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Corndog Cake Pops – Thinking Outside The Pop

September 28, 2011 By 17 Comments

My girls love corndogs and I am always looking for easy, quick snacks to feed them when they come home from school to tide them over until dinner.   We are not big “snack food” people, so I need REAL food that is easy and small enough to be a “snack.”   Well, today I found THE perfect one!  And they are FABULOUS!

This morning while perusing Pinterest I ran across this Pin from MoneySavingMom.com:

My first thought…. I CAN DO THAT IN THE CAKE POP MAKER!!

I jumped in the car and headed to Winn Dixie for the ingredients – Jiffy mix, eggs, milk, and hotdogs.  It doesnt get any easier than that!

I mixed up the Jiffy mix just exactly by the box, and cubed the hot dog into tiny little pieces.

I put the pieces of hot dog into the microwave for 30 seconds – just to cook them a little more.  Then I poured the pieces directly into the Jiffy mix.  I used 2 boxes of Jiffy mix for this first round, and three hot dogs.  Next time I will use four.

I spooned a heaping teaspoon of the mix into each of the holes in my Baby Cakes Cake Pop Maker, and cooked for THREE minutes.  They were perfect.

Paired up with another favorite – Ore Idea Tater Tots – with some Ketchup and a glass of milk, and we have a perfect, nutritious snack in under 10 minutes!

These would also be very easy to make in large batches and freeze in the Zip Lock Snack Size freezer bags for the girls to grab on the go.  Also easy to pack in lunches – there is no mess!

Thanks to MoneySavingMom for the inspiration and Baby Cakes for my favorite cooking tool in the world!

If you are an amateur chef thinking of bringing your great ideas into a professional setting you can make great use of a commercial refrigerator.


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Cinnamon Roll Cake Pops

August 19, 2011 By 46 Comments

In my attempt to turn on the oven as little as possible this school year, I have discovered yet another easy, quick, and CLEAN meal to make with the Baby Cake Cake Pop Maker! 

Last week while grocery shopping The Tween went crazy for the Pillsbury Cinnamon Rolls – especially since they are sporting the TWO Box Tops for Education right now.  I absolutely LOVE these little things, so it did not take much convincing, but I said “well, we have to eat them on the weekends, you know we aren’t going to have time before school.” She agreed and we stocked up on a few tubes.

This morning I had a craving for something sweet, and looking in the fridge I had the thought… “I wonder if I cut them up if they would cook in the Cake Pop Maker.”  Let me tell you, if I have not convinced you that you need one of these things with the 27 OTHER posts I have done on Cake Pops, this one alone is reason to order one right this second.  (they are even on SALE on Amazon- check them out!!)

ALL YOU NEED: (I mean, does it get any easier!?)

I thought initially that I would only have to cut the Pillsbury Cinnamon Rolls in half.  I kinda rolled them just a bit to put most of the cinnamon part on the inside of the cake.  Like this:

However when I put them in the Baby Cake Cake Pop Maker, they were a bit too big – and I had no idea how much those things RISE!!  And FAST!

I cut the remaining rolls in half again (so quarter them from the beginning and you will have no problem) and they cooked up perfectly.  I cooked them for about three minutes in the Baby Cakes Cake Pop Maker to make sure they were done all the way through.

While the Cinnamon Roll Cake Pops are still hot, you can dip them into the icing that comes with the Pillsbury Cinnamon Rolls for absolute perfection!  Microwave the icing for a few seconds if needed to make it easier to dip.  Since the Cinnamon Roll Cake Pops cook so quickly, I noticed the icing doesnt have as much time to sit out and warm up like if you had to cook the rolls for 10 minutes in the oven.   The end result is a bite sized perfection:

They lasted all of 4 seconds once I set them on the counter for the girls.   They LOVED them and I totally got the “wow Mom, you are SUCH a good cook” symphony… boy do I have them fooled.

These Cinnamon Roll Cake Pops will no doubt be a staple for this house during this school year.   One “ingredient” + four minutes = BREAKFAST!  Can’t beat that!   Add this to my growing list of “Reasons Every Mom Needs a Baby Cakes Cake Pop Maker!”


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Blueberry Muffin Cake Pops

August 10, 2011 By 17 Comments

The closer we get to school starting, the more I am testing out my Baby Cakes Cake Pop Maker to see what kind of amazing FRESH breakfast goodies I can prepare in just 4 minutes flat!  (I have mentioned I love this machine, right?!)

This week I put it to the test with one of my all time favorites - BLUEBERRY MUFFINS!

Because of the little “blueberry bits” in the Martha White Blueberry Muffin mix, I was worried I was going to end up with “crunchy” muffin pops.  So the first thing I did was crush all of the little “blueberries” into the batter to make it as smooth as possible.  This would prove to be futile later but it did make for some pretty purpley-blue batter!

I loaded my Baby Cakes Cake Pop Maker just like every other time – filling each little “hole” to just under the rim.  As you can see, by the time I snatched up the camera, my little muffins had already begun to rise.  That’s ok though, as they turned out perfect anyway!

