Gingerbread Truffles & Thanksgiving Dessert

Are you in the mood for Thanksgiving dessert? You'll notice, after looking at the links below, that I don't do pumpkin pie. I've never really liked it.  It's totally awesome if you make it and like it.  Just don't let that be the only dessert at your Thanksgiving table.  Please.  I know there's others out there like me...maybe?

These are my personal favorites...

Pumpkin Cookies
If you only ever get to make one cookie in your entire life, it should be these pumpkin cookies.  They are moist, cakey, and you will not be able to eat just 10.  You will need to eat 11.  So, I warn you: Make them with a purpose in mind.

Lemon Chess Pie
I really liked this pie that I made last year.  I asked Scott the other day, "Do you remember that pie I made last year...the lemon one?" and he said, "Yes", without looking up from his computer screen.
I don't believe him.
But you should make it.  It was good.

Pecan Pie
I might make one of these for Thanksgiving Day this year.  I mean, how could you have Thanksgiving without pecan pie?  I ate 3 slices in 2 days last year.  I, appropriately, ended up with a stomachache.

And for you caramel-lovers...

Caramel Apple Galettes

Caramel Apple Cake

Caramel Brownie Pie

We're having a mini-Thanksgiving celebration on Friday night and I have these waiting in the fridge...

It's a basic cake pop recipe, except I'm using gingerbread instead of your regular boxed cake mix.  You can use a pre-packaged mix, but I used this because I'm a superfan and because the magnet with the recipe is on my fridge.
I also made my own cream cheese frosting (do it).
Just mix together your gingerbread crumbs and frosting until it looks like this:

Then you're ready to roll it into balls.

Freeze them for a few hours.

Melt your almond bark or candy melts. I really think almond bark works best.  It heats the best and gets to be the thinnest.  The thinner the chocolate, the easier this will be.

Dip and sprinkle.

Let them harden.

I dipped the tops (once the white dried) in orange candy melts and then directly into sprinkles.

And there you go!

To keep them fresh, store in the fridge or freezer.

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Again, the pumpkin cookies.  Make them.

Lemon Cake Pops

Yesterday, I had a fun, crafty get-together with some friends.  We made these letters with our last initial.  It was very similar to the wreaths I was putting together last year (Which I'm planning on doing again this fall..which reminds me...anyone want to order a wreath? Custom-made!).  

Anyway.  What a great group of wives!  I'm so grateful to have found such a community here..and it seems like I meet someone new everyday.  It's a nice change of pace from the last year or so..when all my friends PCSed before we did. 

I made some cake pops to take along. I even went all out and used sticks.  In two years of making cake pops (i.e. cake balls), I've never used sticks.  There's a first time for everything.  

Lemon Cake Pops
makes approximately 4 dozen

1 Lemon Cake (from a mix), baked and cooled
1 can vanilla or cream cheese frosting
White candy melts
Sprinkles, for decorating 
Lollipop sticks (found in the cake decorating section of Wal-Mart)

After baking your cake according to the package directions, allow to cool completely.
In a large pan, crumble the cake and mix in the frosting (I also added a teaspoon of freshly grated lemon zest.) You will have one big sticky mess. 

Refrigerate for a few hours so the mixture will firm up and be easier to roll. (You can skip this step if you're in a time crunch.)

Roll into 1-inch balls and place in a covered pan in the refrigerator or freezer for a few hours or over night.

 Melt the candy melts in the microwave.  Do this at 30 second intervals, stirring in between.  It usually take a minute or two.  Put a stick into each cake ball, and then dip in the candy melts.  I thought the yellow was pretty so I didn't cover it the whole way.  Add the sprinkles immediately. Allow to dry/cool on wax paper.  I like to store them in the fridge or freezer because I think they taste better cold.

Mint Oreo Truffles

Another pre-scheduled dessert post...this is a good one.


Guess who made a dessert in September and has decided to blog about it now in May?

ME!

I made these when my mom and dad were visiting last September and they helped me eat them all.  I just found the pictures on my computer and figured better late than never.  (It's never too late for Oreos.)

While my parents were here, they did a lot of sight-seeing on their own while I was at work.  I did drive us out to the Matanuska Glacier one day though.

That is as far as I'd let them get to the glacier.  Apparently, you can go walk on it.  *SHUDDER*.  Nothankyou.  I will never get close enough to a glacier to fall in.  It's a personal rule.

Let's not talk about glaciers anymore. Oreos are much more interesting.

I must say that despite my deep-seeded love for chocolate/peanut butter, mint Oreos are my favorite kind of Oreos.  I imagine, however, that you could create these with any kind of Oreo.  Oh, the possibilities.

Mint Oreo Truffles

1 box cake mix (I used Pillsbury Triple Chocolate Fudge.)
1 cup water
1/3 cup oil (I used half applesauce/half oil.)
3 eggs
1 can buttercream frosting (I used buttercream to keep it from being too chocolate-heavy.)
1 package Mint Oreos, crushed, and divided 
1 package almond bark (I had the green that I bought on clearance way back when, but vanilla or chocolate would work.)

Bake the cake according to package directions.  The ingredients above are what I added.  The ingredient amount may depend on the brand of cake mix.

Let the cake cool, then crumble it up.  Stir in the can of frosting and half the crushed Oreos until you have a thick dough.

Roll the dough into 1 inch balls and place on a cookie sheet.  Cover and refrigerate overnight.

Melt the candy melts in the microwave.  It will take about 2 minutes total.  I used 45 second intervals.

Dip the frozen truffles into the candy coating and then place on wax paper to set.  Decorate with the other half of the crushed Oreos.  You have to be quick, dipping just a few at a time, because candy coating hardens really fast.  I like to store these in the freezer because I think they taste best that way.

