Holiday Cake Pops!

Cake pops may be mainstream now (guess I should have made jam), but what about holiday cake pops?! Part of the reason I love the holidays so much is because I get to make sweets and package them into dorky wannabe Martha Stewart/Paula Deen/Barefoot Contessa gifts to show people a little love. If I could, I would do this year-round, every day. Holiday cake pops may have been one of the most fun and festive treats I made all year (aside from the Valentine's day cookies). Since these were going to have to travel I omitted the stick; so technically they are not pops, but they taste just as good!

This was my first time making cake pops and I definitely learned that candy coating can either be your friend or your worst enemy. You would think melting chocolate would be easy, but no. Too hot or too cold, it is not happy. So my tip is, keep a watchful eye and keep some vegetable oil around in case of emergency. You'll see why as I explain below.
Ingredients:

The following makes about 35-45 cake balls

• 1 box of your favorite cake mix. You could make it from scratch of course, but I cannot guarantee the consistency will be correct. All the recipes I read called for cake mix (made my life easier!)
• 1 can of frosting
• 1 bag of candy coating chips. You can find them in most craft or baking supply stores.

Directions:

• Bake the cake as directed (this is also where you would want to add any food coloring)
• Once cool, crumble it with your hands. There should be no chunks, only fine crumbs. And just so you know, this part was kinda fun!
• Mix in 3/4 of the frosting until smooth. No more than that or the cake balls will be too soft.
• Roll mixture into balls and let cool in refrigerator for an hour or more, or the freezer for 15 minutes. The cake balls should not be frozen however.
• Once you are ready to dip them, start microwaving the candy coating chips in 30 second intervals. Stir each time until smooth.*
• Dip the cake balls one at a time using a spoon, place on a wax paper lined cookie sheet (use a toothpick to draw a line around the bottom of each cake ball), decorate immediately, and refrigerate or freeze until firm.

*Tip: You want the candy coating to be liquid-like. If you over cook it it will get hard. To smooth it out, add some vegetable oil one teaspoon at a time until you get the right consistency!

Happy holidays!