Marshmallow Pops

I made some S'mores Pops for a fundraiser this week but I wanted to make an additional pop of some sort to sell alongside them. I had found an alternate take on the pops on Pinterest that involved putting a marshmallow on a stick, dipping it in chocolate and rolling it in crushed graham crackers.  I think I have mentioned before that I am not a big fan of s'mores because I don't like marshmallows. (Un-American, I admit.) But I LIVE for the sweet and salty snack. And since everything is all about me (please note the sarcasm) I got the wheels turning and came up with the beauty above. 

Have you seen these guys?

They are a bit smaller than baseballs and while they are way to big for s'mores they are great for snacking and PERFECT for this project. 

These pops are simple. First, I melted just a few white chocolate chips. Then I dipped the stick into the melt and planted it into the marshmallow. (The white chocolate "glues" the stick into the marshmallow.) Next, I dipped the marshmallow into melted chocolate and rolled it in a combination of crushed pretzels and fall colored sprinkles. 

Let me tell ya, these things rock. And this is coming from someone who could do without Marshmallows. But the sweetness of the mallow coupled with the salty crunchy pretzels then backed up by a chocolate  kick? It's the perfect candy marriage. 

And since it's the S'mores time of year I thought I would share this ingenius product wtih you.

I used these to make the S'mores pops this time and I will never use a regular marshmallow again. These are fabulous! Why did it take so long for someone to come up with a flat marshmallow for s'mores? Just as good as sliced bread in my book. 

Have a great weekend!

White Chocolate Strawberry Fudge

Copyright 2012

This recipe is ridiculously easy. I had heard of two-ingredient fudge before, but only in chocolate form. I found this version at one of my new favorite sites, Cookies and Cups, and the recipe lends itself to so many flavor combinations!

2 Ingredient White Chocolate-Strawberry Fudge

1 bag white chocolate chips

1 can strawberry icing

Melt the chips in the microwave. Start with one minute, then stir and follow with 30 second increments stirring in between. Once the chips are almost completely melted, keep stirring until the last bits finish to avoid having to microwave again and risk scorching. 

Once melted, stir in the frosting. Pour into a greased or foil-lined 9 x 9 pan. Allow to set up before cutting (about 1 hour).

See? How easy is that?! It would be fun to experiment with different flavors. Peanut butter chips with Funfetti frosting and sprinkles. Butterscotch chips with cream cheese frosting. White chocolate chips with lemon frosting. Mint chips and chocolate frosting. I could do this all day...

S'mores Pops

Recipe credit: Tip Junkie. Photo credit: Yours truly.

All of the goodies I made for Christmas this year came from Pinterest. I enjoyed making the S'mores Pops  the most because the end result is just so darn cute! They are just like the traditional treat but much easier (and fun) to eat. I don't care for them myself, taste wise, (I am not a marshmallow fan) but I had a ball making them and they were a huge hit.

Last week I made about 100 of them for a bake sale that took place this weekend. I ordered lots of cute sprinkles and sugars from Amazon* and I experimented with tinting the white chocolate coating to make different colored pops. My kitchen was like a Willy Wonka sweat shop but instead of Oopma Loompas keeping me company, I had a 19 month old and a three-legged dog in a sweater. (Cut me some slack on the dog sweater. It's winter, he's a Chihuahua and cold is his Kryptonite. Besides, it makes him look smart.)

Here's a run down on the process:
 

Lay out the graham crackers on a baking sheet. Put marshmallows on half of them and about 10 chocolate chips (I used milk chocolate chips) on each of the others. Keep the chips in the middle of the crackers so that when you assemble the pops later the chocolate will stay sandwiched inside and not ooze out all over your hand or the lollipop stick.

A close up shot of chocolate never hurt anyone.

Place them in a 400 degree oven for a few minutes until the marshmallows puff up and begin to brown a bit. This happens very quick. For my oven, it was exactly three minutes. You might want to experiment with just a couple of them at first to see how they do in your oven (temperatures can vary from oven to oven) and adjust the time accordingly. If the marshmallow doesn't soften enough, inserting the stick won't go very smoothly. You will have a big solid lump of marshmallow poking out the side your sandwiched crackers. A chocolate covered marshmallow tumor does not make for an attractive S'mores Pop.

Once they are out of the oven, jump right in! Put the stick into the marshmallow and place the cracker with the chips right on top. Push down a bit and level out the crackers. I push the stick in so that it almost, but not quite, comes out the other side in order for it to anchor well. Since it's cold out right now, I sat the pops on my back porch to help them set up quicker.

Next is the fun part: dipping and decorating. I have no action shots of this process because it is very messy and, well, made my kitchen table look like this:

Notice I made this picture very tiny.

I buy the candy bark that comes in its own tray since it makes melting and clean up so much simpler. (Kroger has their own brand.) I tinted some of the white coating with food coloring to make pink, light blue and pale yellow. (Here's a tip: spoon the chocolate over the pops rather than dipping them in the chocolate.) Once I coated the pop, I shook off as much excess chocolate as possible, laid it on wax paper and immediately sprinkled or poured on the embellishments.

After they set up, I put them in cellophane treat bags and tied them off with ribbon.

The bake sale was a huge success and all but 6 of the S'mores Pops sold! They make great birthday party favors or Valentine's Day treats. If you have any questions, feel free to leave them in the comments section!

*Amazon has a great selection of sprinkles, treat bags and lollipop sticks. I have Amazon Prime which gives me free two-day shipping so I buy there, but I know WalMart and Target sell candy and cake decorating items, as well.