We’ll also show you the secret to making cake pops in just minutes if you want a handy shortcut to get the decorating part faster, so look for that below …

Looking for more holiday treats? Check out:

• Christmas Wreath Cookies
• Melted Snowman Cookies
• Grinch Cookies (With Cake Mix!)
• Soft & Chewy Gingerbread Cookies
• Eggnog French Toast
• Spiced Gingerbread Waffles
• Eggnog Pie

What You Need to Make Christmas Cake Pops:

• Cake mix: You can use any flavor cake mix: chocolate, vanilla, red velvet, yellow, etc. Be sure to check your cake mix to ensure you have whatever other cake ingredients the mix recommends for baking (eggs, oil, etc.).
• Can of frosting: You will also need one container of store-bought frosting. I like to use anything with a simple texture like vanilla, chocolate, or strawberry.
• Cake pop sticks: While it’s most common to use sticks like this, you can also use forks or edible items like pretzel rods!
• Candy melts: These discs of chocolate are the easiest way to get that chocolate coating as they melt easily and come in lots of color options.
• Microwave or Double Boiler: You can melt candy melts in the microwave, but you can also use a double boiler to do it on the stove top or a chocolate melter like this one.
• Edible decorations: For these Christmas cake pops, you’ll want mini pretzels, candy eyes, and red M&Ms for the reindeer, chocolate coins, Rolo or mini Reese’s cups, and orange sprinkles for the snowmen, and sprinkles or mini M&Ms to decorate your Christmas tree.

How to Make Christmas Cake Pops

1. Bake the cake: Bake your cake according to the package instructions and allow to fully cool.

2. Add the frosting and mix: Spoon the baked cake into a large mixing bowl. Add 2/3 of the container of frosting. Using the full container makes the cake pops a bit too soft and harder to work with once we dip them in chocolate. But, this is how you get cake pops to stick together—with frosting. Use clean hands to mix together the frosting and cake. The cake pop batter is going to be pretty soft, but moldable.

3. Roll cake balls: Form your cake pop batter into small balls (about 3-4 tablespoons each). You don’t want them to be too big, just so they easily fit in the palm of your hand.

Once you have formed all your pops (a standard size cake will make around 35-40 cake pops), put them in the refrigerator for 1-2 hours or the freezer for 30 minutes.

4. Melt your candy melts: Melt candy melts in the microwave in 30-second increments on half power. You could also use a double boiler to do it on the stove top or a chocolate melter like this one. If you need to thin your candy melts, you can stir in a teaspoon of canola or vegetable oil once melted and can reheat the chocolate for 15 seconds at a time to remelt if it starts to set up at any point.

5. Attach the cake pop stick: First, put your stick into the melted chocolate and push the stick 2/3 through a cold cake pop.

6. Dip the cake pop: Dip the attached cake pop into the melted chocolate and allow any excess chocolate to drip off the pop. Gently tap the cake pop stick on the side of your bowl to also shake off extra chocolate. Then, add any extra decorations and store the cake pop upright while it sets (unless you don’t mind a flat bottomed cake pop).

You can keep them upright in a number of ways, like sticking them into a container that is filled with granulated white sugar or rice or you can stick them into a block of styrofoam.

How To Make SUPER EASY Cake Pops:

• To make your cake pops even faster and easier, try using Little Debbie Snack Cakes or Zebra Cakes! Just crumble them into a bowl and mash them together with a mixing spoon until you get a thick dough. Use your small cookie scoop to scoop out balls of cake and continue to chill, dip, and decorate just like you would with the regular recipe! Such a time saver and you get about one cake pop per snack cake.

How To Make a Reindeer Cake Pop:

• Follow directions above to make a general cake pop and dip the cake pop into brown chocolate.
• Add two mini pretzels to the head for the antlers (or break off a section of a regular size pretzel), two candy eyes, and a red M&M for the nose.
• Allow the chocolate to set and your cake pop is ready!

How To Make a Christmas Tree Cake Pop:

• Follow directions above to make a general cake pop and dip the cake pop into green chocolate. Allow the chocolate to set.
• Add some melted green chocolate to a piping bag (or ziplock bag with the tip cut off) and lay the cake pop on some wax paper. Drizzle the melted chocolate over the tree back and forth and add sprinkles or small candies to decorate.
• Allow the chocolate to set and your cake pop is ready!

How to Make a Snowman Cake Pop:

• Follow directions above to make a general cake pop and dip the cake pop into white chocolate.
• Glue your Rolo or mini Reese’s cup to your chocolate coin with a little melted chocolate to make a hat and add to your snowman’s head. Add your sprinkle nose and allow chocolate to set.
• Once chocolate is set, melt a small amount of black or brown chocolate to pipe the eyes and mouth (or you can use black sprinkles or mini chocolate chips placed before the chocolate sets!).
• Allow the chocolate to set and your cake pop is ready!

Looking for a seasonal cocktail? Check out:

• Cranberry Spiced Hot Toddy
• Apple Cinnamon Hot Toddy
• How to Make Mulled Wine
• Grinch Punch or Sherbet Punch (Non-Alcoholic)
• Spiced Apple Cider Recipe
• Spiked Hot Chocolate (With A Secret Ingredient!)

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Birthday Cake Pops

Create fun birthday cake pops for your next party!

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Keyword birthday cake, cake pops

Prep Time 30 minutes minutes

2 hours hours

Total Time 2 hours hours 30 minutes minutes

Servings 35 cake balls

Calories 55kcal

Author Laura Gummerman

Cost $15

Equipment

• 1 small cookie scoop optional
• 35-40 cake pop sticks
• 1 microwave or double boiler

Ingredients

• 1 boxed Funfetti or vanilla cake mix and whatever other ingredients you need to make the cake (eggs, oil, etc.)
• 1/2-3/4 of a 16-ounce can of vanilla frosting (add little by little until you have right consistency)
• candy melts in white
• sprinkles

Instructions

• 1. Bake the cake: Bake your cake according to the package instructions and allow to fully cool.
• 2. Add the frosting and mix: Spoon the baked cake into a large mixing bowl. Add 1/2-2/3 of the container of frosting. Using the full container makes the cake pops a bit too soft and harder to work with once we dip them in chocolate. But, this is how you get cake pops to stick together—with frosting. Use clean hands to mix together the frosting and cake. The cake pop batter is going to be pretty soft, but moldable. Should feel like play dough consistency.
• 3. Roll cake balls: Form your cake pop batter into small balls (about 3-4 tablespoons each). You don’t want them to be too big, just so they easily fit in the palm of your hand. Once you have formed all your pops (a standard size cake will make around 35-40 cake pops), put them in the refrigerator for 1-2 hours or the freezer for 30 minutes.
• 4. Melt your candy melts: Melt candy melts in the microwave in 30-second increments on half power. You could also use a double boiler to do it on the stove top or a chocolate melter like this one. If you need to thin your candy melts, you can stir in a teaspoon of canola or vegetable oil once melted and you can reheat the chocolate for 15 seconds at a time to remelt if it starts to set up at any point.
• 5. Attach the cake pop stick: First, put your stick into the melted chocolate and push the stick 2/3 through a cold cake pop.
• 6. Dip the cake pop: Dip the attached cake pop into the melted chocolate and allow any excess chocolate to drip off the pop. Gently tap the cake pop stick on the side of your bowl to also shake off extra chocolate. Then, add any extra sprinkle decorations and store the cake pop upright while it sets (unless you don’t mind a flat bottomed cake pop).

Notes

*You can keep them upright in a number of ways while they set like sticking them into a container that is filled with granulated white sugar or rice or you can stick them into a block of styrofoam.

 

Tips for Making Cake Pops:

• • Add your icing to your cake crumble in small quantities so you just get the point of having enough for it to stick together. It should feel like play dough.

• • Use a small cookie scoop to scoop cake mixture so you get even portions for each cake pop.

• • Make sure your cake balls are well chilled before coating.

• • Have your decorations nearby and prepped to go so you can attach them while the chocolate is still melted.

• • You can use a tall glass to pour your melted chocolate in (or melt it in a microwaveable mug) so you have a little dunk tank to fully submerge your cake pop into.

Nutrition

Calories: 55kcal | Carbohydrates: 12g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 1g | Saturated Fat: 0.3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 0.1g | Trans Fat: 0.1g | Sodium: 102mg | Potassium: 9mg | Fiber: 0.2g | Sugar: 6g | Calcium: 32mg | Iron: 0.3mg

Tarts are a shallow, one crust cousin to the classic pie, and you can make yours an Apple Tart, Mini Citrus Tarts, or Honey & Whiskey Apple Tarts!

Looking for more delicious treats? Check out:

• Grasshopper Pie
• 30+ Easy No-Bake Desserts
• The Best No-Bake Banana Cream Pie
• Oreo Cake Pops
• Gooey Butter Cake – With a Cake Mix

Ingredients for chocolate tart

For the crust:

• A simple buttery pie crust of flour, sugar, salt, butter, and cold water will hold your chocolaty filling.

