Cake Pops (17 page)

Serve these on Thanksgiving Day and your guests will gobble them right up.

48 uncoated
Basic Cake Balls

48 ounces (3 pounds) chocolate candy coating

Deep, microwave-safe plastic bowl

48 paper lollipop sticks

48 pretzel sticks, broken in half

Styrofoam block

240 caramel candy corn pieces (14 ounces)

Toothpicks

48 candy-coated espresso beans, in shades of brown

48 orange rainbow chip sprinkles

48 red miniature heart sprinkles

Black edible-ink pen

Have the cake balls chilled and in the refrigerator.

Melt the chocolate candy coating in a microwave-safe plastic bowl, following the instructions on the package. The coating should be about 3 inches deep for easier dipping. (I usually work with about 16 ounces of coating at a time.)

When you are ready to dip, remove a few cake balls at a time from the refrigerator, keeping the rest chilled.

One at a time, dip about ½ inch of the tip of a lollipop stick into the melted candy coating, and insert the stick straight into a cake ball, pushing it no more than halfway through. Dip the cake pop into the melted candy coating, and tap off any excess coating, as described in
Dipping Methods
.

Immediately insert the tips of 2 pretzel stick halves into the bottom of the turkey body, on either side of the lollipop stick, for legs. Hold them in place until the coating sets like glue. Repeat until all the cake pops have legs. Let dry completely in the Styrofoam block.

Dip the tips of 5 pieces of candy corn into the leftover melted candy coating, and attach them to the back of a cake pop for feathers. Hold them in place until the coating sets like glue. Repeat until all the cake pops have feathers. Let dry completely in the Styrofoam block.

Using a toothpick, apply a small amount of coating to the front and toward the top of the cake pop, and attach an espresso bean. Hold in place until the coating sets. Repeat with the remaining pops and let dry completely.

When the pops are dry, use a toothpick to dot a small amount of coating onto the espresso bean in position for the beak, and attach an orange rainbow chip sprinkle. Use the same technique to attach a red miniature heart sprinkle upside down under the beak for the wattle. Repeat with the remaining pops and let dry completely in the Styrofoam block.

Draw eyes on the espresso beans with a black edible-ink pen, and let dry completely.

Candles and color really make these shine. Add a decorative tag for a distinctive design.

48 uncoated
Basic Cake Balls

24 ounces white candy coating

2 deep, microwave-safe plastic bowls

48 six-inch white wax candles or paper lollipop sticks

White sugar crystals

2 large bowls

Wax paper

Baking sheet

24 ounces light blue candy coating

Blue sugar crystals

Have the cake balls chilled and in the refrigerator.

Melt the white candy coating in a microwave-safe plastic bowl, following the instructions on the package. The coating should be about 3 inches deep for easier dipping. (I usually work with about 16 ounces of coating at a time.)

When you are ready to dip, remove a few cake balls at a time from the refrigerator, keeping the rest chilled.

One at a time, dip about ½ inch of the bottom end of a candle in the melted white candy coating, and insert it straight into a cake ball, pushing it no more than halfway through. Dip half of the cake pops into the melted white coating, and tap off any excess coating, as described in
Dipping Methods
. Hold the wax candle close to the cake pop or it will bend when you tap it.

Immediately sprinkle white sugar crystals on each cake pop until it is covered completely. Sprinkle over a large bowl and you can catch and reuse any sprinkles that fall into it.

Place the cake pops, ball-side down, on a wax paper–covered baking sheet, and let dry completely.

Repeat with the remaining cake pops using the blue candy coating and blue sugar crystals.

Let dry completely.

Note:
Attach tags with tape for presentation, but make sure to remove them before you light the candles. You can download a PDF for these tags at
www.bakerella.com/tags.

Miniature pretzels make perfect reindeer antlers. Complete the look with red or dark brown candies for noses.

48 uncoated
Basic Cake Balls

48 ounces (3 pounds) chocolate candy coating

Deep, microwave-safe plastic bowl

48 paper lollipop sticks

96 miniature E-, F-, and Y-shaped alphabet pretzels

Styrofoam block

Toothpicks

48 brown M&M’s, red Lemonheads, or red peanut M&M’s

96 miniature white confetti sprinkles

Black edible-ink pen

Have the cake balls chilled and in the refrigerator.

Melt the chocolate candy coating in a microwave-safe plastic bowl, following the instructions on the package. The coating should be about 3 inches deep for easier dipping. (I usually work with about 16 ounces of coating at a time.)

When you are ready to dip, remove a few cake balls at a time from the refrigerator, keeping the rest chilled.

One at a time, dip about ½ inch of the tip of a lollipop stick into the melted candy coating, and insert the stick straight into a cake ball, pushing it no more than halfway through. Dip the cake pop into the melted coating, and tap off any excess coating, as described in
Dipping Methods
.

Immediately attach 2 pretzels on either side of each reindeer head for antlers. Hold them in place until the candy coating sets like glue, and let dry in the Styrofoam block.

Use a toothpick to dot a small amount of melted candy coating in position for the nose, and attach 1 brown or red candy. Hold in place until the coating sets.

Use a toothpick to dot a small amount of coating in position for the eyes, and attach 2 white miniature confetti sprinkles. Let dry completely in the Styrofoam block.

Draw mouths and dot the eyes with a black edible-ink pen. Let dry completely.

• If you can’t find pretzels in alphabet shapes, just use mini or regular pretzel twists and break them in half for a pair of antlers.
  

• The antlers will be delicate. Be extra careful when transporting these.
  

These Santa hat cake pops make sweet stocking stuffers.

48 uncoated
Basic Cake Balls
, formed into cone shapes

16 ounces (1 pound) white candy coating

2 deep, microwave-safe plastic bowls

48 paper lollipop sticks

Styrofoam block

48 ounces (3 pounds) red candy coating

48 white chocolate–coated espresso beans

White sugar crystal sprinkles

• White gumballs and yogurt-covered peanuts will also work for the top of the hat.
  

Have the cake balls chilled and in the refrigerator.

Melt the white candy coating in a microwave-safe plastic bowl, following the instructions on the package.

When you are ready to dip, remove a few cake balls at a time from the refrigerator, keeping the rest chilled.

Hold the top part of the hat, and dip the bottom in the melted white coating, covering it about one-third of the way up. The top two-thirds of the hat will still be exposed. Insert a lollipop stick into the flat bottom of the hat. Place in the Styrofoam block to dry.

Melt the red candy coating in the second microwave-safe plastic bowl. The coating should be about 3 inches deep for easier dipping. (I usually work with about 16 ounces of coating at a time.) Dip the tops of the Santa hats in the red candy coating so that it meets the edge of the white coating.

Place an espresso bean on the top of the hat before the coating sets, and let dry completely in the Styrofoam block.

When the pops are dry, gently twist and remove the lollipop stick from the cake pop. Holding the pop by the top of the hat, redip the bottom in the melted white coating to make the coating thicker at the bottom. Then dip about ½ inch of the lollipop stick into the melted candy coating and insert it back into the bottom of the Santa hat. Sprinkle with white sugar crystals until the white candy coating is covered, and let dry completely in the Styrofoam block.