way you style it for the photo!! Many props to you.Jessy
December 1, 2015 at 4:06 pm Thank you! I had fun making and photographing it.Ana
November 25, 2015 at 4:54 pm Wow it looks so innovative and am sure the crunchy taste of turkey would be awesome.Jessy
December 1, 2015 at 4:05 pm THank you- I couldn't get over how easy it was to make!Leigh
December 1, 2015 at 3:03 pm So cool! It's just way too cute.Jessy
December 1, 2015 at 3:48 pm Thank you :)Maria
December 1, 2015 at 4:18 pm What a cute and yummy looking turkey recipe! LOVE it! Maria http://theclassifiedchic.comJessy
December 1, 2015 at 4:20 pm Thank you!Designing Vibes
December 1, 2015 at 4:30 pm Jessy, This is so awesome. You are so talented and creative. Hope you enjoyed your Thanksgiving! Much Love, Erica-Designing VibesJessy
December 2, 2015 at 11:31 am Thank you for the kind words- our Thanksgiving was great and I hope yours was too!Ann
December 5, 2015 at 8:16 am oh my! this is the most creative creation I have come across yet! Rice crispy turkey! Awesome. You've got the shape right too..looks like a lot of hard work there! #thursdayfavouritethingsbloghopJessy
December 7, 2015 at 11:20 am Thank you- I really enjoyed making it!Katherines Corner
December 6, 2015 at 8:37 am Sequel!!! I love this!! Thank you for sharing at the Thursday Favorite Things blog hop. Watch for your feature tomorrow xoJessy
December 7, 2015 at 11:20 am Thank you :) I had a ton of fun making it!Aspen Jay
December 7, 2015 at 1:16 pm This is absolutely hilarious Jessy! I'm sure my kids would go for this rather than the traditional turkey. :) Cheers, AJJessy
December 8, 2015 at 12:09 pm Thank you! I know my daughter loved it!Nicole - The Paper Baker
December 8, 2015 at 10:13 am What!?! This is BEYOND neat!!! My birthday falls on or around Thanksgiving too! I am so doing this ;-)Jessy
December 8, 2015 at 12:07 pm Thank you- I hope you enjoy and happy birthday!Rhonda
October 24, 2016 at 7:03 pm I found this turkey on Pinterest. It's adorable, and perfect for a kid's table. Thanks for sharing.Jessy
October 24, 2016 at 9:50 pm Thank you! If this was at our kids table when I was a kid, I'm pretty sure that night would have gone down in history as the best Thanksgiving ever!! On a side note, there were only 2 actual kids at our table when I made this (the rest of us were kids table alumni haha) and the adults were also pretty excited. Enjoy!Michele
September 29, 2017 at 11:54 am OMG... this is flipping hilarious! Your girls must get a huge kick out of this!Jessy
September 29, 2017 at 1:47 pm Hahaha thank you- they totally did!Nancy Knowlton
October 29, 2017 at 1:09 pm What kind of cup did you use?Jessy
October 30, 2017 at 12:03 pm I used a red solo cup- I'll be shooting a video for this in the next week or two so keep your eyes open for it :)PATRICIA KELLMANN
November 12, 2017 at 12:37 pm want to make this b ut your video doesnt workjJessy
November 12, 2017 at 6:33 pm Hi Patricia- It sounds like it may be an issue with your computer. I just tested it and it played fine on my computer. You can also view the video on my facebook page (it's pinned to the top) and the recipe is also written out in this very post.Ashley @ Wishes & Dishes
November 15, 2017 at 2:46 pm I might do this for Thanksgiving!Jessy
November 16, 2017 at 9:32 am Please send me a pic :)Megan @ Megunprocessed
November 16, 2017 at 1:19 pm This is too cute!!Jessy
November 16, 2017 at 9:55 pm Thanks Megan!Carolyn Ingram
November 17, 2017 at 5:44 pm This is such a cute idea!Jessy
November 18, 2017 at 11:41 pm Thanks Carolyn!Laura
November 19, 2017 at 9:55 am I absolutely LOVE this! It might be the cutest most creative thing I've seen on the internet this season! :)Jessy
November 19, 2017 at 11:00 am Awwww thanks Laura! It was super fun to make (and eat!).Lori
November 19, 2018 at 10:14 pm The video says to make a double batch of Rice Krispie treats. Are the quantities reflected in your recipe considered a double batch or do we need to double that amount? I’m going to try to make it this year. Can I make it 2 days ahead? Super excited!!!Jessy Freimann
November 19, 2018 at 10:21 pm Yes, the quantities shown are a double batch and are exactly what is shown in the video. I'm glad to hear you're giving it a try. You can totally make it two days ahead. You might consider putting some bunched up pieces of paper towel under the drums because gravity could take it's toll and make them fall down. Or perform a little emergency surgery before serving if necessary ;) Enjoy- and please let me know how it goes. You'll do great!Lori
November 19, 2018 at 10:36 pm Thank you so much :) Have a great thanksgiving!Jessy Freimann
November 19, 2018 at 10:38 pm Happy thanksgiving to you!Rosie Klein
November 22, 2018 at 1:07 pm Just made a turkey following your recipe and wanted to add that it looks nicely roasted if you gently dust it with cinnamon, sugar and butter melted into a glaze. It gives it a nice toasty coloring, a slight taste, and cools to a nice moist looking sheen. Thanks so much for this fun recipe!Jessy Freimann
November 23, 2018 at 5:52 pm What a brilliant idea! I'm definitely going to add this to the recipe notes. Happy Thanksgiving!