Take Me Out to the Ball Game - Cake Pops

Summer in our family really means just one thing... baseball.

My boys are finally old enough to play this year, so when we had to bring treats for the baseball team, I had no choice but to conjure up something fun.
I'm still working out the kinks on the little ballplayer heads, so I will do a complete tutorial on those guys some time soon.
For now, the baseballs...

What You Need:
Any Cake, baked and cooled
1-2 cups Cream Cheese Frosting
White Candy Melts
Red Candy Melts
Vegetable Oil
Lollipop Sticks
Styrofoam
Optional:
Mini Squeeze Bottle
Coupler Ring
Decorating Tip #1

Graduation Treats on Fox 9

I visited the local news this weekend to share some graduation treat ideas. I shared two ideas, cake pops and homemade peanut butter cups. Here's the video:

If it won't play, try the Fox 9 Website: www.myfoxtwincities.com/story/18635225/in-the-kitchen-grad-party-treats

One is a variation of these Homemade Peanut Butter Cup Graduation Caps.
*Update: I didn't get a chance to show you how to get them on the stick, but you want to insert the stick after you put on the top chocolate layer, and before you refrigerate them. Once they set, the chocolate will allow the stick to be stuck.
I made a new batch showing how to put them on sticks and with the various fillings, check them out here: Graduation Cap Candy Pops. 

Another are these Graduation Cap Cake Pops.
*Update: I will do a complete tutorial on these early next week, I promise. (See the Cake Pops tab above for all of my cake pop tutorials.)

Summer Sunshine Cake Pops

I volunteered to bring treats for my boys' end-of-year concert, just so I could conjure up some summery cake pops.

I raided the candy aisle at Michaels, hoping for some perfect squares, triangles or diamonds to make sun rays. I was sure the "crazy bananas" would do the trick. I even had hope for the candy buttons. In the end... it was the pantry that saved the day.

Let me tell you that these cake pops were not quite as easy as I'd planned. See? These are the "Sunshine Reject Crew." (Although I do have some ideas now for lots of different kinds of flowers!)

What You (really) Need:
1 cake, baked and cooled
1-2 cups icing (I prefer cream cheese frosting)
2 bags Yellow Candy Melts
Vegetable Oil
Lollipop Sticks
White Chocolate Chips
Styrofoam

Optional:
Heating Pad
Ice Pack
Orange Triangle Candies from Wilton Mix
Yellow Sanding Sugar (sprinkles)
Candy Buttons for eyes
Black FoodWriter Marker
Black Licorice Rope

Homemade Peanut Butter Cup Recipe

I got a recipe similar to this from my aunt in a little book she put together for me for my wedding. I altered it a bit to make it a smaller batch, but I love the texture and flavor of these peanut butter cups.

And if you want, you can also make them in a pie-sized piece. I've made them mini-cupcake size, standard-cupcake size and in those little mini foil pie tins.

What You Need:
1- 12 oz. bag chocolate chips (I recommend milk chocolate.)
1/2 cup butter
1 cup peanut butter (I prefer crunchy, but whatever you like.)
1 package of graham crackers, crushed (1/3 of a standard box of graham crackers.)
1 cup powdered sugar

Yield: About 3 dozen mini cupcakes, 2-3 of the mini foil pie pans.

Banana Split Cake Pops

You know something? I don't really like banana splits. But apparently I love Banana Split in all other forms...

The Banana Split Cake Pop

The Banana Split Cake

And the Creme de la Creme: Banana Split Cupcakes. Hands Down, my favorite dessert. Ever.

But I digress. You care about the cake pops today.

What You Need:
One recipe of my Best Banana Cake, baked and cooled
One half recipe of my Cream Cheese Frosting (at room temperature)
Pink Candy Melts
Strawberry Flavoring(oil-based flavoring, not alcohol-based)
Dark Chocolate Candy Melts(in a squeeze bottle or decorating bag)
Rainbow Nonpareils Sprinkles
1 Tbsp. Vegetable oil
Lollipop Sticks
Optional:
Runts candies (which, by the way, no longer includes "cherry," which was the whole reason I got them... but I made do.)

Easter Egg Cake Truffles

Cake Pops are, of course, awesome... but these cake "truffles" taste just as awesome, but they sound more fancy, and they go well into an Easter basket.

