Drive around this turkey donut race car, then devour it with your guests! Isn’t it more fun when your Thanksgiving treats can move? Check out those Life Savers tires and vegetable root chip turkey feathers. Did I mention the tires even rotate? 3,2,1 ... it’s time to race your cars!
Thanksgiving Treats
Raise your hand if you think Thanksgiving treats are meant to be played with! This Thanksgiving, spice things up with a little dinner table competition. I’m giving you the blueprint so that you can construct and race these turkey donut cars around the main course and back. It only takes 15 minutes to build.
This clever turkey donut race car is fully loaded with rotating tires made of cherry Life Savers. To make the car frame, you only need three things: Wilton treat sticks, Life Savers, and a Tootsie Roll. Read my expert tips below to find out why Wilton treat sticks are paired best with the Life Savers tires.
What’s keeping the car frame together? I carefully molded a Tootsie Roll into various shapes to connect the car frame and keep the tires in place.
Donut anyone? Don’t mind if I do. Lately I’ve been on a donut kick, so I crafted the turkey’s body out of a chocolate donut (yum, my fave). The turkey’s head is a donut hole with candy eyeballs and a candy corn beak. The turkeys’ feathers are vegetable root chips.
Building Thanksgiving desserts for kids is just as much fun for adults! Move over Uncle Slow Poke, because the person with the fastest car gets to eat all of the turkey donut race cars!
Tips For Making Thanksgiving Desserts For Kids And Adults
Tip 1: Build an “A” For The Car Frame
When you’re building the car frame, the key is to arrange the treat sticks so it’s in the shape of an “A.” This way there’s enough room for a handle so you can push and steer the car. Check out the image below to see the top view of the frame.
Tip 2: Use 6” Wilton Treat Sticks with Life Savers
Don’t waste time trying out different types of sticks or skewers. The 6” Wilton treat sticks are perfect because they the diameter of the stick gives enough clearance for the Life Savers tires to rotate. Also, they easily support the delectable weight of the turkey donut above.
Tip 3: What Are The Best Chips For The Turkey Feathers?
I’m using Trader Joe’s root chips because they’re decliciously thin and crispy! Plus, candy corn feathers is SO overdone. Before I add the feathers I like to empty the entire bag of chips onto a cookie tray and create piles of different colored chips and weed out the broken pieces. I know this is an extra step but it allows you to pick the best looking chips for the turkey feathers. Plus, the broken chips become my snack. You can also use Terra Chips, which are available in most grocery stores.
Tip 4: Whatever You Do, Don’t Use Gummy Candy For The Tire Supports!
Why? If you use gummy candy, the Wilton treat stick will be covered in gummy goo and the Life Savers tire will not rotate. Leave a small gap on either side of the tire and use Tootsie Roll instead. I initially tried using DOTS gummy candy and the tires got stuck on the gummy goo!
Tools And Ingredients
Thanksgiving desserts for kids should be fun and easy to make. To simplify your build, below is a list of the tools and ingredients needed. (Note: All products purchased by me. These Amazon affiliate links help support this content. Thanks for your support!)
- Chocolate donuts (turkey body)
- Donut holes (turkey head)
- Wilton candy eyeballs (turkey eyes)
- Cadbury Dairy Milk chocolate bar or Chocolate chips (used to attach goggly eyes)
- Candy corn (turkey beak)
- Trader Joe’s vegetable root chips or Terra chips (turkey feathers)
- Cherry Life Savers (car tires)
- Tootsie Roll (used to connect the car frame and keep the tires in place)
- Wilton 6 inch treat stick (car frame)
Why Make Unique Thanksgiving Desserts?
Aren’t you bored of the usual turkey-shaped desserts? To me, it’s not enough that it’s turkey-themed. This year, I really wanted to push the limits and build a moveable dessert that you can race with your family and friends. Plus, Thanksgiving desserts for kids should be fun for adults too!
To up the uniqueness of this thanksgiving dessert, you can get all of your guests to build their own turkey donut race cars and see what everyone comes up with. This is my blueprint, but I’d love to see what you come up with too. Leave me a comment below and tell me what favorite Thanksgiving treats you come up!
