TUTORIAL: Turkey Cake Pops

Cake pops make me nervous. Sure, I can hold my own in the cookie department but something about cake on a stick puts me out of my comfort zone. So when a friend's son declared that he wanted to make turkey cake pops for Thanksgiving and wanted my help, I was nervous I was going to disappoint. But the nerves were for not and the process was easy thanks to the great tutorial he found and the wonder of the Nordic Cake Pop Pan. Gone are the days of mixing frosting and cake for me. This pan saved the day and the end results tasted great.

My friend made the cake balls in the pan before I arrived for assembly assistance. Here is a good tutorial on using that pan.

To make turkey cake pops you will need:
-Cake balls
-Candy melts (we used 2 bags for 28 pops)
-Ritz crackers
-Lollipop sticks
-Candy corn
-Heart sprinkles
-Candy eyes
-Scissors
-Wax paper
-Stand or tray for drying
-Colored sprinkles (optional)

We used candy melts from the craft store for our project.  I started by melting them in the microwave per the directions on the bag.  We then dipped one side of the cracker in the melted chocolate, attached the candy corn feathers and let them dry on waxed paper.

Tip: Do not overheat the candy melts.  If they seem to thick, thin them out with a little vegetable oil until they are smooth.  Allow them to cool a bit before dipping.

Dip one end of the lollipop stick into the melted chocolate and insert it into the cake ball.  Allow to dry for a few minutes.  (This will make the pops much more secure to dip.)

(Shout out to Mr. Preppy Cookie for the homemade cake pop stand!)

At this point things were going well and my helper was a happy camper.  I still had nerves with the dipping part ahead but thankfully it all had a happy ending.

We dipped the pops in the chocolate and laid them on a cracker to dry.  Then my helper went to down adding the faces and sprinkle topping.  (Be sure to cut the candy cane beaks in half.)

At first I was unsure if these would ever be able to stand up without falling apart because they were really heavy.  We had devised a plan for them to just be served on a tray on turkey day but after an hour they were able to stand tall on their own.

Closeup of my helper's hard work!

SUCCESS!

And if this reaction to our efforts doesn't make you happy, what will really???

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Best of 2011 According to YOU!

It may sound trite but it is very hard for me to believe that 2011 is coming to an end. It has been a year of ups and downs. We have celebrated happy news and endured hard news as well. There is a lot to be thankful for and much to look forward to!

I have had a wonderful time sharing this blog with you all throughout the year and am always amazed to see how many people actually read it. Comments are somewhat of a rarity for me but I know I've had plenty of visitors. (I would love to hear who you are - please leave me a note some time and let me know you visited!)

My intention was always for this blog to be more than just cookies and based on my top 10 most popular posts from 2011, it looks like you all agree. So let's take a trip down memory lane and see what you all enjoyed the most!

1.) Hands down my most popular post was the peppermint wreath. I've seen two of them so far that have been made from the post but would love to see some more. Please feel free to post them on my Facebook page!

2.)The Mason Jar Snow Globes were also very popular. I had a teacher send me a photo of her whole class making them. They can really be adapted to anything you like and are easy to do!


3.) Apparently I am not the only one who loves Ribbon Topiaries. I'm thinking I need to make one for Valentine's Day soon!


4.) Cake Pops continue to be the rage and it appears my readers agree.


5.) The Grosgrain Ribbon Notebook I made for a friend proved popular.


6.) As did the Easy Oreo Truffles and Truffle TREE!


7.) Who doesn't love a story of a miracle complete with a party hat and cookies?


8.) The storybook character cookies were quite popular (round two of those coming soon!)


9.) It seems as though we all enjoy a good summer BBQ...complete with "hamburger cupcakes" and "watermelon cookies." (My friend made the cupcakes all the way in Italy - loved that!)



10.) Finally, to my surprise, the photos from our "preppy wedding" were the tenth most popular post of 2011. That works for me, since almost five years later I still love to look at the photos too. :)


I am so appreciative of you all reading and enjoying One Preppy Cookie throughout the year. This has been a wonderful creative outlet for me and I've enjoyed connecting with so many of you. Thank you!

