Valentine’s Day Cake Pops

For the past few years I’ve made sugar cookies for Valentine’s Day and this year I really wanted to do something new. Then I stumbled across Bakerella’s Cake Pop Book and discovered a whole new obsession. I think if I could do nothing but make cake pops for the rest of my life, I would be a happy, happy girl.

They are SO fun to make! The are pretty easy too, so if you are still looking for a fun treat to make with your kids for Valentine’s Day tomorrow, hurry on over to Jo-Anns or Michaels for some candy coating and lollipop sticks & get busy.

Supplies Needed:

1 box cake mix (we used pink!)

1 container ready-made frosting (also pink!)

small heart-shaped cookie cutter

wax paper

meltable candy coating (available at craft stores)

sprinkles or nonpareils (optional)

a block of styrofoam (Husband brought me home some from work)

lollipop sticks (available at craft stores)

small treat bags (available at craft stores)

ribbon

cardstock & stamps for tags (optional!)

I highly recommend buying the book–the instructions are very detailed and the ideas are awesome! These hearts are definitely amateur level compared to the cool stuff she does in there.

Step 1: Bake a box cake in a 9×13″ pan according to the package directions. Let cool completely. Crumble the the cake into a large bowl, making sure to break down any large clumps so you don’t get lumpy hearts. Mix in 3/4 of the can of frosting so that the crumbs stick together. It should be similar to the consistency of Play-Doh.

Step 2:  Press a lump of the crumb mixture into the cookie cutter, then press out onto a wax-paper covered cookie sheet. Repeat until all the mixture is used. Refrigerate overnight or place in the freezer for 15-20 minutes until firm.

Step 3:  Melt the candy coating in the microwave according to package directions. If it is too thick (mine was), add vegetable oil, 1 teaspoon at a time, until it reaches the desired consistency. Dip the tops of the sticks into the coating, the stick into the bottom of the heart. Let set for 5-10 minutes.

Step 4:  Pre-poke holes in your block of styrofoam. Carefully dip hearts into melted candy until coated.

Step 5:  Place into pre-poked holes to dry. If desired, you can dip half the heart into nonpareils, but let it set for a few minutes first or the coating will be too runny.

Step 6: After candy coating has hardened completely, cover heart with small treat bag and secure with a pretty ribbon and tag, if desired. (We used a Valentine’s stamp set we had from last year, but you could also print something or just write the tags by hand.)