For the filling:

• Semi-sweet chocolate: Chopped semi-sweet chocolate is the perfect amount of sweetness for this rich tart.
• Heavy cream: Adding heavy cream to your chocolate makes it a silky ganache.
• Instant espresso: Optional, but adding a little of this gives the tart another level of depth and flavor. Highly recommend!
• Sugar: A small amount of sugar is all you need with semi-sweet chocolate.
• Salt: Just a dash of salt needed for this tart.
• Eggs: Gives your filling a thick custard-type consistency.
• Vanilla: Adds a hint of vanilla to counter the chocolate notes.

How to make a chocolate tart

Make the dough: In a food processor, pulse together the flour, sugar, salt, and cold butter until crumbly. Add the first 3 tablespoons of cold water and pulse again. If needed, add an additional tablespoon of cold water. It will still look crumbly but you want the dough to just come together when you pinch it with your fingers.

Dump onto a clean counter and press the dough together into a disc (you can knead it 2-3 times to get it to come together). Cover in plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator for 30 minutes to chill. You can also make the dough ahead of time and freeze for up to 3 days.

Add dough to tart pan: On a floured surface, roll out your dough into a 12″ circle and place in your 9″ tart pan. If your dough is sticking, lightly flour the dough and your rolling pin every few rolls and flip it over once or twice.

To add your dough to your pan you can either roll the dough around your rolling pin and unroll it over your pan, or fold the dough circle in half, and in half again so you have a pizza wedge shape and then unfold the shape in the tart pan.

Press dough into the tart pan and roll your rolling pin over the top to cut off any excess. Prick the bottom with a fork and place in freezer for 30 minutes to chill.

Add a layer of foil over the crust to add pie weights or dried beans or rice to blind bake the pie.

Blind bake on a cookie sheet at 350° for 25-30 minutes covered and then remove foil and bake uncovered for another 12-15 minutes. You want the shell baked and just starting to brown.

Let shell cool completely for about one hour while you make the filling.

Prepare your filling: To make your filling, add your chopped chocolate to a bowl and heat your heavy cream until simmering or bubbles around the edges. Pour the heated cream into the bowl and let it sit for a few minutes to melt the chocolate. Whisk to combine.

Add your instant coffee, sugar, and salt and whisk again.

Add your two eggs and vanilla and whisk to combine.

Pour your filling into your baked shell and bake again at 350° for about 25 minutes or until the tart is mostly set but the middle is still a little wobbly. If you see any cracks starting to form, take it out.

Let your tart cool for one hour before slicing into it. Enjoy!

Tips for Making

• When serving, wipe your knife off between slices for cleaner cuts.
• To cut down on air bubbles in the filling, you can pop any you see with a toothpick before baking.
• You can use milk or dark chocolate baking bars as well so mix and match to your taste level.
• Make sure to allow the tart to fully cool before cutting into so it will solidify and keep its shape when cut.
• Chop your chocolate in small pieces so it’s easier for it to melt when you add the heated cream. You can microwave it for small increments (and stir between each one) if you chocolate doesn’t all melt after you add the cream.

Goes Great With:

Try serving chocolate tart with:

• Latte Recipe
• How to Make a Cappuccino
• Macchiato
• Café Au Lait

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Chocolate Tart

A decadent but simple chocolate tart recipe

Course Dessert

Cuisine French

Keyword chocolate, tarte

Prep Time 30 minutes minutes

Cook Time 1 hour hour 5 minutes minutes

Chill Time 30 minutes minutes

Total Time 2 hours hours 5 minutes minutes

Servings 12 people

Calories 354kcal

Author Laura Gummerman

Cost $10

Equipment

• 1 Food processor

Ingredients

For the dough

• 1 ¼ cup flour
• 1 ½ teaspoon sugar
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• ½ cup cold butter
• 3-4 tablespoons cold water

For the filling

• 1 teaspoon instant coffee (optional)
• 10 ounces semi-sweet chocolate, chopped
• 1 ¼ cup heavy cream
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 2 eggs, room temperature
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

Instructions

Make the dough:

• In a food processor, pulse together the flour, sugar, salt, and cold butter until crumbly. Add the first 3 tablespoons of cold water and pulse again. If needed, add an additional tablespoon of cold water. It will still look crumbly but you want the dough to just come together when you pinch it with your fingers.
• Dump onto a clean counter and press the dough together into a disc (you can knead it 2-3 times to get it to come together). Cover in plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator for 30 minutes to chill. You can also make the dough ahead of time and freeze for up to 3 days.

Add dough to tart pan and bake:

• On a floured surface, roll out your dough into a 12″ circle and place in your 9″ tart pan. If your dough is sticking, lightly flour the dough and your rolling pin every few rolls and flip it over once or twice. To add your dough to your pan you can either roll the dough around your rolling pin and unroll it over your pan, or fold the dough circle in half, and in half again so you have a pizza wedge shape and then unfold the shape in the tart pan.

  Press dough into the tart pan and roll your rolling pin over the top to cut off any excess. Prick the bottom with a fork and place in freezer for 30 minutes to chill.
• Add a layer of foil over the crust to add pie weights or dried beans or rice to blind bake the pie. Blind bake on a cookie sheet at 350° for 25-30 minutes covered and then remove foil and bake uncovered for another 12-15 minutes. You want the shell baked and just starting to brown.

  Let shell cool completely for about one hour while you make the filling.

Make the filling:

• To make your filling, add your chopped chocolate to a bowl and heat your heavy cream until simmering or bubbles around the edges. Pour the heated cream into the bowl and let it sit for a few minutes to melt the chocolate. Whisk to combine. Add your instant coffee, sugar, and salt and whisk again.

  Add your two eggs and vanilla and whisk to combine.
• Pour your filling into your baked shell and bake again at 350° for about 25 minutes or until the tart is mostly set but the middle is still a little wobbly. If you see any cracks starting to form, take it out. Let your tart cool for one hour before slicing into it. Enjoy!

Notes

Tips for Making

• When serving, wipe your knife off between slices for cleaner cuts.
• To cut down on air bubbles in the filling, you can pop any you see with a toothpick before baking.
• You can use milk or dark chocolate baking bars as well so mix and match to your taste level.
• Make sure to allow the tart to fully cool before cutting into so it will solidify and keep its shape when cut.
• Chop your chocolate in small pieces so it’s easier for it to melt when you add the heated cream. You can microwave it for small increments (and stir between each one) if your chocolate doesn’t all melt after you add the cream.

Nutrition

Calories: 354kcal | Carbohydrates: 25g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 27g | Saturated Fat: 16g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 7g | Trans Fat: 0.3g | Cholesterol: 77mg | Sodium: 178mg | Potassium: 187mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 11g | Vitamin A: 652IU | Vitamin C: 0.1mg | Calcium: 40mg | Iron: 2mg

Besides being easy to make (and heavenly tasting), pudding shots are also easy to customize to lots of different flavor profiles to fit your taste or party theme. See some of our favorite flavor combinations below!

Looking for fun jello shots? Check out:

• How to Make Vodka Jello Shots (with Video!)
• Candy Corn Jello Shots
• Rosé All Day Jello Shots
• Pink Lemonade Jello Shots
• Mojito Jello Shots

What are pudding shots?

The creamy cousin of the jello shot, the pudding shots are an alcoholic pudding that can be made in a variety of flavors. The base of pudding shots is instant pudding mix that you add to alcohol for a boozy treat. These shots are super easy to make in large batches and you can prepare them ahead of time so they are the perfect thing to serve for parties and events.

Ingredients for pudding shots

• Instant pudding mix: Make sure that you get the instant variety of pudding mix and not the kind you have to cook, as that won’t set up the same.
• Milk: You’ll want your milk straight from the fridge as cold milk helps the pudding gel together properly.
• Alcohol: We are using Bailey’s for this recipe, but you can substitute whatever kind of alcohol you like! You can also split the alcohol content between two liquors for a more nuanced taste.
• Cool Whip: This creamy addition helps give the pudding shots more body and adds to the fluffy dreamy texture.

Try these pudding shot flavor variations!

• Christmas Cocoa: Chocolate pudding and peppermint vodka
• Banana Dream: Banana cream pudding and vanilla vodka
• Caramel apple: Caramel pudding and apple vodka
• Horchata: Vanilla pudding and RumChata
• Cherry cheesecake: Cheesecake pudding and cherry vodka
• Coffee cake: Vanilla pudding and Kahlua
• Pistachio: Pistachio pudding and vanilla vodka
• Irish Cream: Vanilla pudding with Bailey’s
• Double chocolate: Chocolate pudding with chocolate vodka
• Pumpkin pie: Pumpkin spice pudding and vanilla vodka
• Tropical Island: Banana cream pudding with Malibu coconut rum
• S’Mores: Chocolate pudding with marshmallow vodka and graham crackers crumbled on top.
• Classic chocolate: Chocolate pudding with vodka
• Classic vanilla: Vanilla pudding and vodka.

What are the best toppings for pudding shots?

Depending on the flavor you are pairing it with, you can add:

• whipped cream
• sprinkles
• chocolate shavings
• fresh berries
• crushed Oreos
• crushed graham crackers
• mint
• cinnamon
• crushed nuts
• cocoa powder

Add right before serving so your toppings don’t melt or get soggy!

How to make pudding shots

Mix your pudding base: Add cold milk and alcohol to your instant pudding dry mix and mix together with a hand mixer or whisk for two minutes until combined.

