I have always loved the spring and all the freshness and beauty it brings. After such a harsh winter, I was so ready for some sunshine, flowers and to see our Bradford Pear trees in bloom. Living in the south, our weather can be a bit fickle. Last week, we had temps in the low 70’s and today, it is barely 40 and we are wearing coats outside. That is not going to stop me from making one of my favorite treats; cake pops. Two of my other Easter sweet treats are my Easy Easter Bark Candy and my Chocolate Dipped Strawberry Carrots, both of which work great for spring sweets as well.

What you will need:

• Cake mix (any flavor)
• Cake pop pan
• Frosting (if you do have a cake pop pan)
• Candy melts
• Lollipop sticks or patterned paper straws.
• Sprinkles, candies and other sweets to decorate your pops
• Piping bag (if you want to pipe patterns on your cake pops)

The thing I love about making cake pops is they are super easy and so much fun. Even the baking novice can make some really professional looking cake pops with a little but of guidance. There are two ways you can make your base, and either way is about as easy as they other. I have a silicone cake pop pan I bought on Amazon for less than $10. All I need to do is make the cake mix, pipe or spoon it into the mold, put the top on and bake for about 18 minutes.

Even though it is silicone, you still need to spray it with a baking spray or they will stick and you will be using option two (hee hee hee). The other option is to make the cake mix and bake in two  8″ rounds. Let them cool and crumble in a bowl and add one cup of frosting. Take 2 tablespoons of the cake/frosting mix and form a ball. Place it on a cookie sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking sheet. For either method, you need to let them cool in the fridge for a minimum of one hour, but 2 is best.

Next, you want to melt your candies. I use the Wilton Candy Melts, which you can find at Walmart for less than $3 for a 12 ounce bag. Put in a double boiler, candy melting pot or microwave. Add 2 teaspoons of canola oil and stir well.  Dip one end of a lollipop stick and gently slip into cake pop. Using your fingers, smooth the excess around the stick. Place back in the fridge for 30 minutes.

[tweet “These #cake pops are a super cute idea for #Easter and so easy to make #dessert #recipes”]

Now you are ready for the really fun part! Take a cake pop and dip into the melted candy, making sure it is thoroughly covered. Tap on the edge of the bowl until no excess comes off. Next you can add your decorations. We have a variety container so we can just shake on the color or candy we like.

Now you can do one of two things here. You can lay them on their side, on the top or what we do, or stand them upright. All you need to do it place the opposite end into Styrofoam or even an empty cardboard box (thank you my brilliant daughter for that idea! Now you need to chill them one last time for about 15 minutes, and once the candy completely hardens, you can pipe with a complimentary color by filling a piping bag with some of the excess melted candy. Now you can add the cake pops to a cute vase, in an Easter basket or any way your creativity takes you! If, and this is a big if, you have any of these left after the family gets a hold of them, they make a really cute gift for teachers, your Sunday school leader or anyone else you want to surprise this Easter.

Have you ever made cake pops? For what occasion?