Looking for a fun and colorful addition to your Thanksgiving spread? This show-stopping centerpiece is a perfect way to balance out those rich holiday dishes and the kids will love helping you make it too!
When my oldest child started preschool, each parent was responsible for bringing a Thanksgiving dish to a class party the week before the holiday break. I thought to myself, what would most three-year-olds eat? Perhaps mashed potatoes or simply roasted turkey? A simple roll with butter crossed my mind.
Then I read an article which described a Thanksgiving fruit kabob turkey and I was sold. Kids and colorful fruit on a stick go hand in hand, especially when they are in the shape of a turkey!
So, I created a turkey fruit platter…and it was a hit! Over the years, I’ve tweaked my version to be easier to make and more delicious. Ann later suggested a charcuterie version, which is perhaps more appealing to the adult crowd.
Part of the fun is letting the kids help assemble the turkey. It can be served as an appetizer to brighten and balance the rich meal ahead, or it can double as a festive centerpiece on the dinner table. Any leftover kabobs make a tasty addition to the turkey sandwiches that come later!
We hope you find as much enjoyment in this fruity turkey as we have. Have a Happy Thanksgiving!
Iโd love to know if you try this recipe! Leave a comment, rate it, and donโt forget to tag a photo @fountainavenuekitchen onย Instagramย andย Facebook. Your feedback is always appreciated. 💛
Thanksgiving Turkey Fruit Kabobs
Equipment
- 25 bamboo skewers any size works, but we used the 12" skewers and feel they work best for both decoration and eating
Ingredients
- 1 pear, cut in half vertically
- 1 tablespoon vanilla icing, or craft glue per preference
- Optional decorations for the pear "body": a piece of candy corn for the nose, pretzel sticks for legs, pecans for feet, and a pair of candy eyes
- 3 clementines, peeled and segmented (for a total of about 25 segments)
- 25 green grapes
- 25 red grapes
- 25 blackberries
- 25 blueberries
- 25 pineapple chunks, about 1-inch squares
- 25 cantaloupe balls from 1 fresh cantaloupe
Instructions
- Make the body of the turkey: With the flat side down and the narrow end of the pear acting as the "head," use a dot of vanilla icing (or craft glue) to stick on the eyes and nose. Set aside to dry.
- Make the feathers: Arrange your ingredients in an assembly line to build the skewers. Start by skewering one clementine, moving it to about 2 inches from the blunt base of the skewer. Add a green grape and red grape. (I skewer them vertically.) Next, add a blackberry, a blueberry, a pineapple chunk, and a melon ball. Repeat to make 25 skewers.
- Assemble the turkey: Find the halfway point (from top to bottom) of the pear body, and stick one skewer in each side. These will be your base skewers, from which you will build up.
- Continue adding skewers until you fill in the sides and top of the pear, like feathers. You will need to layer some on top of one another and can tuck some skewers in without actually spearing the pear. It will start to feel crowded, but the visual is nice when the skewers are close together. (That said, if you can't get them all in, reserve some to add later or serve on the side of the platter.)
- Place two pretzel sticks at the bottom of the pear to look like legs. These don't need to be pushed into the pear. The pear can sit on top of the edge of the pretzels. You can also break the pretzels to make them shorter, if needed.
- Angle a pecan out from the bottom of each pretzel stick to look like feet.
- Gobble, gobble!!
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