I cooked my Blueberry Muffin Cake Pops for about three minutes – fearful they were going to burn. And though it looked great on the outside in three minutes, the inside told a different story.

I left the rest of them in for another minute or so, and they turned out absolutely perfect!

The only downfall to making Blueberry Muffin Cake Pops… they are very hard to BUTTER!  :)   I don’t know if there is a way to mix butter into the batter… but you know I am going to try it!

These turned out so well, I am certain that this will be a common breakfast here at the Moscato Household.   Every single one of these little pops – the mix makes about 30 – were gobbled up before they even had a chance to get cool.  Both girls – and the Hubbly – just loved them.   And I admit, I even had a few of my own.

Just make this #3,482 reason I believe EVERYONE needs a Baby Cakes Cake Pop Maker….


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Pancake Cake Pops… With Sausage!

August 4, 2011 By 7 Comments

A couple weeks ago I got the idea of making Pancake Cake Pops using the Baby Cakes Cake Pop Maker.  It was a huge hit and we have made them several times since then.  But The Toddler kept asking for sausage, as she prefers it to bacon, so this morning as a surprise I got up early to make her some of her very own Pancake Pops with Sausage.

The ingredients are super simple – Hungry Jack Complete Buttermilk Pancake mix, Jimmy Dean Sausage and your syrup of choice – this one I choice obviously because of the deal that was offered (high five Winn Dixie!)  I also wanted to check out this Hashbrown Casserole as we are huge fans of Cracker Barrel’s version.

Fry the sausage first very gently to make sure it doesnt get “crispy.”   You want it DONE but still soft.  Set aside and let cool while you mix the Pancake Mix with water to a bit thicker of a consistency than it calls for – like cake batter.  This time instead of sprinkling the sausage on top like I did with the bacon, I mixed the cooked sausage directly into the mixed up batter and stirred it all together.

The Pancake Sausage Cake Pops cooked up perfectly in just four minutes – just like everything else in the Baby Cakes Cake Pop Maker.  I also microwaved the Hashbrown Casserole – I have to admit it was pretty tasty! – and cut up a green apple to have some “fruit” with this “well balanced meal.”  Pour some syrup on top, serve with an ice cold glass of milk and VOILA!  The perfect breakfast -in only 10 minutes- thanks to the Baby Cakes Cake Pop Maker!

Bite sized perfection.

 


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Baby Cakes Donut Maker – 1 Lynsey – 0

August 3, 2011 By 2 Comments

My recent addiction to the Baby Cakes Cake Pop Maker got me wondering if the other machines from Baby Cakes were just as fabulous.  So I skipped down to Kohl’s to pick up a Baby Cakes Donut Maker (and noticed they were OUT of Cake Pop Makers… good thing I bought extras) and decided to use the recipes that are included with the kit.

I went to the grocery store to pick up the needed ingredients… which I am sad to say was EVERYTHING…. even flour. stop laughing.

I chose to try out the Spice Donuts from their recipe book, as I love the original “cake” donuts, and this was the closest I could find to that. I also got cinnamon and sugar to sprinkle on the outside.. just the way I remember them.

The recipe was easy… except that I am not sure I have EVER used that many ingredients in one meal…. ever.

Then came the hard part… pouring the batter into the circles without making a total mess.  Now, it says you can put the batter into a Ziplock bag and cut the tip off  – which is what I tried – and well… my advice is to get a pastry bag.  We all know I am not very skilled in the culinary department, but I managed to burn myself pretty good trying to negotiate that Ziplock in circles to fill the reservoirs of the Baby Cakes Donut Maker… this made me miss my Cake Pop Maker.

After a few choice words I did manage to get the batter in the circles, with obvious overfill, but my house started smelling so fantastic I almost forgot about needing to ice my hand.  (I should have taken a picture of it, but just imagine me pressing my right hand up against the top of the maker… yeah, sizzle)

The Baby Cakes Donut Maker makes the same little “space ships” with the overfill as the Cake Pop Maker does, and it easily breaks off when cooled.

We used the little pitch fork thingie to put the baby donuts on the grate that they provide in the kit – I was VERY happy to have that, as these little guys were HOT!  I immediately sprinkled cinnamon sugar on them, and read later that the better way to do it is to put the cinnamon sugar in a Ziplock and “shake” the donuts in the mixture to coat.  I admit, that probably would have worked much better.

The donuts TASTED terrific, and I loved that they are baked, and not fried – saving some calories… and of course meaning you do not have to feel quite as guilty for eating twice as many as you should.

The Baby Cakes Donut Maker does exactly what it claims – cooks delicious little donuts in under five minutes – and even with my burn, I would still highly recommend this to anyone wanting to make healthier donuts for your friends and family.  However nothing… nothing… will ever replace the Baby Cakes Cake Pop Maker in my heart.  :)

Disclaimer: I did not receive any compensation for this post… I am just THAT addicted… someone please call Dr. Drew.