Add Cool Whip: Add thawed Cool Whip and fold or whisk until combined with no white streaks.

Chill and serve: Spoon into small cups or shot glasses and chill for at least 30 minutes before serving.

How do you serve pudding shots?

You can serve pudding shots in small plastic cups with lids or in shot glasses if you want a reusable option.

How do you eat pudding shots?

Depending on how much Cool Whip you add to the recipe, the consistency will be a thicker or thinner pudding. Thicker pudding shots can be served with small spoons to scoop it out and thinner pudding shots can be tipped and drunk straight into your mouth.

How many pudding shots does it take to equal one regular shot?

If you add one cup of alcohol and get 20 pudding shots, each shot will have .4 ounces of alcohol. One shot is usually 1.5 ounce of alcohol, so you would need about three pudding shots to get the content of one regular shot.

Tips for Making

• If adding toppings like whipped cream or chocolate shavings, add right before serving so they don’t get soggy or start to melt.
• As long as your alcohol adds up to one cup of liquid, you can divide that into several different alcohols if you want more than one alcohol flavor.
• Want a stronger pudding shot? Use a harder alcohol (like vodka, rum, etc.) or choose something with a lower alcohol content (like Kahlua or Bailey’s) if you want less of an alcohol punch.
• If your larger size of instant pudding package recipe calls for more than 2 cups of liquid, just split that amount evenly between milk and alcohol so it will set properly (so if it calls for 3 cups liquid, do 1.5 cups of milk and 1.5 cups of alcohol).

Looking for pudding recipes? Try these!

• Rice Pudding
• Figgy Pudding – Christmas Pudding
• The Easiest Pumpkin Pie Pudding
• Non-Dairy Chocolate Pudding
• Easy Chia Seed Pudding

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Pudding Shots

Creamy boozy pudding shots with just 4 ingredients

Course Drinks

Cuisine American

Keyword pudding

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Chill time 30 minutes minutes

Total Time 40 minutes minutes

Servings 20 shots

Calories 44kcal

Author Laura Gummerman

Ingredients

• 1 3-4 ounces box of instant pudding
• 1 cup cold milk
• 1 cup alcohol of your choice
• 4 ounces cool whip thawed (half an 8 oounce container)

Instructions

• Mix your pudding base: Add your cold milk and alcohol to your instant pudding dry mix and mix together with a hand mixer or whisk for two minutes until combined.
• Add Cool Whip: Add thawed Cool Whip and fold or whisk until combined with no white streaks.
• Chill and serve: Spoon into small cups or shot glasses and chill for at least 30 minutes before serving.

Notes

Tips for Making

• If adding toppings like whipped cream or chocolate shavings, add right before serving so they don’t get soggy or start to melt.
• As long as your alcohol adds up to one cup of liquid, you can divide that into several different alcohols if you want more than one alcohol flavor.
• Want a stronger pudding shot? Use a harder alcohol (like vodka, rum, etc.) or choose something with a lower alcohol content (like Kahlua or Bailey’s) if you want less of an alcohol punch.

 

Try these pudding shot flavor variations!

• Christmas Cocoa: Chocolate pudding and peppermint vodka
• Banana Dream: Banana cream pudding and vanilla vodka
• Caramel apple: Caramel pudding and apple vodka
• Horchata: Vanilla pudding and RumChata
• Cherry cheesecake: Cheesecake pudding and cherry vodka
• Coffee cake: Vanilla pudding and Kahlua
• Pistachio: Pistachio pudding and vanilla vodka
• Irish Cream: Vanilla pudding with Bailey’s
• Double chocolate: Chocolate pudding with chocolate vodka
• Pumpkin pie: Pumpkin spice pudding and vanilla vodka
• Tropical Island: Banana cream pudding with Malibu coconut rum
• S’Mores: Chocolate pudding with marshmallow vodka and graham crackers crumbled on top.

Nutrition

Calories: 44kcal | Carbohydrates: 2g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 1g | Saturated Fat: 0.4g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.03g | Monounsaturated Fat: 0.2g | Cholesterol: 2mg | Sodium: 10mg | Potassium: 25mg | Fiber: 0.02g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 30IU | Calcium: 21mg | Iron: 0.003mg

There are so many ways to make cake pops (try these Oreo Cake Pops for a delicious no-bake option) but the Funfetti cake mix and sprinkle count make these feel extra celebratory for birthdays and parties.

Looking for more Birthday fun? Check out:

• Birthday Cake Cookies
• Birthday Cake Jello Shots
• Birthday Cake Martini
• Birthday Cake Cookie Butter
• Birthday Cake Popcorn

Tips for Making Cake Pops:

• Add your icing to your cake crumble in small quantities so you just get the point of having enough for it to stick together. It should feel like play dough.
• Use a small cookie scoop to scoop cake mixture so you get even portions for each cake pop.
• Make sure your cake balls are well-chilled before coating.
• Have your decorations nearby and prepped to go so you can attach them while the chocolate is still melted.
• You can use a tall glass to pour your melted chocolate in (or melt it in a microwaveable mug) so you have a little dunk tank to fully submerge your cake pop into.

Ingredients

• Funfetti cake mix: You can use any flavor cake mix: chocolate, vanilla, red velvet, yellow, etc. but the Funfetti cake mix will have the extra fun sprinkle surprise inside. Be sure to check your cake mix to ensure you have whatever other cake ingredients the mix recommends for baking (eggs, oil, etc.).
• Can of vanilla frosting: You will also need one container of store-bought vanilla frosting. They also have Funfetti frosting if you want to up your sprinkle count, but you can use plain vanilla too.
• Cake pop sticks: While it’s most common to use sticks like this, you can also use forks or edible items like pretzel rods!
• White candy melts: These discs of chocolate are the easiest way to get that chocolate coating as they melt easily and you don’t have to temper the chocolate.
• Sprinkles: These are part of what makes birthday cake pops so fun! You can use rainbow sprinkles or rainbow nonpareils.
• Microwave or Double Boiler: You can melt candy melts in the microwave, but you can also use a double boiler to do it on the stove top or a chocolate melter like this one.

Looking for more cake pop tips? Check out our How To Make Cake Pops for more!

How to make birthday cake pops:

1. Bake the cake: Bake your cake according to the package instructions and allow to fully cool.

2. Add the frosting and mix: Spoon the baked cake into a large mixing bowl. Add 1/2-2/3 of the container of frosting. Using the full container makes the cake pops a bit too soft and harder to work with once we dip them in chocolate. But, this is how you get cake pops to stick together—with frosting. Use clean hands to mix together the frosting and cake. The cake pop batter is going to be pretty soft, but moldable.

3. Roll cake balls: Form your cake pop batter into small balls (about 3-4 tablespoons each). You don’t want them to be too big, just so they easily fit in the palm of your hand.

Once you have formed all your pops (a standard size cake will make around 35-40 cake pops), put them in the refrigerator for 1-2 hours or the freezer for 30 minutes.

4. Melt your candy melts: Melt candy melts in the microwave in 30-second increments on half power. You could also use a double boiler to do it on the stove top or a chocolate melter like this one. If you need to thin your candy melts, you can stir in a teaspoon of canola or vegetable oil once melted and can reheat the chocolate for 15 seconds at a time to remelt if it starts to set up at any point.

5. Attach the cake pop stick: First put your stick into the melted chocolate and push the stick 2/3 through a cold cake pop.

6. Dip the cake pop: Dip the attached cake pop into the melted chocolate and allow any excess chocolate to drip off the pop. Gently tap the cake pop stick on the side of your bowl to also shake off extra chocolate. Then, add any sprinkles and store the cake pop upright while it sets (unless you don’t mind a flat bottomed cake pop).

You can add your sprinkles over a large bowl or plate so that you catch any extra sprinkles that fall and use them later.

While they are drying, you can keep them upright in a number of ways like sticking them into a container that is filled with granulated white sugar or rice or you can stick them into a block of styrofoam.

FAQ

Looking for other cake pop ideas?

• Oreo Cake Pops
• Halloween Cake Pops
• Christmas Cake Pops
• How To Make Cake Pops

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Birthday Cake Pops

Create fun birthday cake pops for your next party!