Funfetti Cake Pops

(This was originally shared as a guest post at All in a Row(e))

So.  Cake pops.  Have you tried them yet?  SO easy.  And delicious.  And I ate 7 for dessert the night I made these.  Just a normal Monday night 'round here...

I came up with this flavor combination idea when I was ravaging the pantry, looking for chocolate chips.  I have no shame.  I've talked about how I needed to, had to, absolutely MUST stop eating marshmallows.  Since I would melt my marshmallows together with chocolate chips, I also needed to stop buying chocolate chips.  The fewer ingredients I have around to make my own personal crack, the greater the chance I won't be able to make my own personal crack.

So, while I didn't have marshmallows in the house, I did have sweetened condensed milk and I was gonna whip me up some fudge.  However, without chocolate chips, I couldn't make fudge.

It was probably better that way.

So I came across this bag of white candy melts...and a box of Funfetti cake mix.

School was still in session at the time, so I knew I could make a last-minute treat for the kiddos for the last day of school.

So instead of grading papers, cleaning the bathrooms, and putting laundry away, I made some cake pops.  Minus the stick.  I like to keep things simple.  And buying those "make your own lollipop" stick things is too complicated for me. (If I was doing these for an actual event, I'd totally go that route though.  These were just going to be devoured by 10 year olds while they watched The Chronicles of Narnia*.  No fanciness needed.)

(Also, I've discovered that you must call them "cake pops" in front of 10 year olds.  They laugh if you call them "cake balls". )

 

Funfetti Cake Pops

1 Funfetti Cake, baked and cooled
1 can Funfetti frosting
White candy melts
Sprinkles, for decorating

After baking your cakes according to the package directions, allow to cool completely.
In a large pan, crumble the cake and mix in the frosting.  You will have one big sticky mess.

Roll into 1-inch balls and place in a covered pan in the refrigerator or freezer for a few hours or over night.

 Melt the candy melts in the microwave.  Do this at 30 second intervals, stirring in between.  It usually take a minute or two.  Dip each cake ball in the  chocolate, covering it completely.  Allow to dry/cool on wax paper.  I like to store them in the fridge or freezer because I think they taste better cold.

*In case you care, one of my little history buffs asked me if the White Witch/Queen's character was based off of Hitler.  I had explained how the movie took place during WWII [originally why I showed them the beginning of it].  I said, "Wow, that's a good insight, but actually it's based off of Christianity...you know, Aslan is Jesus..." and she said, "Hmmm...that makes sense, but it could totally be about WWII also" and walked away.  
That was on the last day of school.  It's amazing to think of all the things I stuffed into her brain.   

Shared at:
Crazy Sweet Tuesday
Mingle Monday
Mix it up Monday

Carrot Cake Cakeballs

Thank you all for the encouragement after yesterday's body image post!  That post was a long time coming, because it's something that's really been bothering me, for the last year especially.  I'm also in the middle of Made to Crave.  It's about how we are meant to crave things in life, but we need to direct more of our cravings toward God.  Just somethin' to think about!
Today?  Cakeballs.  As you can see, comparing today's post with yesterday's, I'm nothing if not a complete and absolute contradiction.
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I love food.  I love recipes.  I love coming up with *new* recipes.
People feel accomplishment in many different ways.  I feel accomplishment in 3 ways:
#1 I get an awesome bargain (like a $7 long sleeve tee or $4 dress pants off the clearance rack at The Gap)
#2 I run more than 2 miles at a time without stopping.
#3 I create something new and innovative in the kitchen; something that impresses me.  Something that makes me want to share it.
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#3 happened back in October with the Candy Corn Cake Balls.   I was trying to make Candy Corn Cupcakes and I got lazy and impatient and I filled the cups with too much batter.  I ended up with a cake explosion.  They still tasted amazing, but were not the prettiest little things to look at.

I made them into cake balls, dipped them into white chocolate, push a candy corn onto the top and there you had it.  A cute little treat for Fall.

While I'm clearly not the inventor of cakeballs, I've made these in a few different forms:
Cranberry Eggnog Cakeballs
Chocolate Peppermint Cakeballs

Welcome the Easter season with some carrot cake.  The Easter candy is already on the store shelves and has been for the last week.  How appropriate for the girl who has just given up candy for Lent.  Easter candy is my Everest (remember Joey and the turkey on Friends??).

Carrot Cakeballs
makes approximately 40 cakeballs
Inspired by this recipe 


1 carrot cake boxed cake mix (baked according to package directions in a 9x13 pan)
1 1/2 cups vanilla or cream cheese frosting
1 package white candy melts or white almond bark (or white chocolate chips)
Powdered sugar glaze:
1 cup powdered sugar
1-2 T. milk
2 t. meringue powder
orange and green food coloring

After baking your cake according to the package directions, allow to cool completely.
In a large bowl, crumble the cake and mix in the frosting.  You will have one big sticky mess.

Roll into 1-inch balls and place in a covered pan in the freezer for a few hours or over night.

Melt the white chocolate in a double boiler.  Dip each (now frozen) cake ball in the chocolate, covering it completely.  Allow to dry/cool on wax paper.


Mix together the sugar, milk, and meringue powder for your glaze.  Divide it in half and color half green and half orange.  Drizzle over the cakeballs.

See what I did with the green and orange?  They're carrots.  Genius, I know.  Also?  It took less than 30 seconds.

Sharing at:
Mrs. Fox's Sweets Party
Cast Party Wednesday 
Sweet Treats Thursday 
Mix It Up Monday