Pumpkin Spice Cake Pops Recipe

These were a labor of love.  I wanted to make an orange treat to take tailgating this weekend.  I used my pumpkin whoopie pie recipe and turned it into a cake pops.  I mixed the cake as the recipe says, but poured it into two round cake pans (a large sheet pan would work just as well) and baked it until a knife came out clean when poked in the center.  I let them cool and crumbled them up into a large bowl. I used the same cream cheese frosting, too.  I just dumped the whole batch of it into the crumbled pumpkin cake and mixed it up.  One great thing about pumpkin is it makes a really moist cake.  It sticks together well which makes this whole process a little easier I think.  I used a small cookie scoop to make equal size balls and rolled them smooth.  I stopped at 35 balls because I just didn't need 100 cake pops. This cake makes a TON.  I then melted a very small amount of candy melts in the microwave (about 30 seconds) and swirled lollipop sticks in it before sticking them into the cake balls.  (Candy melts and lollipop sticks can both be found at Michaels, Hobby Lobby, JoAnns, etc).  Dipping the end of the stick into the candy melt before putting it into the ball helps the ball stay on a little better.  I lined them all up on a cookie sheet and stuck them in the fridge overnight.

Today I took them out of the fridge and let them reach room temperature.  Now, I know all of the cake ball pros out there say to freeze them, do this, do that...I was overwhelmed with all of the different ways to make these so I just kind of winged it.  I poured my candy melts into a glass bowl and melted them over a pot of water- SLOWLY. If you melt them too fast, it'll lump up on you.  I also added a few spoonfuls of Crisco so that it would thin out a bit.  One cake pop at a time, I gently spooned the candy over the cake ball and used the spoon to help it cover.  If you try to dunk them in the candy, the ball will more than likely fall off.  Give it a good coat and then stick it on some wax paper to dry.  I topped mine with cinnamon and chopped pecans.  I also made a few with just plain orange sugar for those who don't like nuts.

I am also not putting these back in the fridge or freezer.  I don't care what anyone says, candy sweats when you take it out of the fridge or freezer and they'll look terrible, so they're staying out until Saturday! 

I already know I do not have the patience to make all of the fancy cake pops there are out there.  These look adorable all tied up with their little ribbons but Lawdy! They take some time, y'all!