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For awhile now, I've been wanting to try my hand at cake pops. These Valentine's Day Cherry Chip Cake Pops were quite the process to make the first time around (only because I was a newbie), but now that I have the hang of it, I'm thinking up all kinds of themes and ideas for cake pops. I think I may have a slight cake pop (or anything pop) fetish. In fact, you'll be seeing more “pop” posts throughout the year….

To be honest, I wasn't even sure how to go about making cake pops until I did a little research. There are a couple ways that I found, including this way over on A Beautiful Mess; their cake pops look absolutely delicious. However, while at Michaels one night, I found the Babycakes Cake Pop Maker on sale, so I decided to snatch one up. It included a small recipe booklet, though I kinda just used that as a guide. Having never made cake pops, I'm not sure what I was thinking. On my first try, my batter looked normal, but my cake pops were turning out to look like nipples (I'm not even kidding). So, off to research some more, and after looking through the Babycakes Forum, I found a lot of tips, along with the solution: make my batter almost as stiff as brownie batter. It worked!

Below is a printable recipe, without photos, for your convenience (though it's pretty much pieced together from tips I found). I mainly want to show you how to make cake pops, because it's honestly so fun to do, once you get the hang of it. The first thing you want to do is gather all your supplies, including your cake pop sticks. I'd found the cutest and most affordable cake pop sticks and decorative string from Dime Store Buddy on Etsy. After gathering supplies, mix up your cake batter, and add a little bit at a time to a pastry bag; this will make for easier filling of the cooking reservoirs in the cake pop maker. Heat up the cake pop maker, and wait for the green light to show that it's ready. Give a light coating of cooking spray to each reservoir in the cake pop maker; fill each cooking reservoir with about 1 tablespoon of cake batter, trying not to overfill. If you overfill, instead of a round cake pop planet, you might come out with Saturn. Lower the lid on your cake pop maker, latching it shut. Then it's just a waiting game, about 4-6 minutes per batch of cake pops. Definitely use a pot holder to lift the lid because it can be quite hot to the touch. When done, you should have nice, round cake pops. The cake pop maker comes with a fork, so the cake pops can easily be removed and placed in a spot to cool.

Before decorating, it's a good idea to place the cake pops in the freezer for just a few minutes; the Babycakes manual comes with quite a few helpful tips like this one. To decorate your cake pops, use candy melts and sprinkles of your choice. I went with pink and white candy melts (I even put a little bit of the melted candy in pastry bags, so I could add some decorative touches here and there). Melt the candy melts according to the directions on the package. Then remove your cake pops from the freezer, and start decorating. Take a cake pop stick, dip it in the melted candy, and insert into the cake pop. Then dip each cake pop into the melted candy, coating well, and allowing excess candy to drip before placing upright. Decorate with any type of sprinkles you desire; I used different types of Valentine's Day sprinkles and colored sugar.You can even alternate colors with the candy melts; just be creative. Then place each cake pop into a cake pop stand (the Wilton cake pop stand came in very handy). Let cake pops dry, and then serve. We're usually not huge cake eaters, but my guys really liked these; each cake pop is such a small serving and makes a nice sweet treat.

These would be great served at a party or a celebration; they're also fun just to get creative with, maybe share a few with your neighbors. Enjoy!

Valentine’s Day Cake Pops

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Ingredients

• 1 Cherry Chip cake mix
• 1-2 eggs
• 1 pkg vanilla pudding mix
• 1/2-1 cup milk, in place of water on cake mix pkg

Instructions

1. Mix all ingredients together, making sure your batter is fairy stiff, about the consistency of brownie batter. Do not add oil to the mixture. When cake batter is ready, add a little bit at a time to a pastry bag; this will make for easier filling of the cooking reservoirs in the cake pop maker.
2. Heat up the cake pop maker, and wait for the green light to show that it's ready. Give a light coating of cooking spray to each cooking reservoir in the cake pop maker; fill each reservoir with about 1 tablespoon of cake batter, trying not to overfill. Lower the lid on your cake pop maker, latching it shut. Then wait approximately 4-6 minutes per batch of cake pops. Use a pot holder to lift the lid because it can be quite hot to the touch. Use the provided fork to lift each cake pop out of the maker and onto a place to cool.
3. Before decorating, place cake pops into the freezer for a few minutes. To decorate your cake pops, use candy melts and sprinkles of your choice. Melt candy melts according to the directions on the package. Then remove cake pops from the freezer, and start decorating. Take a cake pop stick, dip it in the melted candy, and insert into the cake pop. Then dip each cake pop into the melted candy, coating well, and allowing excess candy to drip before placing upright. Decorate with any type of sprinkles you desire. Place each cake pop into a cake pop stand. Let cake pops dry, and then serve. Enjoy!

(Disclosure: I was not compensated or provided product, in any way, for this recipe.)