What You Need:
Cake, baked & cooled (any size or flavor, though I think anything other than white/yellow is best for flavor)
Icing (I recommend my cream cheese icing, but any will do)
Candy Melts (or almond bark)
Lollipop Sticks
Flat-Topped Toothpicks (also called "fancy" toothpicks)
Vegetable oil
Sprinkles and Sanding Sugar
Styrofoam
Optional:
Squeeze Bottles or Disposable Decorating Bags for adding decoration
Heating Pad for Candy Melts
Ice Pack

Basketball Cake Pops -- Kind of

Sure. Basketball Cake Pops. No Problem. Dip 'em in a little orange Candy Melts... use a toothpick to give 'em a little texture... use chocolate to make the lines... No Problem.

Ha!

More like struggle, cuss, scream, and get two that look only semi-decent out of a batch of 2 dozen. Alas! I'll have to watch my final Big 12 Tournament (as a member of the Big 12) without pops that resemble basketballs.

... and to think I told the children that they couldn't help me with these because I needed them to look right. Karma!

PS- The problem was with the lines. I just could not get good, straight, reliable lines - as you can see. Maybe you have steadier hands and can do it? If you try, let me know! As for me, I'm washing my hands of the whole kit-n-kaboodle now. I'll go back and look at the Pot of Gold Cake Pops. Those make me smile.

Pot O' Gold Cake Pops

Where's the leprechaun? These are the perfect little treat for St. Patrick's Day... even if they're not green.

What You Need
1 Cake, baked and cooled
1-2 cups icing, I prefer cream cheese icing
Dark Chocolate Candy Melts (They do make black, but I think these taste better and look just as good)
1 Tbsp. vegetable oil
Gold Dragees Sprinkles (or yellow nonpariels or yellow sanding sugar)
Rainbow of colors of Candy Melts (to make rainbows)
Lollipop Sticks
Parchment or waxed paper
Styrofoam
Optional:
White Candy Melts
Rainbow of sanding sugar colors
Ice pack to keep cake balls cool while you work
Heating pad to keep candy warm while you work

Super Easy & Cute Cake Pops

I made a rainbow of cake pop colors this week... they're going along with another project that you'll see soon... but I had to share them because they're so easy to decorate! And the sprinkles cover up almost any imperfection.

Misshapen cake ball? No problem Cracked candy coating? No problem. Not smooth finish? No problem!

All you do is cover the cake pop in white candy coating... as I explain in detail here on my How to Make Cake Pops Tutorial.

Then you use sanding sugar to completely cover the cake pops. I needed a third hand, so I didn't get a picture of this step, but I just pour the sprinkles over the pops letting the excess fall into a bowl... then pour it back into the bottle for the next pop.

And voila! It's a rainbow of cake pops. So easy and so pretty!

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Decorating with Kids

I've mentioned before that my boys love to help me in the kitchen.* Who wouldn't?! I make cookies, cake, cake pops, why would they not?!
*and by love, I mean, tolerate it when I force them to decorate things before they eat them.

Sometimes, this can be an enjoyable pastime.

Sometimes, it can be a nightmare.

With 'cookie decorating season' upon us, (Shut up! It's a real season!) I thought I would offer my suggestions to help make decorating with the kids not only possible, but perhaps enjoyable.

My Top Three Rules for Decorating with Kids:
#1- Preparation, Preparation, Preparation
#2- DO NOT LICK YOUR FINGERS!
#3- Low Expectations

Football Cake Pops

I love watching football... well, college football anyway. And especially my favorite team, and alma mater, the University of Missouri.
I also think it's very important to indoctrinate the children into the football love, and the Mizzou love. So, giving them sweet things with a requirement that they complete the phrase 'M-I-Z'... with 'Z-O-U'... seems to work.
These football cake pops are super easy to make.

What You Need:
Cake, baked and cooled
1-2 cups icing
Light Cocoa Candy Melts (or chocolate almond bark)
White Candy Melts (or white almond bark)
Vegetable Oil
Lollipop Sticks
Tall Mug
Optional:
Heating Pad
Squeeze Bottle w/ Tip #1 or #2
Ice Pack