Cinnamon Roll Turkeys

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

Many moons ago, I was a postpartum mess at Thanksgiving. 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 decided to make 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 the rest, as they say is history. As evidenced here:

FishBoy16, then FishBoy4 in 2006.

Please note: it’s not recommended that you use red hots for turkey eyes. They cry when baked, somewhat apropos to a turkey getting cooked, but also a little creepy.

So, in 2006 Cinnamon Roll Turkeys became a FishFam tradition. It really wouldn’t be Thanksgiving without them. Even the big boys/college men are fond of the tradition.

There are two versions of Cinnamon Roll Turkeys that I recommend. There’s a fully from scratch version here: (Healthier) Turkey Treats for Breakfast, and there is this original recipe:

This version is so quick and simple, you can even make them when you’re ten days postpartum. 😉

How to make Cinnamon Roll Turkeys good and cheap:

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.

How to make this recipe easily:

Having the right kitchen tools can really make your time in the kitchen more enjoyable. Over time, I’ve honed my collection so that they are perfect for my needs. Here are the tools that I use for this recipe:

Here are the tools that I use for this recipe:

• large cutting board – I use this super size cutting board for a work surface for all my doughs. I can easily clean and sanitize it and move it around the kitchen.
• sharp knife or bench knife – For easily cutting dough into pieces.
• parchment paper – I hate washing pans. Parchment paper makes clean up a breeze.
• sheet pans – I LOVE my set of steel sheet pans. They make such a difference in baking.

How to Make Cinnamon Roll Turkeys

Since the turkeys need to spread out, you’ll need several baking sheets, especially if you’re making many Cinnamon Roll Turkeys. 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.

You’ll need 1 unbaked cinnamon roll and 1 1/2 large unbaked refrigerated biscuits for each Cinnamon Roll Turkey, as well as colored sprinkles and edible eyes.

Using chocolate chips, nuts, or candy-coated chocolates for the eyes is best. (Red hots bleed and raisins and dried cranberries get too hard.)

Again, you can use refrigerator rolls or make your own dough.

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.

Cut the 1/2 biscuit in half again. 1/4 is for the turkey’s face. Place this in the middle of the cinnamon roll with the point pointing down. Poke two eyes into the turkey’s face.

Cut the other 1/4 biscuit into two halves; these will be the legs. Cut two slits partially through each 1/8 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 1/2 biscuit will not be used. Bake it for a snack or get creative.)

Cut the full biscuit into five feathers and dip the feathers into colored sugar or sprinkles. Tuck these under the top of the cinnamon roll.

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