[ cake pops! ]

sooooooo... oscar my older son (6) has been doing a science program which involved spheres & as this came to an end we were asked to bring in a 'ball' shaped snack. i'm thinking away, yes there's cheese balls, cereal, meatballs etc but i wanted to get the boys involved & have some fun. then i had a gru (the super-villain from 'despicable me') moment!! LIGHT BULB!! cake pops!!! i'd seen them out of the corner of my eye on commercials... but i'm not the kind of person that runs out & buys gadgets to make specific things... (a) because i don't need anything else in my cupboards!! & (b) i'm not going to spend hours getting this thing clean after ever use... so although i was excited i was also half thinking this isn't going to happen. but to my surprise you don't need any 'machine' & they are PERFECT to make with kids!! super easy ~ a bit messy & DELICIOUS, so read on!!

[this is also a GREAT OT activity to get little hands & fingers moving!! could these get any better?!!]

all you need is:

a cake mix*
a tub of frosting*
chocolate bark or candy melts (from a craft shop like michael's)
lolly sticks (also from a craft shop like michael's)
 & whatever tickles your fancy to decorate them, sprinkles, nuts etc etc

that's it!!

*if you google these most people will start off with the red velvet cake mix & a tub of cream cheese frosting, but you can use any kind ~ make them fancy schmancy or simple. i started off with devils food cake mix & chocolate fudge frosting :) YUMMMMMMM!!!!

here's how you make them:

make the cake mix according to the directions (i explained to oscar not to lift the electric hand whisk out of the mixture... but i suppose he wanted to know why... !!!)

once the cake has cooled crumble it all up in a bowl & put in the tub of frosting ~ then get your hands in there & mix it all up!

next roll them into balls & place them on a baking tray covered in wax paper. i was reading that you can get 50 out of the mixture ~ but they must be tiny... i got 36

chill in the fridge, if you're in a hurry you can stick them in the freezer for 1/2 an hour.

next i melted the candy melts in the microwave. i have to honest & i was thinking these candy melts are going to taste really fake & not that great ~ but i was really pleasantly surprised!! they are delicious.

take the lolly sticks dip each one into the chocolate & stick it into the balls, this helps keep the sticks in place.

i managed to cover 20 with a 12oz bag of candy melts. you can't hang around because the chocolate will start setting... add the sprinkles / decorations as soon as you've covered each one so they will stick.

have something handy to stick them in... styrofoam is great... they sell styrofoam cones ~ i bet they would look great!!!

& that's it!!! when i picked up flynn from school lots of his friends came running up thanking me!! that's never happened before ~ unbelievable!!

so needless to say ~ this will be my new obsession!! move over jello!! :)

look at these useful sites, here & here & you'll be excited as meeeeee!! the possibilities are endless!!! please share your photos :)