It's a Goodie!: Cake Pops = Pop a Cork or Two :)

Picture it, Columbus, Ohio – 2013. That is the last time I shared anything on my blog! I was in my 20s then, and a graduate student at Ohio State. I had recently left my job at OFBF and was looking forward to whatever the future held.

Flash forward to modern times. I (still) surprisingly find myself in Ripley, Ohio – one place I didn’t figure I would call home until I was at least 60. Life’s full of surprises that way, right? I’ll catch up more on that later, but for now, I would like to kick off my return to blogging by telling you about my best friend (basically from the womb) Randi’s baby shower!

Randi and I have been besties since our 4H days, showing horses, going shopping, sneaking into our parents’ liquor and beer stashes (always getting caught, by the way), and we fortunately both ended up in Columbus and did the adult thing).

Now my BFF is expecting her first baby, and I’m so excited to have another honorary nephew! I wanted to make Randi’s shower special, because she is awesome, and will be an awesome mommy!

So obviously I searched Pinterest for the latest and greatest. I decided that I would make adorable and easy (so I thought) chocolate dipped pretzels and cake pops! I selected these items mostly because they were cute, and I figured most people would enjoy them – but cute was the primary reason, ha!

The chocolate dipped pretzels were super easy. I just got a bag of pretzel rods from Kroger and to my delight, most weren’t broken – we were in business. By we, I mean my mom and I. I melted a bag of Wilton Melts, dipped the pretzels, added some sprinkles and let the dry. What a piece of cake basically.

Would you just look at that? So easy, super cute, and delish.

Next, the cake pops. Have you ever tried to find someone to make cake pops for a party of yours? Was it difficult to find someone? It was? Oh, that’s because making cake pops sucks hugely. They are so cute and yummy, but they are not really easy to make. The trouble comes when the cake pop is to be dipped – it is very eager to fall of its stick and crumble into a mess.

Luckily, mom and I found a trick that worked for the most part to prevent epic failure. We dipped the sticks in the chocolate, added the cake ball, and then let them sit for a while so they could hopefully set up. Then, my mom basically spread the chocolate on with a knife, while I added the sprinkles before the chocolate dried.

I didn't take any pics during the process, mostly because I was trying to drink wine and not get super angry :) But here they are after we were finished - left to dry.

Surprisingly, only one of 49 fell apart. Dang.

If it wasn't for this lady right here, everything involving the cake pops would have been shoved into the trash. Thanks, Mom!

Despite the cake pop frustration, it was so worth it because it did turn out super cute (as you’ll recall, my priority). And if I was going to make these things, there was no better person to make them for than my bestie / sister!

Here are some pics from the shower. Enjoy!