RELEVANT Recipes For Making Thanksgiving Treats
MORE CHEWABLE STRUCTURES
Turkey Donut Racing Cars For Thanksgiving Treats
Ingredients
- 4 chocolate donuts
- 4 donut holes
- 8 Wilton candy eyeballs
- 2 Tbsp Cadbury Dairy Milk chocolate bar (or Chocolate chips)
- 4 pieces candy corn
- 7.5 ounce bag of Trader Joe’s vegetable root chips
- 8 cherry Life Savers
- 225 ounce Tootsie Roll
Equipments
- 16 Wilton treat sticks, 6 inch (Each car frame uses 4 treat sticks)
- 4 toothpicks
Instructions
Build The Turkey Donut:
- Using a toothpick, attach donut hole (turkey’s heato the top side of the donut (turkeys' body).
- Add chocolate to a small bowl and microwave it for 45 seconds. Stir with a toothpick. If it’s not melted, microwave for additional 15-second intervals. (Note: To prevent burning, stir chocolate after each interval.)
- Using a toothpick, add melted chocolate to the backside of two candy eyeballs and stick them to the donut hole.
- Using a small knife, make a vertical cut in the donut hole below the eyes. Add a candy corn (Turkeys' beain the slit.
- Using a small knife, make 6 cuts on the topside of the donut. Watch the video for a better visual. Lightly push a red root chip (Turkey’s featheinto each slit.
- Repeat above steps for the remaining donuts.
Build The Car:
- Car Frame: Add two Life Savers (tireto each end of two treat sticks. In other words, the entire car frame has 8 Life Saver tires (ie. each treat stick has four tires with two tires on each end). (See blog post images for an overhead shot of the frame, including labels of each component). Leave enough room at the end of each treat stick to secure the tires in place using Tootsie Roll logs (frame supports).
- Tire supports: Cut a small chunk of the Tootsie Roll. Using your finger tips, roll it into a log (about 6 inch long by ⅛ inch diameter). It’s roughly the same shape and size as the treat stick. Cut the log into 8 equal sections. Wrap the small Tootsie Roll log around the treat stick on either side of the Life Savers. Note: leave a small gap between the Tootsie Roll and the Life Savers so that the tire can still spin.
- Frame Supports: Cut a small chunk of the Tootsie Roll. Using your finger tips, mold it into the shape of two quarters. Cut another chunk of the Tootsie Roll and roll it into a small log (around 6 inch long by ⅛ inch diameter).
- Assemble The Car Frame: Place two treat sticks on top of the tire frames so that it makes the shape of an “A” (See blog post for images). Secure the “A-Frame” in place using the frame supports (Tootsie Roll). Note: leave enough space at the bottom of the treat stick to use as handles so you can push the car around.
- Assemble the Turkey Donut Race Car: Place the turkey donut on top of the car frame. It’s time to raise your cars!
Video
Notes
- When you’re building the car frame, the key is to arrange the treat sticks so it’s in the shape of an “A.” This way there’s enough room for a handle so you can push and steer the car. (See blog post above for overhead image of the car frame)
- Don’t waste time trying out different types of sticks or skewers for the car frame. Just use the 6” Wilton treat sticks, which are perfect because the diameter of the stick gives enough clearance for the Life Savers tires to rotate. It also easily supports the weight of the turkey donut above.
- What are the best chips to use for the turkey feathers? I’m using Trader Joe’s root chips because they’re decliciously thin and crispy! Before I add the feathers I like to empty the entire bag of chips onto a cookie tray and create piles of different colored chips and weed out the broken pieces. I know this is an extra step but it allows you to pick the best looking chips for the turkey feathers. Plus, the broken chips become my snack. You can also use Terra Chips, which are available in most grocery stores.
- Do NOT use gummy candy (ie. DOTS, gummy bears, etc.) for the tire supports. If you use gummy candy, the treat stick will be covered in gummy goo and the lifesaver tire will not rotate. Use Tootsie Roll instead. See the blog post above for images of what not to do!