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Keyword birthday cake, cake pops

Prep Time 30 minutes minutes

2 hours hours

Total Time 2 hours hours 30 minutes minutes

Servings 35 cake balls

Calories 55kcal

Author Laura Gummerman

Cost $15

Equipment

• 1 small cookie scoop optional
• 35-40 cake pop sticks
• 1 microwave or double boiler

Ingredients

• 1 boxed Funfetti or vanilla cake mix and whatever other ingredients you need to make the cake (eggs, oil, etc.)
• 1/2-3/4 of a 16-ounce can of vanilla frosting (add little by little until you have right consistency)
• candy melts in white
• sprinkles

Instructions

• 1. Bake the cake: Bake your cake according to the package instructions and allow to fully cool.
• 2. Add the frosting and mix: Spoon the baked cake into a large mixing bowl. Add 1/2-2/3 of the container of frosting. Using the full container makes the cake pops a bit too soft and harder to work with once we dip them in chocolate. But, this is how you get cake pops to stick together—with frosting. Use clean hands to mix together the frosting and cake. The cake pop batter is going to be pretty soft, but moldable. Should feel like play dough consistency.
• 3. Roll cake balls: Form your cake pop batter into small balls (about 3-4 tablespoons each). You don’t want them to be too big, just so they easily fit in the palm of your hand. Once you have formed all your pops (a standard size cake will make around 35-40 cake pops), put them in the refrigerator for 1-2 hours or the freezer for 30 minutes.
• 4. Melt your candy melts: Melt candy melts in the microwave in 30-second increments on half power. You could also use a double boiler to do it on the stove top or a chocolate melter like this one. If you need to thin your candy melts, you can stir in a teaspoon of canola or vegetable oil once melted and you can reheat the chocolate for 15 seconds at a time to remelt if it starts to set up at any point.
• 5. Attach the cake pop stick: First, put your stick into the melted chocolate and push the stick 2/3 through a cold cake pop.
• 6. Dip the cake pop: Dip the attached cake pop into the melted chocolate and allow any excess chocolate to drip off the pop. Gently tap the cake pop stick on the side of your bowl to also shake off extra chocolate. Then, add any extra sprinkle decorations and store the cake pop upright while it sets (unless you don’t mind a flat bottomed cake pop).

Notes

*You can keep them upright in a number of ways while they set like sticking them into a container that is filled with granulated white sugar or rice or you can stick them into a block of styrofoam.

 

Tips for Making Cake Pops:

• • Add your icing to your cake crumble in small quantities so you just get the point of having enough for it to stick together. It should feel like play dough.

• • Use a small cookie scoop to scoop cake mixture so you get even portions for each cake pop.

• • Make sure your cake balls are well chilled before coating.

• • Have your decorations nearby and prepped to go so you can attach them while the chocolate is still melted.

• • You can use a tall glass to pour your melted chocolate in (or melt it in a microwaveable mug) so you have a little dunk tank to fully submerge your cake pop into.

Nutrition

Calories: 55kcal | Carbohydrates: 12g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 1g | Saturated Fat: 0.3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 0.1g | Trans Fat: 0.1g | Sodium: 102mg | Potassium: 9mg | Fiber: 0.2g | Sugar: 6g | Calcium: 32mg | Iron: 0.3mg

Whether it’s Valentine’s Day, a romantic date, or just a plain old Tuesday night, chocolate-covered strawberries are an easy treat that only take minutes to make (or you can make our Chocolate-Covered Strawberry Jello Shots for a fun twist).

Looking for more chocolate desserts? Check out:

• Chocolate Hummus
• Chocolate Tart
• Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars
• Chocolate Baked Donuts
• Easy Chocolate (Oreo) Truffles
• Chocolate Sticky Buns

What strawberries are best for chocolate-covered strawberries?

When choosing your strawberries, you’ll want to consider:

• Size: Large or small strawberries will work for chocolate-covered strawberries. The only difference is that you’ll get a larger chocolate-to-berry ratio with a smaller strawberry than a larger one, so if your favorite part is the berry, choose larger options, and if you love chocolate, you might want a smaller berry to dip.
• Color: You’ll want to look for berries that are red all the way up to the green stem for optimal strawberry flavor. The more white you see on the berry, the less intense flavor it will have.
• Freshness: Choose firm berries that haven’t started to get mushy or have soft spots. If you have a few in your container that have soft spots, you can always cut off that section and dip what is still firm to get the most of your berries.

Ingredients for chocolate-covered strawberries:

• Melting chocolate: While you can use baking chips (Ghirardelli baking chips are a popular favorite), we like to use chocolate melts in milk or dark chocolate since you don’t need to temper the chocolate for it to harden properly. A lot of grocery stores carry both of these options, so check the baking aisle to see what they have and this option already comes in a microwaveable container.
• Fresh strawberries: Fresh berries are best for chocolate-covered strawberries, so look for large firm berries that are red all the way up to the green stem.
• Optional toppings: Chocolate-covered strawberries are delicious as-is, but you can also sprinkle or drizzle other toppings on top to customize your berries and take them to the next level.

How to Make Chocolate-Covered Strawberries

Prep your plate and toppings: Prepare a large plate or baking sheet with wax paper to add your berries onto when dipped and chop up or prepare any toppings that you want to add to your berries so they will be ready to go before the chocolate sets.

Wash your berries: Rinse your berries and thoroughly dry your berries very well. You don’t want any water to interfere with the chocolate sticking, so dry, dry, dry to remove excess moisture.

Melt your chocolate: You can melt your chocolate on the stove, or in the microwave! If you don’t have a double boiler, see instructions below for how to make your own. If you want to thin out your dipping chocolate a bit, do so once the chocolate is fully melted.

• In microwave: Melt your chocolate for 30 seconds at a time, stirring after each session, until chocolate is fully melted. Don’t heat it longer than you need to though to avoid overcooking the chocolate.

• Over stovetop: Fill the bottom of a double boiler saucepan 1/4 full with water and bring to a boil. Lower to a simmer and add to saucepan. Add your chocolate and stir often until chocolate is just fully melted. If you don’t have a double boiler, see instructions below.

Dip your berries: Take your clean berries and hold them by their green stem. Dip berries into the chocolate and let the excess drip off the end before adding any additional topping and placing them onto your wax paper.

Allow berries to cool: Once your berries are on the wax paper, push them forward about 1/2″ to avoid the chocolate pooling at the tip of the berry and let the chocolate set. The chocolate will set at room temperature, but you can also put them in the fridge for 15 minutes to speed up the process as long as you take them back out afterwards.

What toppings go best with chocolate-covered strawberries?

While toppings are a personal preference, we love to add:

• Drizzled chocolate: Melt and add a contrasting chocolate flavor (like white chocolate) to a small ziplock baggie and cut the tip off of the baggie to drizzle melted chocolate over your berries once your initial layer of chocolate has set. Or you can also just drizzle the melted chocolate off a spoon back and forth!
• Sprinkles or nonpareils: If you want to add some color and a little extra crunch, sprinkles or nonpareils are a great choice.
• Shredded coconut: Finely shredded coconut adds another layer and you can lightly toast the coconut in a dry pan for extra depth of flavor.
• Chopped nuts: Finely chop your favorite nuts and sprinkle them over the chocolate before it sets.
• Crushed Oreos: Crush up a few Oreos and you’ll get a delicious topping to sprinkle over your berries.
• Mini chocolate chips: For the chocolate-on-chocolate lovers, add some mini chocolate chips to really punch up the chocolate flavor.
• Crushed pretzels: It’s like eating a chocolate-covered pretzel and chocolate-covered strawberry at the same time—yes, please!

How to make your own double boiler:

If you don’t have a microwave, or a double boiler pot set, you can make your own set up with just a saucepan and a heatproof glass bowl!

• Fill a saucepan 1/4 full with water and bring to a boil. Lower to a simmer.
• Add a heatproof bowl that’s just big enough to have the bottom of the bowl sit in the top of the saucepan and traps the steam from the water below, heating the bottom of the glass bowl.
• Add your chocolate and stir often until the chocolate is fully melted.

Tips for Chocolate-Covered Strawberries

• Make sure your berries are totally dry before dipping to ensure the chocolate adheres to the berry properly.
• Bring your berries to room temperature before dipping if you take them right out of the fridge. Otherwise, the berries will start to sweat a bit from the temperature change and your chocolate won’t set as well. Just leave them on the counter for 20-30 minutes.
• Use toothpicks stuck directly into the tops of each berry to use as a little handle while you dip if there’s not much stem to hold onto.
• Use sprinkles or colored chocolate to match the colors of holidays or parties to serve these year round.
• Try dipping your berries in white chocolate for a spin on the classic flavor.

How to store chocolate-covered strawberries:

Chocolate-covered strawberries are best eaten that day (or within 24 hours), so you can either leave them out at room temperature for up to 6 hours until you eat them (away from heat or sunlight so they don’t melt), or you can put them in the fridge after that in a single layer uncovered. Just give them 30 minutes at room temperature to warm up before serving.

Freezing chocolate-covered strawberries does not work well as the berries will break down and will be mushy once you try to bring them back to room temperature.

Looking for more strawberry dessert ideas? Check out:

• Strawberry Ice Cream Waffle Sandwiches
• Strawberry Shortcake Overnight Baked Oatmeal
• No-Bake Strawberry Cheesecake (Non-Dairy!)
• Strawberry Shortcake Donuts
• Rhubarb, Strawberry, and Almond Pie
• Grown Up Strawberry Shortcake Shake

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Chocolate-Covered Strawberries

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Keyword chocolate, strawberry

Prep Time 20 minutes minutes

Total Time 20 minutes minutes

Servings 20 strawberries

Calories 78kcal

Author Laura Gummerman

Cost $7

Equipment

• microwave or double boiler
• wax paper or parchment paper

Ingredients

• 1 pound strawberries (about 20 strawberries)
• 10 ounces chocolate melts (or baking chips) in semisweet, milk chocolate, or dark chocolate

Instructions

• Prep your plate and toppings: Prepare a large plate or baking sheet with wax paper to add your berries onto when dipped and chop up or prepare any toppings that you want to add to your berries so they will be ready to go before the chocolate sets.
• Wash your berries: Rinse your berries and thoroughly dry your berries very well. You don’t want any water to interfere with the chocolate sticking, so dry, dry, dry to remove excess moisture.
• Melt your chocolate: You can melt your chocolate on the stove, or in the microwave! If you don’t have a double boiler, see instructions below for how to make your own. If you want to thin out your dipping chocolate a bit, do so once the chocolate is fully melted.

