Cinnamon Roll Turkeys (No Bacon)

Turkey is tradition for Thanksgiving Dinner, but have you ever considered having it for breakfast? These Cinnamon Roll Turkeys will wow your kids!

This version, without the bacon, is delicious, easy, and appropriate for all eaters. We’ve even included gluten-free and vegan variations.

Serve Cinnamon Roll Turkeys alongside a hearty Egg Bake with Ham & Spinach to hold everyone over until the big feast later in the day. If you make homemade dough, you can even freeze the cinnamon rolls in advance!

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I was a postpartum mess at Thanksgiving 2006. My father-in-law, bless his heart, brought home packages of cinnamon rolls for me to bake for breakfast. He meant well.

But, with a 10-day old newborn to nurse and a turkey dinner to prep, I… well, I had a good cry.

And when I was done, the Good Lord redeemed those blessed cans of cinnamon rolls. It must have been divine inspiration; I can’t think of what else it could have been!

I smacked that can of refrigerated sweet rolls against the counter (hard, I imagine) and dreamt up Cinnamon Roll Turkeys.

It was 2006. My babes were 9, 6, 4, 2, and newborn. I was into cutting food into cool shapes and coating it with sprinkles. As one does. I busted out a can of refrigerator biscuits (smacked those hard on the counter, too) and a few jars of sparkly sugar.

And so it became a FishFam tradition. It really wouldn’t be Thanksgiving without them. Even the big boys/college men/grown-and-flown adult children are fond of the tradition.

Why Make These

It’s super fun! Kids, young and old, have fun decorating their turkey feathers and baking up their own Cinnamon Roll Turkeys. You can get quite creative, making for a good busy activity for kids on Thanksgiving morning.

They’re easy. This tutorial will set you up for quick and easy assembly with refrigerated biscuits and cinnamon rolls. You can even make them when you’re ten days postpartum. 😉

Ingredients

Here’s what you need to make Cinnamon Roll Turkeys:

large refrigerator cinnamon rolls – This serves as the body for your Cinnamon Roll Turkeys. You can use commercial rolls, like Pillsbury Grands or see my homemade variation below.

large refrigerator biscuits – You will be slicing up the biscuits into wedges for the turkey feathers.

You’ll need 1 unbaked cinnamon roll and 1 ½ large unbaked refrigerated biscuits for each serving.

chocolate chips, nuts, or candy coated chocolates – Your Cinnamon Roll Turkeys need to see! Make sure they’ve got eyes. You can use chocolate chips, nuts, or candy-coated chocolates.

In 15 years of making these, I’ve learned not to use red hots or dried fruit for the eyes. The red hots melt and make the turkey look like it’s crying; the dried fruit becomes rock hard after baking.

colored sprinkles – This is what gives your turkey feathers their color. You can use non-pareils, jimmies, or sanding sugar.

What? No Bacon? No you don’t need bacon on your cinnamon roll. Considering how expensive bacon is and the fact that kids will often prefer sprinkles over bacon anyway, this is clearly the way to go.

Homemade Variation

I am partial to making homemade cinnamon rolls for these turkeys, so I freeze my cinnamon rolls and some extra dough, along with my Thanksgiving Sides, a few weeks in advance to make it easy. The night before Turkey Day, I pull out the rolls and dough to thaw and rise. In the morning, the kids can assemble their Cinnamon Roll Turkeys.

Gluten-free Variation

If you want to make these gluten-free, homemade is going to be the way to go.

1. Try this gluten-free recipe from Lynn’s Kitchen Adventures.
2. Be sure that any sprinkles or candies you use are gluten-free.

Vegan Variation

To make these vegan, you’ll need to do a couple things:

1. Make a homemade dough without eggs and using plant-based milk and butter OR pick up a few cans of Immaculate Baking refrigerated rolls and biscuits.
2. Be sure that any sprinkles or candies you use are vegan. One clue will be that they use pure cane sugar.

Step-by-Step Instructions

Prep step – Since the rolls need to spread out as they bake, you’ll need several baking sheets. Line the baking sheets with parchment paper so you don’t have to wash the pans.

Using parchment paper to assemble your turkeys will also make it easier to transfer them on and off the pan, especially if you’re reusing the pan.

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1. The cinnamon roll will serve as the turkey’s body. Place this on the prepared pan. You will likely be able to fit two to four turkeys on each baking sheet.

2. Slice some of the biscuits into wedges. Dip the wedges into the sprinkles to coat. Tuck the feathers until the cinnamon rolls on the baking sheet.

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3. Cut the remaining biscuits into quarters. One quarter is for the turkey’s face. Place this in the middle of the cinnamon roll with the point pointing down. Poke two chocolate chips for eyes into the turkey’s “face”.

Another quarter is for the turkey’s legs. Cut a ¼ biscuit into two halves; cut two slits partially through each ⅛ triangle shape so the claws spread out. Tuck the legs under the bottom of the cinnamon roll. You want them to touch so that they stick together when baking.

(The remaining ½ biscuit will not be used. Bake it for a snack or get creative.)

Bake the Cinnamon Roll Turkeys according to the cinnamon roll directions.

FAQs

Recipe Costs

Knowing how much it costs you to prepare a recipe can help you decide if it’s the type of recipe to make regularly or one you might want to save for special occasions. Let’s crunch some numbers and see how this recipe pencils out.

• large cinnamon rolls – $4.12
• biscuits – $1.98
• candies and sprinkles – $0.50

While your costs may vary depending on where and how you shop, you can expect to pay about $6.60 for a batch, about $1.32/serving.’

Cut your costs in half if you use homemade dough.

Save even more:

To make this recipe more economical:

• Stock up on ingredients when they are on sale. Commercial refrigerator biscuits are not cheap. However, they do go on sale occasionally, and coupons are often available. Combine a sale with a coupon to get a great deal.
• Buy post-holiday clearance items. Every holiday, it seems, warrants its own specialized baking ingredients: New Year’s, Valentine’s, St. Patrick’s, Easter, 4th of July, Halloween, and Christmas. That means that in the days after these holidays, you can find baking items, like sparkling sugar and candy sprinkles at a deep discount. Valentine’s Red, St Patrick’s green and Halloween’s orange all work for Thanksgiving turkeys!
• Shop at the lowest price store. I’m currently using a price book to track prices and that’s saving me money. In lieu of a sale, I know what store typically has the best price on refrigerator biscuits. In this case, that would be ALDI.
• Make homemade! Homemade dough will cost about ½ what the commercial doughs cost. You pay for the convenience.

Homemade Dough Recipes

This post was originally published on November 9, 2009. It has been updated for content and clarity.