Cake Pops!

I wanted to spend a little time in my kitchen today, but wasn't sure exactly what I wanted to create.  I thought of the 15 or so left over brownie cupcakes in my freezer from a couple of weeks back and the little container of extra raspberry buttercream frosting in my refrigerator that I'd kept "just in case" when I made my raspberry lemonade cupcakes earlier this week.  Two thoughts immediately came to my mind. 

First, I asked myself "what exactly are 'left-over' cupcakes?"  I mean, if a cupcake is this good, how could there possibly be leftovers, right?  Let me clarify.  These cupcakes are only left over becuase I'd made an extra large batch and my handy-dandy cupcake holder only carries 24 at a time.  So I'd popped the extras in the freezer for another day...hence "left-over".    Now all I can think is that I might need to find myself a larger cupcake carrier!

My second thought was Cake Pops!  I've seen them all over Pinterest, and they're the perfect bite size treat for a lazy Sunday.  Doing a quick scan of my baking cupboards, I found left over candy sticks, a bag of candy melts I'd bought but never used, and some colored sprinkles.  I'm all set without having to make a trip to the store or even turn on my oven...Perfect!

Once I'd let the cupcakes thaw, I unwrapped them and crumbled them into a bowl.  Next, I added a scoop of the raspberry buttercream and the fun began!  Using my hands (I couldn't find a tool that worked better), I squished and squeezed the crumbs and frosting until I had the perfect consistency.  (add frosting a little bit at a time until your mixture holds together without being sticky).  I rolled my mixture into balls about 1-1/2inches in diameter.

Next, I placed four of the candy melt disks in a coffee mug and microwaved for 30-40 seconds until I was able to stir it smooth.  I coated the end of the stick into the melted candy, then pushed carefully into the cake ball (about 3/4 of the way through).  I repeated this until each cake ball had a stick standing in it. I placed the tray of cake balls in my freezer to firm up a bit.  (about 10 minutes).

Now that the sticks are firmly set, it's time to decorate my cake pops.  More candy melts into my coffee mug and back in the microwave (nuke 15-20 seconds at a time stirring in between until all candys are melted smooth).  Dip the cake pop into the candy then add sprinkles right away (before the candy sets).  Stand up to set firmly.  This little bouquet of treats is ready to go!

Note for next time:  Because my cake was dark in color, I had to double dip my pops so that the dark didn't show through the light candy. Because of this, the pops didn't finish as smooth as I'd have liked.  Next time, I'd probably either use a lighter cake, or a darker candy coating.