  In microwave: Melt your chocolate for 30 seconds at a time, stirring after each session, until chocolate is fully melted. Don’t heat it longer than you need to though to avoid overcooking the chocolate.

  Over stovetop: Fill the bottom of a double boiler saucepan 1/4 full with water and bring to a boil. Lower to a simmer and add to saucepan. Add your chocolate and stir often until chocolate is just fully melted. If you don’t have a double boiler, see instructions below.
• Dip your berries: Take your clean berries and hold them by their green stem. Dip berries into the chocolate and let the excess drip off the end before adding any additional topping and placing them onto your wax paper.
• Allow berries to cool: Once your berries are on the wax paper, push them forward about 1/2″ to avoid the chocolate pooling at the tip of the berry and let the chocolate set. The chocolate will set at room temperature but you can also put them in the fridge for 15 minutes to speed up the process as long as you take them back out afterwards.

Notes

Tips for Chocolate-Covered Strawberries

• Make sure your berries are totally dry before dipping to ensure the chocolate adheres to the berry properly.
• Bring your berries to room temperature before dipping if you take them right out of the fridge. Otherwise, the berries will start to sweat a bit from the temperature change and your chocolate won’t set as well. Just leave them on the counter for 20-30 minutes.
• Use toothpicks stuck directly into the tops of each berry to use as a little handle while you dip if there’s not much stem to hold onto.
• Use sprinkles or colored chocolate to match the colors of holidays or parties to serve these year round.
• Try dipping your berries in white chocolate for a spin on the classic flavor.

 

• How to make your own double boiler:

  If you don’t have a microwave, or a double boiler pot set, you can make your own set up with just a saucepan and a heatproof glass bowl!
  Fill a saucepan 1/4 full with water and bring to a boil. Lower to a simmer.
• Add a heatproof bowl that’s just big enough to have the bottom of the bowl sit in the top of the saucepan and traps the steam from the water below, heating the bottom of the glass bowl.
• Add your chocolate and stir often until the chocolate is fully melted.

Nutrition

Calories: 78kcal | Carbohydrates: 11g | Protein: 0.2g | Fat: 4g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.03g | Monounsaturated Fat: 0.01g | Sodium: 0.2mg | Potassium: 75mg | Fiber: 0.5g | Sugar: 9g | Vitamin A: 3IU | Vitamin C: 13mg | Calcium: 14mg | Iron: 0.1mg

These Oreo cake pops are basically our Easy Chocolate Oreo Truffles on a stick, so you can follow those instructions if you’d rather they be more of a cake ball presentation.

Looking for more Oreo recipes? Check out:

• Oreo Dip
• Double-Stuffed Oreo Jello Shots
• Oreo Cookie Butter
• Easy Chocolate (Oreo) Truffles

Ingredients to make Oreo cake pops:

• Oreos: Since you’re trying to get a specific cookie to filling ratio, you’ll want to use regular Oreos rather than double stuffed. You can, however, use flavored options like mint Oreos if you want to add in an additional flavor.
• Cream cheese: The cream cheese is going to act as a binder for our cake balls and bind all the cookie crumbs together.
• Melting chocolate: While you can also cover these in milk chocolate, white chocolate gives a nice visual contrast to the dark Oreo center—or you can do some of each!

How to Make Oreo Cake Pops:

Make your dough: Use a food processor to blend your cookies down to a fine powder—make sure all the lumps are gone! Add your cream cheese and pulse until smooth (you can also use a hand mixer for this or even squish it all together with your hands).

Form your balls: Using a small cookie scoop, scoop out balls of dough and roll them in your hands to form a ball (you can scoop out 1-2 tablespoons of dough if you don’t have a cookie scoop). Place your balls on a tray or plate covered with parchment paper and put in the freezer for 10-15 minutes while you melt your chocolate.

Melt your chocolate: Melt candy melts in the microwave in 30-second increments on half power. If you need to thin your candy melts, you can stir in a teaspoon of canola or vegetable oil once melted and can reheat the chocolate for 15 seconds at a time to remelt if it starts to set up at any point.

Attach cake balls to sticks: First, put your stick into the melted chocolate and push the stick 2/3 through a cold cake pop. Repeat with all cake pops and put back into the freezer for 15 minutes.

Dip your cake balls: Dip the attached cake pop into the melted chocolate and allow any excess chocolate to drip off the pop. Gently tap the cake pop stick on the side of your bowl to also shake off extra chocolate. Then, add any extra decorations and store the cake pop upright while it sets (unless you don’t mind a flat bottomed cake pop with the stick sticking up).

Tips for Making Oreo Cake Pops

• If your dough is too sticky, try chilling the dough in fridge for 15 minutes before making your balls.
• Try melting your chocolate in a mug in smaller batches so you have a deeper pool of chocolate to dip into so you can submerge it easier than putting it in a large bowl.
• Add a contrasting color of melted chocolate to a piping bag or small ziplock baggie with the tip cut off so you can drizzle a squiggle design over the finished cake pops.
• Try using mint Oreos for a chocolate mint variety.
• Reserve a bit of crushed Oreos to sprinkle over the dipped cake pops as a decoration.

What are good toppings for Oreo cake pops?

• Crushed Oreos: Crushing a few extra Oreos gives you the perfect topping to sprinkle on your completed cake pops.
• Shaved chocolate: Chocolate shavings or chopped up chocolate chips work perfectly with this recipe.
• Sprinkles or nonpareils: Raid your baking drawer for a few sprinkle options to add a little crunch to your cake pop.
• Melted chocolate: Drizzling more melted chocolate (white, milk, or dark) from a ziplock baggie with the tip cut off is an easy way to decorate.
• Peppermints: Crushed peppermints can transform these into the perfect holiday treat!

FAQ

Looking for other cake pop ideas? Check out:

• Birthday Cake Pops
• Christmas Cake Pops
• Halloween Cake Pops
• How To Make Cake Pops

Print

Oreo Cake Pops

This easy and fast no-bake treat requires just three ingredients and they are perfect for any party or holiday event.

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Keyword cake, cake pops, oreos

Prep Time 20 minutes minutes

Chill Time 15 minutes minutes

Total Time 35 minutes minutes

Servings 15 cake pops

Calories 165kcal

Author Laura Gummerman

Cost $7

Equipment

• 1 Food processor

Ingredients

• 24 Oreo cookies
• 4 ounces cream cheese, softened (or ½ cup)
• 12 ounces candy melts

Instructions

• Make your dough: Use a food processor to blend your cookies down to a fine powder—make sure all the lumps are gone! Add your cream cheese and blend until smooth (you can also use a hand mixer for this or even squish it all together with your hands).
• Form your balls: Using a small cookie scoop, scoop out balls of dough and roll them in your hands to form a ball (you can scoop out 1-2 tablespoons of dough if you don’t have a cookie scoop). Place your balls on a tray or plate covered with parchment paper and put in the freezer for 10-15 minutes while you melt your chocolate.
• Melt your chocolate: Melt candy melts in the microwave in 30-second increments on half power. You could also use a double boiler to do it on the stove top or a chocolate melter like this one. If you need to thin your candy melts, you can stir in a teaspoon of canola or vegetable oil once melted and can reheat the chocolate for 15 seconds at a time to remelt if it starts to set up at any point.
• Attach cake balls to sticks: First, put your stick into the melted chocolate and push the stick 2/3 through a cold cake pop. Repeat with all cake pops and put back into the freezer for 15 minutes.
• Dip your cake balls: Dip the attached cake pop into the melted chocolate and allow any excess chocolate to drip off the pop. Gently tap the cake pop stick on the side of your bowl to also shake off extra chocolate. Then, add any extra decorations and store the cake pop upright while it sets (unless you don’t mind a flat bottomed cake pop with the stick sticking up).

Notes

TIPS:

• If you don’t have a food processor, you can also crush all the Oreos by placing them in a large ziplock bag and crushing them with a rolling pin!
• If your dough is too sticky, try chilling the dough in fridge for 15 minutes before making your balls.
• Try melting your chocolate in a mug in smaller batches so you have a deeper pool of chocolate to dip into so you can submerge it easier than putting it in a large bowl.
• Add a contrasting color of melted chocolate to a piping bag or small ziplock baggie with the tip cut off so you can drizzle a squiggle design over the finished cake pops.
• Try using mint Oreos for a chocolate mint variety.
• Reserve a bit of crushed Oreos to sprinkle over the dipped cake pops as a decoration.
• While they set, you can keep them upright in a number of ways like sticking them into a container that is filled with granulated white sugar or rice, or you can stick them into a block of styrofoam.

