Wednesday, October 27, 2010

Cake Balls

It's Halloween Party season at school! And for the over-achieving mom that means more time in the kitchen coming up with great homemade treats for them to bring in to class. And this leads me to a gripe.... it makes me sad each & every year when I bring goodies to the Halloween/Christmas/Valentine's/Birthday parties and I am the ONLY one with something homemade (I know some schools only allow store-bought things - ours is not one of them). It just makes me sad that people don't have that extra hour for their kids. Or do they - but they're just addicted to the convenience of the Walmart cupcakes with 3 inches of frosting that is so full of dye that it changes the color of your... um... you know... stuff. Whatever the case, in the 15+ times that I have brought goodies in I'm always the lone scratch goodies. C'mon, folks! Give your kids some love! Go homemade this year - even if it's just a pan of boxed brownies!!

Well, this year I decided to go with cake balls for Nolan - and not just plain cake balls.... EYE BALLS! Ewwwww. What 5 year old wouldn't love to crunch into one of these!!??

Grab some of this:


A box of cake mix (to make a 9x13), a tub of frosting (16oz) and a pack of almond bark.

The flavor combinations you go with are totally up to you. I've done chocolate cake with chocolate frosting & chocolate almond bark & they are really good! Like think Ho-Ho or Ding Dong. Good.

Step 1: Bake the cake, according to the package directions.


Let it cool & then *gasp* break it into pieces & crumble it in a bowl. I always feel like I'm doing something criminal for this part! Add in the frosting & combine it well.


You can mix it several ways - wooden spoon, mush it in a ziplock bag, use your hands in a bowl or, like I do, with a pastry blender!


Roll them into balls. Your hands will get messy - just rinse them every 10 balls or so. And be sure you don't go too big. I though bigger would be better - it's not. Last time I measured them out with my 2 Tbsp cookie scoop but they were just too big. Bite-sized is better so, if you use a cookie scoop, go with the one Tbsp one.


Pop them into the freezer for an hour or so. If you don't they'll fall apart in the almond bark.

Melt the almond bark according to the package directions & dip the balls, one at a time. And only take like 8 balls out of the freezer at a time. Once they're dipped they can just sit on the counter in an air-tight container, but when you're dipping you want them pretty solid. Pick whatever dipping method works for you - I've done 2 forks & also toothpicks. Either is fine. Just dip & tap the excess off against the side of the bowl.


Dip & tap!


And now, because I'm making eyeballs... decorate!


And with the red velvet inside, a bite will reveal the red, bloody guts of the eyeballs! Ewwww. I mean YUM!!!! LOL

(My camera's just a little pocket-sized point & shoot so I have a hard time getting good focus. Darn it.)

I hope you'll try 'em! Play with the flavors & make your own! They're really good. And addicting. And easy (they just take a little while from start to finish!)

Cake Pops:

1 box cake mix (9x13)
1 tub frosting (16oz)
1 pkg almond bark

Bake the cake. Let it cool completely. Crumble cake into a large bowl. Add frosting & combine thoroughly. Shape into small balls - no bigger that a large marble. Freeze for about an hour.

Melt almond bark according to instructions. Dip balls, one at a time, working in small batches. Set dipped balls on wax paper to set up. Store on the counter in an air-tight container.

2 comments:

  1. I agree with you on the homemade treats! I have noticed the same thing at the boys' class parties.

    These look great Michelle, Nolan's class is going to love them!

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  2. Yes, great job! They look awesome! Every kid needs a mom like you! Now don't I feel rotten! I found out this morning that Karissa could bring something, and knowing I had to go to Lexie's class this morning, I resorted to Wal-mart. I did make Brindley's popcorn balls though.

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