Cupcake Pops

If you think Cake Ball Pops are cute, than you are going to think Cupcake Pops are Gorgeous!!! I cannot speak from experience, but I am going to assume these are a little more difficult to make, but something tells me it will be worth it. Thank you Angie Dudley of Bakerella.com, you have made my life a little prettier!

Ingredients

• 1 13X9 baked cake (from a box cake mix or from scratch … any flavor)
• 1 can cream cheese frosting (or about 2 cups equivalent from scratch)
• 1 flower shaped cookie cutter (1.25″ wide X .75″ tall)
• 1 package chocolate bark
• 1 package pink candy melts or white chocolate bark
• bowls for dipping
• wax paper
• aluminum foil
• lollipop sticks
• sprinkles, m&ms or something similar for top of cupcake
• small plastic treat bags and ribbon to package the Cupcake Pops
• candy cups and truffle boxes to individually package the Cupcake Bites
• styrofoam block

Directions

1. Bake a cake from a mix or from scratch and cool completely.
2. Crumble cake into a fine consistency into a large bowl. Feel free to used a food processor.
3. Add can of cream cheese frosting or homemade frosting and blend together using the back of a large spoon. Blend thoroughly.
4. Roll mixture into 1.25″ – 1.5″ size balls and lay on wax paper covered cookie sheet. You may want to periodically rinse and dry your hands off in between.
5. Cover with aluminum foil or plastic wrap and chill in refrigerator for several hours or in the freezer for 15 minutes.
6. Remove. Begin to shape into cupcakes using a small flower-shaped cookie cutter. (see below) Take the chilled ball and roll it into more of an oval and then slide into cookie cutter. Push it into cutter until about half fills the cutter and the rest sticks out of the top in the shape of a mound. Then push the shaped cupcake carefully out of the cookie cutter from the bottom. Set right side up on a wax paper covered cookie sheet. Continue with remaining balls.
7. Once shaped, cover and put them in the refrigerator overnight if you want to do the dipping on the following day.
8. While cupcake shapes are chilling, begin to heat up your chocolate bark. Brown chocolate bark for the bottoms. Pink or white chocolate for the tops.Follow the instructions on the package for melting. Most recommend heating for 30 second intervals at a time and stirring in between. You can also do the double boiler method.
9. When you are ready to dip, remove from freezer and set up another wax paper covered cookie sheet.
10. Take the cupcake shaped mixture and dip bottoms into the melted chocolate – just to the point where the mounded shape starts. Remove from chocolate, turn upside down and wiggle so that the excess starts to slide down slightly. Then lay on the wax paper upside down. If you want them to be lollipops, then go ahead and insert the lollipop sticks while the chocolate is still wet. Be sure to dip  lollipop stick in the melted chocolate before inserting into chocolate bottoms. Continue with rest of the cupcakes. You can also leave some without the sticks. They’re just as cute as Cupcake Bites. (DON’T – get water in the chocolate. Make sure your hands are completely dry. Water will cause the chocolate to separate and mess up all your hard work.)
11. Dry completely. (15-20 minutes)
12. Once dry, dip the tops of the cupcakes in the pink or white chocolate. You may need to move it around a little to cover all the exposed areas. (Let the pink chocolate sit for a few minutes after heating to thicken. This will help it from dripping down the sides of the cupcake.)
13. Remove from the pink/white chocolate and turn right side up. You may need to hold and rotate it if there is any excess so that it doesn’t drip down too far. (You can use a toothpick to help cover any areas the melted chocolate didn’t cover.)
14. For the Cupcake Bites – just turn right side up and rest on the wax paper. Then go ahead and put a m&m on the top and add sprinkles while wet.
15. For the lollipops, Continue holding and place an m&m on the top and add sprinkles. Let them dry in a styrofoam block that you have already poked holes into.
16. When completely dry, cover the lollipops with small plastic treat bags and tie with a ribbon.
17. For the Cupcake Bites, place in a candy cup and package in small candy truffle boxes to present individually.

Notes: Go to Bakerella.com for more info or watch the How-to-Video on Marthastewart.com

Red Wine Cupcakes

Ingredients

• ½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 5 oz. chocolate chips
• ½ cup boiling water
• 2 sticks butter, room temperature
• 1 ½ cup sugar
• 4 large eggs
• 1 ¼ cup flour
• 1 ½ teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• ¾ cup red wine

Cream Cheese Frosting:

• ½ cup butter, room temperature
• Salt, pinch
• 4 oz. cream cheese
• 2 ½ - 3 cup confectioner sugar
• 1 T vanilla

Directions

In a heatproof bowl combine cocoa powder and chocolate chips and pour in the boiling water. Using a whisk, stir the chocolate until it’s all melted. In a larger bowl, cream the butter and sugar together. Then beat in each egg one at a time until they’re all mixed in.

In a separate bowl combine the flour, baking powder, and salt. Then slowly add that to the mixture making sure it’s all combined. Add some of the chocolate to the mixture, then some of the wine, alternating until all of it is blended. Pour batter into your papered muffin tins, almost all the way to the top.

Pop those in the oven at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes and let cool.

Cream Cheese Frosting:

Beat the butter with the salt until it’s nice and fluffy. Then add the cream cheese and continue beating until it’s all combined. Add the powdered sugar to the bowl about 1/2 cup at a time and beat to combine. Keep adding more until the frosting is at the consistency and sweetness-level that you desire.

• Source: We are not Martha
• Recipe Yields: 24 cupcakes

Sweet Tea Vodka Cupcakes

Ingredients

• 1 stick butter, room temperature
• 1 ½ cups powdered sugar
• 3 ½ tablespoons lemon zest
• 2 large eggs
• 1 ¼ cups self-rising flour (or regular flour with 1 ½ teaspoon baking powder and ¼ teaspoon salt)
• ¼ cup milk
• 2 tablespoons lemon
• 2 tablespoons sweet tea vodka (I recommend Firefly)
• 1 batch sweet tea vodka frosting (see recipe below)

Sweet Tea Vodka Frosting:

• 1 stick butter, room temperature
• 3 ½ cups powdered sugar
• 3 tablespoons sweet tea vodka
• 1 tablespoon lemon zest
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice

Directions

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.

Combine butter, powdered sugar, and lemon zest in the bowl of an electric mixer. Beat until fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating to blend. Mix in half the flour. Then add the milk and lemon juice. Then mix in the other half of the flour until just combined. Pour batter into a lined cupcake tin, almost all the way to the top.

Bake the cupcakes at 350 degrees for 16-20 minutes, until cooked through and slightly golden at edges.

Let the cupcakes cool in the pan for a few minutes before moving to rack to cool completely. When cool, brush lightly with about 2 tablespoons of sweet tea vodka. I did two layers.

While the cupcakes are cooling, you can make the frosting. It’s a pretty simple buttercream frosting with sweet tea vodka, lemon juice, and lemon zest added in.

Sweet Tea Vodka Frosting:

In a mixer, combine the butter and powdered sugar until fluffy. Add in sweet tea vodka, lemon zest, and lemon juice and combine. If you need to add more powdered sugar to reach your desired consistency, you can. Pipe frosting on to cupcakes. Or slather it on with a knife. Or eat a scoop out of the bowl. Because it’s that good. You can top the cupcakes with whatever you want. Possibly a lemon wedge with a straw and a dash of lemon zest.

• Source: We are not Martha
• Recipe Yields: 12 cupcakes