Nutrition

Calories: 165kcal | Carbohydrates: 20g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 9g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Trans Fat: 0.01g | Cholesterol: 8mg | Sodium: 108mg | Potassium: 55mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 14g | Vitamin A: 102IU | Calcium: 11mg | Iron: 2mg

Candy apples may look impressive and hard to make, but it’s actually pretty easy (just like our Easy Caramel Apples!)! We’ll show you how …

And just as a side note, since the sugar is extremely hot and you can get burned if not careful, we don’t recommend doing this project with kids. Just let them eat the final result rather than help with this one.

Looking for more fall treats? Check out:

• Easy Pumpkin Cookies
• Make Your Own Autumn Trail Mix
• Baked Apple Donuts with Cinnamon Sugar
• Overnight Cinnamon Rolls – Small Batch
• Apple Cinnamon Hot Toddy

What are candy apples?

Candy apples are a whole apple on a stick dipped in a thin hardened candy shell. While usually red, they can also be dyed other colors and they first appeared in 1908 in New Jersey when candy maker William Kolb created them.

Ingredients for candy apples:

• Apples: Using smaller apples will get you more finished apples out of one batch of candy coating. Try and pick ones with a nice round shape for the best looking candy apples.

• Light corn syrup: Corn syrup helps you get that smooth candy finish.

• Water: The water mostly boils off while the candy rises up to the proper hard crack stage temperature.

• Red food coloring: Gel food coloring is preferred if you have it since it’s more concentrated so the color is brighter.

Supplies for candy apples:

• Apple skewers: You can also use popsicle sticks or even sticks from branches for your skewers, but we like these bamboo ones since they already have a point for easy insertion.

• Candy thermometer: Having a candy thermometer with a pot clip is super helpful. You can also use a multi purpose digital thermometer but you’ll have to stand there and hold it if you don’t have a clip.

How to prepare your apples:

Wash and dry apples: You want to try and remove any wax that’s on the apples so your coating will stick and you can avoid getting annoying bubbles that pop out of the coating.

You can scrub them really well with a clean textured scrubber after rinsing them in hot water and rub them dry with a textured towel to try and remove as much wax as you can, or some people like to boil water and dip the apples in the water for about 5 seconds before rubbing dry (longer than 8-10 seconds can start to cook the apples, so don’t leave them in too long!).

Make sure the apples are fully dry before dipping as any amount of water will create bubbles in your coating.

Add skewers: Push or tap your skewers halfway into the top of your dried apples and set aside.

How to make candy apples:

Prepare your pan: Prepare a sheet pan or parchment paper sprayed with nonstick spray or butter so you’ll be able to remove the apples easily once cooled.

Cook your coating: Add the sugar, water, corn syrup, and food coloring to a saucepan over medium heat. Stir together and bring to a boil with a candy thermometer clipped to your pot (make sure it’s not touching the bottom of the pot or it won’t be an accurate read).

Bring coating up to 300°: Let the mixture boil for about 15-20 minutes until it reaches between 300°-310°. Remove the coating from the heat and allow the bubbles to settle down for a minute until smooth.

Dip your apples: Working quickly, tilt your pan to the side and dip an apple in the coating, swirling the apple to get each side coated. Pull the apple out and let the excess drip off before placing on a sheet pan or parchment paper.

If the candy coating starts to harden before you are done dipping all your apples, put it back on medium heat until it thins out again.

Let cool: Once all your apples are dipped, let the coating harden (it just takes a few minutes) and your apples are ready to eat! Remember, candy apples have a hard sticky coating, so eat with caution!

Tips for Making Candy Apples

• Use organic apples if you can since some companies don’t use wax on their apples so you don’t have to try to remove it. Or use apples from a local orchard that doesn’t wax their apples.

• Make sure your sugar reaches the 300° mark or the coating won’t harden and it will be more of a taffy texture.

• Try and keep the candy shell thin when you dip; it doesn’t need to be super thick and will be harder to eat.

• You can make your candy apples a color other than red if you want! Just remember the color of the apple comes through a bit and may muddle your final color depending on what shade you pick, but purple or black for Halloween is fun!

What the best way to clean your pot after making candy apples?

Now that you candy apples are made, you may be staring at your pot thinking “now how am I ever going to clean that?!” It’s actually pretty easy!

• Fill your pot with water.
• Boil the water on the stove stirring every so often.
• Once the candy leftover is dissolved, pour the water out and the hardened sugar is gone!

If you have some sugar up on the sides of your pot above the boiling water line, just use a spatula to keep pulling up some of the hot water over that spot until it starts to dissolve.

You can also dip your thermometer into the water as it boils to remove any hardened candy for the tip of that as well.

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Easiest Candy Apples

Create homemade easy candy apples at home-perfect for fall and Halloween!

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Keyword apples, fall, halloween desserts

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes minutes

Total Time 30 minutes minutes

Servings 8

Calories 347kcal

Author Emma Chapman

Cost $10

Equipment

• wooden skewers
• saucepan
• candy thermometer

Ingredients

• 8-10 apples
• 2 cups white sugar
• ¾ cup water
• ½ cup corn syrup
• ½ teaspoon red gel food coloring

Instructions

• Prepare you pan: Prepare a sheet pan or parchment paper sprayed with nonstick spray or butter so you’ll be able to remove the apples easily once cooled.
• Cook your coating: Add the sugar, water, corn syrup, and food coloring to a saucepan over medium heat. Stir together and bring to a boil with a candy thermometer clipped to your pot (make sure it’s not touching the bottom of the pot or it won’t be an accurate read).
• Bring coating up to 300°: Let the mixture boil for about 15-20 minutes until it reaches between 300°-310°. Remove the coating from the heat and allow the bubbles to settle down for a minute until smooth.
• Dip your apples: Working quickly, tilt your pan to the side and dip an apple in the coating, swirling the apple to get each side coated. Pull the apple out and let the excess drip off before placing on a sheet pan or parchment paper.

  If the candy coating starts to harden before you are done dipping all your apples, put it back on medium heat until it thins out again.
• Let cool: Once all your apples are dipped, let the coating harden (it just takes a few minutes) and your apples are ready to eat! Remember, candy apples have a hard sticky coating, so eat with caution!

Notes

NOTE: Remember, this sugar is very hot, so be sure to keep your skin away from the sugar to avoid burns. You can also have a bowl of ice water nearby just in case you make contact with the sugar so you can quickly dip your hand in that, or even use heatproof gloves made for cooking.

How to prepare your apples:

Wash and dry apples: You want to try and remove any wax that’s on the apples so your coating will stick and you can avoid getting annoying bubbles that pop out of the coating.

You can scrub them really well with a clean textured scrubber after rinsing them in hot water and rub them dry with a textured towel to try and remove as much wax as you can, or, some people like to boil water and the dip the apples in the water for about 5 seconds before rubbing dry (longer than 8-10 seconds can start to cook the apples so don’t leave them in too long!).

Make sure the apples are fully dry before dipping as any amount of water will create bubbles in your coating.

Add skewers: Push or tap your skewers halfway into the top of your dried apples and set aside.

Tips for Making

• Use organic apples if you can since some companies don’t use wax on their apples so you don’t have to try to remove it. Or use apples from a local orchard that doesn’t wax their apples.
• Make sure your sugar reaches the 300° mark or the coating won’t harden and it will be more of a taffy texture.
• Try and keep the candy shell thin when you dip; it doesn’t need to be super thick and will be harder to eat.
• You can make your candy apples a color other than red if you want! Just remember the color of the apple comes through a bit and may muddle your final color depending on what shade you pick, but purple or black for Halloween is fun!

Nutrition

Calories: 347kcal | Carbohydrates: 91g | Protein: 0.5g | Fat: 1g | Saturated Fat: 0.1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 0.01g | Sodium: 17mg | Potassium: 196mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 85g | Vitamin A: 98IU | Vitamin C: 8mg | Calcium: 15mg | Iron: 0.2mg

A classic French apple tart has cooked down apples that create a compote that go under the apples, but we are keeping it simple here with plain ol’ sugar, pads of butter, and apples—yum! Top with homemade whipped cream to take it to the next level. More of a chocolate person? Try our Chocolate Tart!

Looking for more apple deserts? Check out:

• Easy Caramel Apples
• Apple Dumplings
• No-Bake Caramel Apple Cheesecake
• 5-Minute Apple Crisp (For One!)
• Baked Apple Donuts with Cinnamon Sugar
• Candy Apples

Ingredients for apple tart

• Apples: You’ll want 4-5 of your favorite apple variety for this tart. A firm variety is best!

• Butter: Salted or unsalted butter will work for this, so just use what you have on hand.

• Sugar: Some people like to add brown sugar to their tart, but we are using basic white granulated sugar for ours.

• Cinnamon: The more classic French-style recipes don’t usually use cinnamon in theirs, so you can omit it if you want, but we like just a touch for a little deeper flavor.

• Salt: Just a little salt in your dough will bring out the buttery, crispy flavor.

• Flour: All-purpose flour is all you need for this recipe.

• Water: Add water carefully just a bit at a time so your dough doesn’t become too wet.

Tips for making apple tarts

• To make the process easier, you can use a refrigerated pie crust in your tart pan to save time.
• If you like cinnamon on your apples, try adding an 1/8 teaspoon of nutmeg too!
• If you want your tart to look like a rose, add your apple slices in concentric circles around the edge so it all spirals into the middle.

