Winnie the Pooh Cake Pops

Ingredients

• 1 box cake mix (bake as directed on box for 13 X 9 cake)

• 1 16 oz can of ready-made frosting

• Wax paper

• Baking sheets

• Yellow candy coating

• Red candy coating (optional for shirt collar)

• Chocolate coated sunflower seeds in yellow, white or another light color (nose)

• Black non-pareils (eyes)

• Brown rainbow chip sprinkles

• Pink confetti sprinkles (tongue)

• Black edible ink pen (eyebrows, mouth)

• Red edible ink pen (mouth)

• Toothpicks

• Paper lollipop sticks

• Styrofoam block

Helpful Tip

one cake makes about 48 cake pops. If you don't need that many, then cut the cake in quarters and freeze any cake sections for another day. If you're using the whole cake, you can make 24 Pooh cake pops and 24 Hunny Pot cake pops. You'll need at least one ounce of candy coating for each generic Winnie the Pooh or Hunny Pot cake pop you plan on dipping and more for any extra decorating.

Directions

1. After cake is cooked and cooled completely, crumble into a large bowl.
2. With a large spoon, mix thoroughly with about 3/4 of the can of frosting. You won't need the rest.
3. Roll mixture into quarter size cake balls and place on a wax paper covered baking sheet.
4. When they are firm, shape half of the cake balls to resemble Winnie's head. The top of the ball should be smaller than the bottom. Try to shape them so the nose protrudes in the front
5. When they are firm, shape half of the cake balls to resemble Winnie's head. The top of the ball should be smaller than the bottom. Try to shape them so the nose protrudes in the front.
6. To practice getting the shape right, place candies in position for ears and nose and use a lollipop stick to mark the eyes to see if the shape is looking right.
7. You can use a picture of Winnie as a guide to shape the cake ball. You can also use a lollipop stick to help shape the nose.
8. Return the cake pops to the refrigerator to maintain firmness.
9. Melt yellow candy coating in a heat-proof plastic bowl so that the coating is at three to four inches deep for easier dipping. Melt in the microwave in 30 second intervals on low, stirring in between. Repeat until melted and smooth.
10. Dip the tip of a lollipop stick into the melted coating and insert into the bottom of Winnie's head. Then, grab two sunflower seed ears and dip the pointed side into the melted candy coating. Attach the ears to the top/back of the cake pop and the coating will set like glue.
11. Dip the tip of a lollipop stick into the melted coating and insert into the bottom of Winnie's head. Then, grab two sunflower seed ears and dip the pointed side into the melted candy coating. Attach the ears to the top/back of the cake pop and the coating will set like glue.
12. Place in a styrofoam block to dry.
13. After a few minutes you can carefully dip the entire cake pop with ears attached into the bowl of melted candy coating. Dip and remove in one motion without stirring. Make sure the entire cake ball is covered. Using a deep bowl is helpful here. If your coating is too thick, you can add a few drops of vegetable oil or shortening to help thin it and make it easier to work with.
14. Remove and allow any excess coating to fall off the pop and back into the bowl.
15. Before the coating sets, attach one brown rainbow chip sprinkle in position for the nose. Repeat with the remaining Winnie the Pooh Pops.
16. Place in a styrofoam block to dry.
17. When dry, use a toothpick to dot a tiny amount of coating in position for the eyes and attach one black non-pareil sprinkle for each eye. It's best to attach one eye at a time so the coating doesn't dry before you can attach the sprinkle.
18. Use a black edible ink pen to draw eyebrows and a cute smile. Then finish the bottom of the mouth using a red edible ink pen.
19. For the tongues, cut a pink confetti sprinkle in half and use a toothpick to dot a small amount of coating in position and attach the tongue.
20. You can stop here or you can give Winnie a hint of his red shirt.
21. To do so, melt red candy coating and let sit for a few minutes to thicken a bit. If it is too hot it can be runny. Then carefully, twist and remove the lollipop stick. Once removed, you can hold Winnie's head and dip the bottom in two diagonal directions to form the collar of his red shirt. Immediately reinsert the lollipop stick and place back in the styrofoam block to dry.
22. You can wrap them in treat bags tied with a ribbon and/or store them on the counter or in an airtight container. Enjoy!

http://spoonful.com/recipes/winnie-the-pooh-cake-pops