Turkey Cupcakes

Twix candy bars are the surprise secret for the sweet decorations on these treats.

Ingredients

Cupcakes:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 Tbs. ground cinnamon
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 1½ tsp. ground ginger
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1 tsp. salt
• ¼ tsp. ground cloves
• 2 cups canned pumpkin
• 4 eggs
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 cup packed dark brown sugar
• 1 cup oil
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 8 Tbs. hazelnut-chocolate spread, such as Nutella

Frosting:

• 2 cups butter (1 lb.), at room temperature
• 6 cups confectioners’ sugar
• 1 Tbs. vanilla extract
• 2 tsp. no taste red concentrated food coloring
• ½ tsp. orange concentrated food coloring
• ¼ tsp. golden yellow concentrated food coloring
• 1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 2 Tbs. hot water

Decorations:

• 12 marshmallows, cut in half
• 24 Annas Ginger Swedish Thins cookies
• 48 Wilton white confetti sprinkles
• 24 Twix miniatures candies, unwrapped
• 1 tube (4.25 oz.) black decorating icing
• 24 Wilton orange confetti hearts sprinkles

Instructions

Make cupcakes:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Line 24 muffin cups with cupcake liners. In medium bowl, whisk together flour, cinnamon, baking powder, ginger, baking soda, salt and cloves. In large bowl, whisk together pumpkin, eggs, granulated and brown sugars, oil and vanilla; with spoon, stir in flour mixture until combined.
2. Evenly divide batter among muffin cups. Drop 1 tsp. Nutella in center of batter in each liner. With skewer or toothpick, lightly swirl Nutella into top of batter. Bake 22-25 minutes or until toothpick inserted into centers comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes. Transfer from pans to racks; cool.

Make frosting:

1. On medium speed, beat butter until light and fluffy. On low, gradually beat in sugar, then vanilla. On medium, beat until fluffy. Divide 3 cups of frosting among 3 bowls. Stir red coloring into one bowl, orange coloring into a second bowl and yellow coloring into third bowl.
2. Transfer each color of frosting to separate disposable pastry bags, each fitted with coupler and petal tip (such as Wilton #104). To remaining frosting, on low, gradually beat in cocoa and hot water; beat on medium until fluffy. Transfer to pastry bag fitted with round tip (such as Wilton #2A). Pipe chocolate frosting over cupcakes. 

Assemble:

1. Working with 1 cupcake at a time, place 1 marshmallow piece on cupcake toward back half; insert 1 cookie into frosting, leaning against marshmallow.
2. For feathers, starting with red frosting, pipe boarder around edge of cookie. Using orange frosting, pipe on another row, slightly overlapping red frosting.
3. Pipe on yellow frosting to cover remaining cookie. Replace red and orange pastry bag tips with small round plain tips. For eyes, attach white sprinkles to Twix with black icing; add icing pupils. With red frosting, pipe on wattle; attach heart sprinkle. Insert Twix in front of feathers. Pipe on orange feet.