Directions

Make the dough: In a food processor, pulse together the flour, sugar, salt, and cold butter until crumbly. Add the first 3 tablespoons of cold water and pulse again. If needed, add an additional tablespoon of cold water. It will still look crumbly but you want the dough to just come together when you pinch it with your fingers.

Dump onto a clean counter and press the dough together into a disc (you can knead it 2-3 times to get it to come together). Cover in plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator for 30 minutes to chill. You can also make the dough ahead of time and freeze for up to 3 days.

Add dough to tart pan: On a floured surface, roll out your dough into a 12″ circle and place in your 9″ tart pan. If your dough is sticking, lightly flour the dough and your rolling pin every few rolls and flip it over once or twice.

To add your dough to your pan you can either roll the dough around your rolling pin and unroll it over your pan, or fold the dough circle in half, and in half again so you have a pizza wedge shape and then unfold the shape in the tart pan.

Press dough into the tart pan and roll your rolling pin over the top to cut off any excess. Prick the bottom with a fork and place back in the fridge while you make the filling.

Prepare your filling: Peel your apples and cut off the “cheeks” of the apple. Slice into thin slices, keeping the apple cheek together.

Mix together your cinnamon and sugar and set aside.

Add your filling: Sprinkle one tablespoon of sugar over the bottom of your pie pan and add your apple cheeks on top, fanning them out slightly. Fill the pan with your apples, alternating directions as you go, and you can cut some apples to fit any small gaps you may have at the end. The apples will shrink some, so you want to pack the tart as full as you can.

Sprinkle your cinnamon sugar over the top and dot with your cubed butter.

Bake your tart: Bake at 350° (177°C) for an hour or until apples are tender. Check your pie crust about 40 minutes in and use a pie shield or piece of foil with a hole cut out if needed to keep your crust from getting too brown.

You can also put a baking pan on the lower oven rack under the tart in case any juices drip down from the tart pan.

Let cool: Let your tart cool slightly before serving. For extra sheen, you can brush some melted apricot jam or marmalade over the top of your tart to keep the apples from drying out and it gives the tart a beautiful shine as well.

How do you store an apple tart?

You can store your apple tart for up to two days at room temperature if you cover it with plastic wrap, or you can keep it up to four days covered in the fridge.

To heat it back up, reheat the pie at 200°F (93°) until warm or in the microwave for 10-second intervals until it’s to your liking.

Apple tart goes great with:

• How to Make a Cappuccino
• Blackberry Cobbler Ice Cream
• Café Au Lait

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Easy Apple Tart

This easy version of a French classic has a buttery crust and tender apples

Course Dessert

Cuisine French

Keyword apple tarte, apples

Prep Time 30 minutes minutes

Cook Time 1 hour hour

Chill Time 30 minutes minutes

Total Time 2 hours hours

Servings 8 people

Calories 248kcal

Author Laura Gummerman

Cost $7

Equipment

• 1 9" tart pan
• 1 Food processor
• 1 Rolling Pin

Ingredients

Crust Ingredients:

• 1 ¼ cup flour
• ½ tablespoon sugar
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• ½ cup cold butter
• 3-4 tablespoons cold water

Filling Ingredients:

• 4-5 apples, peeled
• ¼ cup sugar (plus one tablespoon)
• ½ teaspoon cinnamon
• ¼ cup cubed cold butter
• 1 tablespoon orange marmalade or apricot jelly (optional)

Instructions

• Make the dough: In a food processor, pulse together the flour, sugar, salt, and cold butter until crumbly. Add the first 3 tablespoons of cold water and pulse again. If needed, add an additional tablespoon of cold water. It will still look crumbly but you want the dough to just come together when you pinch it with your fingers.

  Dump onto a clean counter and press the dough together into a disc (you can knead it 2-3 times to get it to come together). Cover in plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator for 30 minutes to chill. You can also make the dough ahead of time and freeze for up to 3 days.
• Add dough to tart pan: On a floured surface, roll out your dough into a 12″ circle and place in your 9″ tart pan. If your dough is sticking, lightly flour the dough and your rolling pin every few rolls and flip it over once or twice.

  To add your dough to your pan you can either roll the dough around your rolling pin and unroll it over your pan, or fold the dough circle in half, and in half again so you have a pizza wedge shape and then unfold the shape in the tart pan. Press dough into the tart pan and roll your rolling pin over the top to cut off any excess. Prick the bottom with a fork and place back in the fridge while you make the filling.
• Prepare your filling: Peel your apples and cut off the “cheeks” of the apple. Slice into thin slices, keeping the apple cheek together. Mix together your cinnamon and sugar and set aside.
• Add your filling: Sprinkle one tablespoon of sugar over the bottom of your pie pan and add your apple cheeks on top, fanning them out slightly. Fill the pan with your apples, alternating directions as you go, and you can cut some apples to fit any small gaps you may have at the end. The apples will shrink some, so you want to pack the tart as full as you can.

  Sprinkle your cinnamon sugar over the top and dot with your cubed butter.
• Bake your tart: Bake at °350 for an hour or until apples are tender. Check your pie crust about 40 minutes in and use a pie shield or piece of foil with a hole cut out if needed to keep your crust from getting too brown.

  You can also put a baking pan on the lower oven rack under the tart in case any juices drip down from the tart pan.
• Let cool: Let your tart cool slightly before serving. For extra sheen, you can brush some melted apricot jam or marmalade over the top of your tart to keep the apples from drying out and it gives the tart a beautiful shine as well.

Notes

What are the best apples for apple tarts?

You can use just about any apples you like, but you’ll want to pick a firmer variety like a Gala or Granny Smith as opposed to a softer option like a Macintosh. Golden Delicious and Honey Crisp apples are also a popular favorite.

Tips for making apple tarts:

• To make the process easier, you can use a refrigerated pie crust in your tart pan to save time.
• If you like cinnamon on your apples, try adding an 1/8 teaspoon of nutmeg too!
• If you want your tart to look like a rose, add your apple slices in concentric circles around the edge so it all spirals into the middle.

Nutrition

Calories: 248kcal | Carbohydrates: 24g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 17g | Saturated Fat: 11g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 4g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 46mg | Sodium: 212mg | Potassium: 109mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 18g | Vitamin A: 581IU | Vitamin C: 4mg | Calcium: 13mg | Iron: 0.3mg

More Halloween Recipes: Halloween Cupcakes, Spider Bite Cocktail, Pumpkin Spice Latte, Halloween Jello Shots, Halloween Cake Pops.

Ingredients in a Strawberry Vampire Milkshake

• Vanilla Ice Cream – Creamy vanilla ice cream is the perfect milkshake base.
• Strawberry Syrup – This will flavor your ice cream as well as turn it pink.
• Milk – You can use whatever type of milk you have on hand.
• Red Gel Icing – The optimal bright red vampire blood (trust me). Bonus points for sparkle gel.
• Whipped Cream – The usual!
• Sprinkles – Red or black to stay on theme.
• Maraschino Cherry – The bright red kind!
• Note: I also used white chocolate syrup to garnish the inside of my glass, but as you can see in the photos it didn’t make a big impact visually, so you can skip that if you want to.

You will also need some plastic vampire teeth if you want to go all in (and obviously you do or you wouldn’t be here). These are the milkshake glasses and paper straws I used.

Directions

In a blender, mix ice cream, strawberry syrup and milk. Add a drop of red food coloring if you want a super intense pink.

Pour your milkshake into two glasses.

Use gel icing to create a blood-inspired rim. This icing has pretty good body and will stay in place pretty well for you!

After the blood rim is complete, add a little whipped cream to the top of your milkshake and some sprinkles and a cherry. Serve immediately with a straw and a spoon. Enjoy!!

Tips for Making

• The gel icing is perfect for the rim as it stays in place well. I have tried this with strawberry syrup and it was much too runny.
• If you don’t have a set of milkshake glasses, they are great for milkshakes, smoothies and classic soda drinks—like a root beer float.
• Another fun garnish idea for this drink would be candy vampire teeth.

More Spooky Ideas:

• Halloween Punch Bowl
• Halloween Countdown Calendar
• Evil Eye Halloween Cocktail
• Roasted Pumpkin Seeds

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Vampire Milkshake

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Keyword halloween, halloween desserts, milkshake

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Servings 2 people

Calories 348kcal

Author Elsie Larson

Equipment

• 1 High speed blender

Ingredients

• 2 cups vanilla ice cream
• 1 tablespoon strawberry syrup
• ½ cup milk
• 1 tablespoon red gel icing
• ½ cup whipped cream
• 2 marachino cherries

Instructions

• In a blender, mix ice cream, strawberry syrup and milk. Add a drop of red food coloring if you want a super intense pink.
• Pour your milkshake into two glasses.
• Use gel icing to create a blood-inspired rim. This icing has pretty good body and will stay in place pretty well for you!
• After the blood rim is complete, add a little whipped cream to the top of your milkshake and some sprinkles and a cherry. Serve immediately with a straw and a spoon. Enjoy!!

Notes

• The gel icing is perfect for the rim as it stays in place well. I have tried this with strawberry syrup and it was much too runny.
• If you don’t have a set of milkshake glasses, they are great for milkshakes, smoothies and classic soda drinks—like a root beer float.
• Another fun garnish idea for this drink would be candy vampire teeth.

