Ingredients
Scale
- 3 Premade Pie Crusts (1 1/2 Boxes)
- 3 Tablespoons Brown Sugar
- 1 Teaspoon Cinnamon (you will need a little extra to sprinkle on top of the pastry)
- Pure Maple Syrup (to brush on top of the turkey)
Instructions
- Use parchment paper as the base. Allow the rolled pie dough pieces to come to room temperature before using a rolling pin to slightly enlarge the first base layer.
- Sprinkle with almost all of the brown sugar and cinnamon; reserve some for the third layer.
- Lay the second piece of pie dough on the base (you may choose to roll this or not, I didn’t) and center it to the bottom.
- Use a bowl (I used a cereal bowl) to create a circle for where the third layer of the crust will go and the rest of the turkey body. You can eyeball the circle shape if you want.
- Use a sharp knife to cut slices that fan out around the turkey’s body. The side pieces close to the bottom will be very small so try to keep those a bit thinner to help in twisting, the top ones will be larger and more triangular.
- Starting on one side, gently twist the two layers of pie crust together and lightly press down on the end to help it hold the shape. Do this for each piece, making any adjustments that may be needed to the wider top pieces.
- Sprinkle the remaining brown sugar and cinnamon on top of the second layer in the circle portion that is not twisted.
- Take the third rolled piece of pie dough and cut a circle (I traced the bowl used to make the indent on the other layers) set that circle aside and cut a rounded upside down V shape for the neck and head. Then use two small scrap pieces to make the other pieces of the face. Use a chopstick or something similar to make little holes for the turkey’s eyes.
- With the remaining dough from the third pie crust, cut out different-sized and shaped pointed ovals to use as feathers. Use a knife to create the texture in the feathers, including a few slices through them to help create more of a feather look vs leaves.
- Lay the third layer of the round body on top of the brown sugar and cinnamon. Then place the feathers in a fan around the turkey’s head. I did not use anything to stick them together and they held perfectly and baked together nicely.
- Brush the entire turkey with pure maple syrup and then sprinkle a dash more cinnamon on top of the feathers.
- Bake at 375 degrees for about 26 to 30 minutes or until the entire piece is evenly golden brown. Allow to cool for a few minutes on the tray before carefully transferring to the flat surface you will serve it on.
Notes
- This could be completely assembled the night or two ahead simply make sure to wrap it tightly with plastic wrap to make sure it doesn’t dry out and store it in the refrigerator. Allow to rest on the counter while the oven heats up.
- Halfway through baking I covered the twisted portion with tin foil to prevent them from overcooking.