Nutrition
* All products purchased by me. Please note that all my links should be considered affiliate links, which help support this content. Thanks for your support!
Friendsgiving Virtual Potluck Recipes
I'm also excited because this year I have teamed up with a bunch of my talented blogger friends for a Friendsgiving Virtual Potluck! They went all out this year to create the best recipes for your Friendsgiving and Thanksgiving table.
Special thank you to my friend Julie Deily of The Little Kitchen. Julie is the mastermind behind the potluck.
For more delicious Friendsgiving and Thanksgiving recipes check out the recipes below. There are also unique craft ideas! Follow #blogfriendsgiving on Instagram to check out their stunning creations. Happy eating!
Appetizers
Baked Brie with Honey & Walnuts from Kelley of Mountain Mama Cooks
Reindeer Bacon Cheddar Cheese Ball from Julie of Julie Blanner
Salads
Sauteed Kale and Brussels Sprout Salad with Cranberries and Walnuts from Shashi of Savory Spin
Creamy Brussels Sprouts Salad from Faith of An Edible Mosaic
Main Dishes
Savory Vegetable Crisp from Bree of Baked Bree
Rosemary Lamb Steaks from Danyelle of The Cubicle Chick
Turkey Pot Pie from Kelly of Eat Picks
Side Dishes
Fried Brussels Sprouts from Erin of The Almond Eater
Cheesy Horseradish Mashed Potato Casserole from Renee of Kudos Kitchen by Renee
Cranberry Cream Cheese Dip from April of April Golightly
Sauteed Garlic-Butter Mushrooms from Linda of Simply Healthyish Recipes
Easy Cheesy Hash Brown Casserole Recipe from Mel of Adventures of Mel
Cornbread Stuffing with Chorizo from Isabel of Isabel Eats
Bacon Brussels Sprouts from Kara of Kara J. Miller
Crockpot Sweet Potato Casserole from Jennifer of Show Me the Yummy
Amazing Gluten Free Thanksgiving Stuffing from Sommer of A Spicy Perspective
Pumpkin Caramelized Onion Gratin from Denise of Chez Us
Crockpot Mac & Cheese from Leanette Fernandez of Funtastic Life
Cheesy Brussels Sprouts au Gratin from Rachel Gurk of Rachel Cooks
Drinks
Spiced Pumpkin Margarita from Sharon of Cupcakes and Cutlery
Breads
Sourdough Pull Apart Rolls from Erica of Buttered Side Up
How to Make Homemade Butterhorn Rolls from Mel of Flour on My Fingers
Sweet Dinner Rolls from Jocelyn of Grandbaby Cakes
Parker House Rolls from Irvin of Eat the Love
Desserts
Sugar Pie from Julie of The Little Kitchen
Oatmeal Apple Crisp from Julie of Peanut Butter Fingers
Pumpkin Pie Milkshake from Eden of Sugar and Charm
Strudel Pastry from Justine of The Typical Mom
Tahini Hawaij Pumpkin Pie from Amy of What Jew Wanna Eat
Turkey Cookies from Meaghan of The Decorated Cookie
Mini Apple Pie Bites from Lynsey of MoscatoMom
Kabocha squash pie from Hilah of hilahcooking
Pecan Pie Cupcakes from Courtney of Pizzazzerie
Coconut Cream Pie from Schnelle of Brooklyn Active Mama
Chocolate chip cheesecake from Jeannette of Hispana Global
Chocolate Pecan Pie from Kate of I Heart Eating
Mini Pumpkin Cheesecakes from Chelsea of Someday I'll Learn
Turkey Donut Race Cars For Thanksgiving Treats from Theresa of Chewable Structures
Crafts and Centerpieces
Cinnamon Stick Holiday Candle Place Setting from Alli of Made with HAPPY
Metallic Pumpkin Luminaries from Amy of As The Bunny Hops
Easy centerpiece that will stun + party favor from Noelle of Oh Happy Play
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