Nutrition

Calories: 348kcal | Carbohydrates: 36g | Protein: 7g | Fat: 20g | Saturated Fat: 12g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 5g | Cholesterol: 77mg | Sodium: 130mg | Potassium: 376mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 32g | Vitamin A: 757IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 259mg | Iron: 0.1mg

Caramel apples also make great gifts so you can make a batch to hand out at Halloween parties, as a thank-you present, or just make a few for your family on a crisp fall day. Add fun toppings to make it a gourmet treat!

Looking for more fall recipes? Check out:

• 15 Pumpkin Desserts To Bake This Fall
• Candy Apples
• Classic Hot Toddy
• Overnight Cinnamon Rolls – Small Batch
• Soft Pumpkin Muffins

What kind of apples are best for caramel apples?

The variety of apple that you choose for your caramel apple depends entirely on your taste! If you have a sweet tooth, you would probably enjoy a sweeter variety like a Fuji, Honeycrisp, or a Pink Lady as your apple base. For a more tart contrast to your sweet caramel topping, Granny Smiths are the most popular choice. These are all firmer choices than say a softer Macintosh variety and give you a better crunch factor when eating your treat.

Caramel Apple Ingredients:

• Wrapped Caramels: Using pre-made caramels is the fastest and easiest way to go about making your caramel apples. Most grocery stores sell these in the baking area or right next to the apples in fall, but you can also get them online if your local store doesn’t carry them.

• Fresh Apples: Choose a firm apple that is either more sweet or more tart depending on how much sweetness you want to add to the caramel layer. Make sure to wash off the wax before dipping your apple so that the caramel has a better chance of sticking and won’t slide off.

• Heavy Cream or Milk: Just adding a little heavy cream or milk to the caramel will help thin it out a bit to make it more “dippable.”

• Toppings (optional): You can do a second dip after the caramel into fun gourmet toppings like crushed nuts or M&Ms, pretzel bits, sprinkles, flaked sea salt, crushed Oreos, or coconut!

Looking for a delicious caramel dip to eat with apples? Try our Cream Cheese Fruit Dip (4 Ways!)

Tools You Need To Make Caramel Apples:

• Skewers: While the classic caramel apple is usually perched upon a wooden stick, you can also use a popsicle stick, or, in a pinch, even just stick a fork into it if you don’t have any thick skewers at home.

• Melting tools: To melt your caramel, you want either a microwave and microwave-safe bowl, a saucepan, a double-boiler pot, or a glass Pyrex-type bowl to set on top of a saucepan of boiling water.

• Nonstick Cooking Spray: You’ll want to make sure your apples don’t stick to the plate or pan you are placing them on, so use some nonstick cooking spray on the surface first to make sure you can remove them easily.

• Dipping container (optional but helpful): While you can just roll your apple around in the bowl or pot you melted the caramel in, for smaller batches it’s also nice to have a Pyrex glass measuring cup to melt the caramel in so you have a nice little container to dunk the apple right in to.

Tips for Making Caramel Apples:

• Remove the wax from your apples. You’ll want to wash your apples and try to remove the wax from the apples before dipping them so the caramel will stick better. Run the apples under some hot water and use a fruit wash or dish soap and a clean scrubby pad or textured towel to rub vigorously over the apples to help remove some of the wax. Dry apples very well so no moisture remains.

• Chill apples before and after dipping. After you add your skewer, you can chill your apples in the fridge so that the caramel sets up faster and less will run off the surface when dipping (and then put them back in the fridge so the caramel will set up faster).

• Have toppings already prepped. If you are dipping your apple into toppings, make sure you already have your bowls of toppings ready so the caramel doesn’t set before you can get your toppings together.

• Drizzle chocolate after cooling: You can also drizzle melted chocolate over your apple for a yummy addition, but wait until the apples are cool so the warm caramel doesn’t melt the chocolate.

How to Make Caramel Apples:

Prepare the apples: Once clean, make sure the apples are thoroughly dry before dipping! Skewer your apple with your stick or fork and set aside.

Melt the caramel: Put your caramels and heavy cream/milk in a microwave-safe bowl and heat for 30-second increments, stirring well between each heating session, until the caramel is smooth and melted. If the caramel seems thin, let it sit for a minute or two to thicken up a bit before dipping.

Can I make caramel apples on the stovetop without a microwave?

Yes! If you don’t have a microwave, you can still make caramel apples easily in a saucepan, a double-boiler pot, or a glass Pyrex-type bowl set on top of a saucepan of boiling water (it will take longer to melt this way, so be patient).

For a regular saucepan, add caramels and milk to pan and heat on medium-low heat, stirring until melted. If using the double-boiler or bowl on top method, just bring a few inches of water to a boil in a pot, set the top of the double boiler or glass bowl on top with your caramel and milk, reduce the heat to a low boil/simmer and stir occasionally until melted.

Dip the apples: Now that your caramel is melted, spray a tray or plate with nonstick cooking spray and dip your apple into the melted caramel at an angle, twisting it around until the apple is coated as well as you would like.

Lift the apple to let the excess caramel drip off and scrape the bottom over the side of the bowl to get extra excess. As the caramel gets lower in the bowl, you can also use a spoon to pour the caramel over the apple to cover the sides or tilt the bowl or pan so the caramel pools in one spot.

After dipping in your caramel, you can do a second dip into your topping of choice to give it some added flavor before setting it on your tray or plate. Try some black and orange sprinkles for a Halloween caramel apple treat!

If your caramel starts to set as you continue dipping your apples, reheat it for 15 seconds at a time in the microwave until the texture is dippable again.

Let the caramel set: Let your apples cool in the fridge for about 15-30 minutes to allow the caramel to fully set. Now your apple is ready to eat!

How do I store caramel apples?

You can store caramel apples in the fridge for up to two weeks and you can also wrap them in clear treat bags individually to give as gifts!

Looking for more apple recipes? Check out:

• Apple Dumplings
• No-Bake Caramel Apple Cheesecake
• Baked Apple Donuts with Cinnamon Sugar
• 5-Minute Apple Crisp (For One!)
• Apple Dumpling Monkey Bread
• Easy Apple Pie Bars

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Easiest Homemade Caramel Apple

Make delicious caramel apples at home and add gourmet toppings

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Keyword apples, caramel apple, fall, halloween, halloween desserts, halloween party

Prep Time 30 minutes minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes minutes

Cooling Time 30 minutes minutes

Total Time 1 hour hour 30 minutes minutes

Servings 10 people

Calories 97kcal

Author Laura Gummerman

Cost $15

Equipment

• 8-10 wooden skewers
• microwave or saucepan or double boiler if using the stove
• microwave or heatproof bowl

Ingredients

• 2 11-ounce bag of wrapped caramels like Kraft brand
• 8-10 small to medium apples
• 3 tablespoons heavy whipping cream or milk
• chopped toppings of your choice

Instructions

• Prepare the apples: Make sure the apples are thoroughly dry before dipping! Skewer your apple with your stick or fork and set aside.
• Melt the caramel: Put your caramels and heavy cream/milk in a microwave-safe bowl and heat for 30-second increments, stirring well between each heating session, until the caramel is smooth and melted. If the caramel seems thin, let it sit for a minute or two to thicken up a bit before dipping.
• Dip the apples: Now that your caramel is melted, spray a tray or plate with nonstick cooking spray and dip your apple into the melted caramel at an angle, twisting it around until the apple is coated as well as you would like. Lift the apple to let the excess caramel drip off and scrape the bottom over the side of the bowl to get extra excess. As the caramel gets lower in the bowl, you can also use a spoon to pour the caramel over the apple to cover the sides or tilt the bowl or pan so the caramel pools in one spot.

  After dipping in your caramel, you can do a second dip into your topping of choice to give it some added flavor before setting it on your tray or plate. Try some black and orange sprinkles for a Halloween caramel apple treat!

  If your caramel starts to set as you continue dipping your apples, reheat it for 15 seconds at a time in the microwave until the texture is dippable again.
• Let the caramel set: Let your apples cool in the fridge for about 15-30 minutes to allow the caramel to fully set. Now your apple is ready to eat!

Notes

Can I make caramel apples on the stovetop without a microwave?

Yes! If you don’t have a microwave, you can still make caramel apples easily in a saucepan, a double-boiler pot, or a glass pyrex-type bowl set on top of a saucepan of boiling water (it will take longer to melt this way, so be patient). For a regular saucepan, add caramels and milk to pan and heat on medium-low heat, stirring until melted. If using the double-boiler or bowl on top method, just bring a few inches of water to a boil in a pot, set the top of the double boiler or glass bowl on top with your caramel and milk, reduce the heat to a low boil/simmer and stir occasionally until melted.

 

You can store caramel apples in the fridge for up to two weeks and you can also wrap them in clear treat bags individually to give as gifts!

 

 

Nutrition

Calories: 97kcal | Carbohydrates: 20g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 2g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 7mg | Sodium: 4mg | Potassium: 162mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 15g | Vitamin A: 167IU | Vitamin C: 7mg | Calcium: 13mg | Iron: 0.2mg