Christmas Eve Chocolate Gingerbread Toffee Cake

For the past few years I have made a special cake on Christmas Eve. I pick a bit more complicated recipe than I typically would as I enjoy dedicating much of the day to this labor of love. Last year was Martha's Candy Bar Cake and this year I went with a Southern Living selection. Both cakes have been very well recived amongst my family and I am already on the hunt for next year's creation.



Chocolate Gingerbread Toffee Cake

YIELD: 10 to 12 servings
HANDS-ON:45 Minutes
TOTAL:9 Hours, 5 Minutes

Ingredients:
Ginger Whipped Cream
1 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate morsels
1 (16-oz.) package light brown sugar
1/2 cup butter, softened
3 large eggs
2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon ground ginger
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
1 (8-oz.) container sour cream
1 cup hot water
1/2 cup molasses
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Silky Ganache
1 cup toffee bits

Garnishes:
Gingerbread Cookies (optional)

Preparation
1. Preheat oven to 350°. Prepare Ginger Whipped Cream as directed in Step 1 of recipe (through chilling).

2. Microwave chocolate morsels in a microwave-safe bowl at high 1 to 1 1/2 minutes or until melted and smooth, stirring at 30-second intervals.

3. Beat brown sugar and butter at medium speed with an electric mixer until well blended (about 5 minutes). Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating just until blended after each addition. Add melted chocolate, beating just until blended.

4. Sift together flour and next 5 ingredients. Gradually add to chocolate mixture alternately with sour cream, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Beat at low speed just until blended after each addition. Stir together hot water and next 2 ingredients. (Mixture will foam.) Gradually stir molasses mixture and vanilla into chocolate mixture just until blended. Spoon batter into 3 greased and floured 8-inch round cake pans.

5. Bake at 350° for 25 to 30 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pans on wire racks 10 minutes; remove from pans to wire racks, and cool completely (about 1 hour).

6. Meanwhile, prepare Silky Ganache. Place 1 cake layer on a cake stand or serving plate. Spread with half of ganache; sprinkle with 1/2 cup toffee bits. Top with second cake layer; spread with remaining ganache, and sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup toffee bits. Top with remaining cake layer. Cover and chill 2 to 8 hours.

7. Finish preparing Ginger Whipped Cream as directed in Step 2 of recipe. Spread top and sides of cake with whipped cream just before serving. Garnish, if desired.

Southern Living DECEMBER 2011

Enjoy!

Christmas Cake Pops

One night after an evening of attempting to make decorated cookies for her son's school birthday party, my friend H sent me a text saying, "I bow to you. That was HARD." I understood what she meant. There are many things in life that take a lot of practice. Whenever I am struggling to master something new I have to remind myself that Tiger Woods himself practices golf every.single.morning. Things just don't come easy in life without a LOT of consistent practice.

You know how I "bow to" though? (I am talking baking-wise here.) People who are cake pop wizards. Recently I saw a tweet saying that there should be a Cake Pop Awareness Day to acknowledge the emotional stress they induce. I laughed out loud and could not have agreed more. So when I came across this website yesterday I wanted to send the blogger a note saying, "I bow to you. That looks HARD." And you know what she would probably write back? That I would get the hang of it after a while. It just takes practice.

These red velvet cake pops were at a friend's ornament party last weekend. I had warned her that although they would not be in an elaborate shape, I would instead spend my time making sure they were delicious. I figure that if Starbucks can stick with round cake pops with a focus on taste, then I will go ahead and follow suit. :)


So here's to practice making perfect...and taste trumping presentation once in a while.

Thank you Decia!

Baby Cakes

I started making cake pops about two years ago to bring to parties and they quickly became a favorite amongst my group of friends. (One friend said she was even "kind of mad at me" for making them since she liked them so much!) At first I was bashful about that as the ingredients are rather straightforward and easy, but as my friend Amy reminded me, "They are a labor of love." And it's true...they can be tedious at times.

Another issue I ran into was how to display them. Enter my handy husband, who crafted this cake pop stand out of wood for me over the weekend. What can I say? He gets me. So off to a baby shower we went Saturday night, cake pops on pretty stand in hand.


And once again they were a hit.

Congratulations to our friends Kate and Sam. We can't wait to meet baby B this summer!