Caramel Apple Cake Pops

I’m going to be honest with you.

I’m more of a candy apple person than a caramel apple person.

I mean, caramel apples are delicious and perfectly great, but when faced with a choice between the two, I will go candy apple every time.

I realize that I’m in the minority here, as I rarely see anyone singing the praises of apples covered in hard red candy.  But I assure you, they are delicious.

The only unfortunate thing about candy apples is that they look like they’d be more complicated to make at home.  I mean, caramel apples are easy peasy, but candy ones look like a whole other deal.

Obviously I could just buy one at the State Fair, except I am convinced that the State Fair was designed to kill us all.  It’s hot, it takes all the money, and honestly I am super shocked that we don’t have to sign waivers before boarding the rides.

Also?  Animal poop and heat just don’t mix well.  It’s a fact.

This may be admitting my horribleness as a parent, but when my son asks to go to the fair, I offer him the cash instead.

I know.

Horrible.

But I’d rather roam the toy store for 2 hours in agony as my son mulls over his choices than stand there sweating while he smiles and waves at me from a ride that probably hasn’t had the bolts tightened since 1985.

And Cokes are not worth anywhere near $7 unless they are full of magic or have a diamond in the bottom.  Sorry.

Anyways — Caramel Apples.

As you might remember, Shelly and I are dedicating a whole week to caramel apple flavored treats.  We decided to do this #1 because we are geniuses and #2 it’s our attempt at controlling the changing of the seasons.  Because I firmly believe that you can bake a season into happening.  Truly.

I saw a super cute cake in my latest Williams Sonoma catalog that looked like a giant caramel apple and I thought to myself, “self…that would totally be adorable as cake pops”

So I made cake pops that look like caramel apples.  The end.

If you’re unfamiliar with the makings of cake pops, they’re usually made by crumbling a 9×13 cake and mixing it with a can of store bought frosting and then shaping it into balls and covering them with almond bark or melted candy melts.

I am not a huge fan of the consistency of cake pops, so I try to avoid using a can of frosting as a binder whenever possible.

For these, I used a box of spice cake mix, substituting apple juice for the water on the directions.  Once the cake was baked, cooled, and crumbled, I mixed in 3/4 cup caramel ice cream sauce (the kind you just buy in a jar), and that worked great without making the cake super soggy.

I then shaped the cake mixture into balls, tapering the top a bit to give it a more “appley” look.

For the apples, you want to melt some green candy melts with a little bit of yellow added in.  It gave them a more authentic color.

Dip your lollipop sticks in the melted candy then insert in the cake pops, set on a wax paper lined baking sheet, and place in the freezer for about 5 minutes to set.  Then dip the cake pops in the melted green candy and place back on the lined baking sheet.  Place in the freezer for another 5 -10 minutes or until the green candy has hardened.

For the “caramel”, I melted together some milk chocolate candy melts with a bit of white chocolate candy melts to give it a more tan color.  Dip the green cake pops in the “caramel” about 2/3 of the way, then immediately sprinkle with nuts or sprinkles.

Not only are they super cute and easy to put together, but they taste great too!!

Click for Materials:

Green Candy Melts

White Candy Melts

Yellow Candy Melts

Milk Chocolate

Lollipop Sticks

Green and White Damask Cupcake Liners

Aaaand…today is your lucky day because Shelly is sharing the recipe for Caramel Apple Pizza, which basically sounds like the best thing ever.  So go check it out!!

Enjoy and have a very happy Tuesday!!

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