Firecracker 4th of July Cake Pops

Want a dessert that's simple but has a fun wow factor? Try firecracker 4th of July cake pops. I used regular candles, but they'd be even more fun with relight candles.

4th of July Cake Pops

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I originally made these for Lu's Spy Birthday party (think cherry bombs), but I realized they'd be really fun for the Fourth of July, too.

You will need:

• 1 cake mix* prepared according to package directions (I used chocolate cake)
• 1 can of frosting (I used chocolate frosting)
• 2 bags of candy melts (I used black, vanilla flavored chocolate)
• birthday candles (I used regular, but relight candles would be fun)

(Makes 20-22 ¼ cup size cake pops.)

*If you are using a gluten free cake mix, be aware that most packaged gluten free cake mixes are half the size of a regular cake mix. If you use a gluten free cake mix, it will make half as many cake pops, and you should only use ½ the can of frosting.

Directions:

1. Once the cake is cool enough to handle (but still warm), break it into small pieces and put the pieces into a very large mixing bowl.
2. Stir in a can of frosting, and mix it thoroughly. You can see in the picture above that I was able to mix the the cake and frosting pretty well, but there are still a few chunks of cake here and there. (Hopefully, you're a better mixer than I am!)
3. To make your cake pops uniform in size, use a measuring cup to scoop the mixture. (I used a ¼ cup measure.) With clean hands, roll the mixture into balls and place them on a cookie sheet.
4. Insert a candle into each ball, and place the cookie sheet in the freezer. Leave them there for about a half hour.
5. While cake pops are freezing, melt candy melts according to package directions.
6. Remove cake pops from the freezer and dip them in the candy melts to coat. Because the cake pops are cold, the chocolate will harden very quickly. Work quickly!
7. Place the coated cake pops back on the cookie sheet. That's it!

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