Keeping My Day Job....

Subtitle: Bakerella Need Not Fear That I Will Supplant Her as the Cake Pop Queen

Is that the correct usage of the word "supplant"?

Someone came up with the BRILLIANT (and I mean it this time, not being sarcastic. This time) idea that we should order box lunches at school today instead of a potluck lunch. I suggested that we combine it with a "goodie swap" and bring in cookies and/or candy to share at school.

In the meantime, our wonderfully sweet cafeteria ladies, who knew nothing of our lunch and/or goodie plans, said they would be providing "treats" for both faculties today.

You really didn't need all that information for this blog post, but since I started it and my "delete" key suddenly won't work (that's my story and I'm sticking to it), I'm gonna give you the rest of it too.

The "treats" these ladies provided weren't just treats. It was a complete spread: pimiento cheese sandwiches, chicken salad sandwiches, crackers and cheese, Chex mix, cookies, peanuts, M&Ms, chips and dip, and I'm sure I've left something out.

Holy cow.

It didn't take me long to realize I didn't need the box lunch I'd ordered. But since it was a chicken wrap and fruit cup (I'm trying, I really am), I decided it would keep until tomorrow, and that eliminates the need to prepare a lunch for tomorrow. Score.

Back to those treats.

Because I had such success with my first cake pops, I thought I would make some more of those. I'd already done Christmas trees, so this time I thought I would just make little round cake pops in red and green and decorate them.

The red ones went well, except for the fact that the green sugar I put on them made them look kind of like dirt. But I hope they will taste good. I also bought the multicolored sprinkles.

Trivia question: Do you know how far multicolored sprinkles will bounce if you drop a few -- all right, a million -- of them on a tile floor?

Answer: Ten trillion. I think a few of them are still bouncing somewhere in Bulgaria.

Is Bulgaria still a country? I can't keep up with geography anymore, ever since the fall of Communism combined with the law requiring that African countries change their names with every full moon.

Because I tend to be rather OCD about such things, I thought I would do exactly half of the cake pops in red candy coating, and the other half in green. After I had dipped and sprinkled exactly half of the cake pops in the refrigerator, I dumped the red candy coating.

(Note to self: If you buy some cheap candy molds, you can put that candy coating to good use instead of throwing it away every time. There now.)

I melted the green candy coating, and that's when things started to go downhill. I couldn't get the green coating thin enough, and it would drag the cake pops off their little sticks. Bakerella's book suggested using a little shortening to thin the candy coating when it isn't thin enough, but I didn't have any. I didn't anticipate having that problem, since I had been so successful with the green coating when I made the little Christmas trees.

I managed to dip a few green ones, then I dumped several in the trash, threw out the green candy coating, and chalked it up to a learning experience. It was 11:00 PM by that time, and I also had crock pot candy cooling all over the kitchen.

(Note to self: If you write a blog post about being stress-free during the holiday season, you shouldn't then find it necessary to CREATE stress where there was none. There now.)

I didn't cry in my candy coating (actually, that might have helped), and I didn't let it get to me. I still had a fair number (albeit not an even number, a fact I'm trying to claw from my memory) of cake pops, and I will share them at school tomorrow.

I'm not giving up on the cake pops, either. I may not become an expert, and mine may never be as cute and creative as the ones in the book, but I will get better.

In the meantime, I think it's best to keep my day job.

For 91 more school days.

My First Cake Pops.....

The Book Man comes to our school every couple of months ago and leaves a selection of stuff for us to peruse. We can fill out an order form, leave a check in the big brown envelope, and then several days later, just like magic, some student who happens to be in the office (yeah, you want THOSE folks running errands for you) will bring you a stack of whatever you ordered. Odds are you may have forgotten in the span of those few days just what the heck you ordered. Or why. Odds are even greater that you may purchase crap that doesn't even fall into the category of "books." But whatever.

Last time the Book Man came, I ordered this jewel.

I got carried away looking at the pictures and didn't even notice that the author is Bakerella, someone whose work has been featured on the Pioneer Woman's blog from time to time. If I remember correctly, Bakerella went to Pioneer Woman's lodge and made some cake pops. But I may have made that up. I'm kinda tired.

When I saw the book I wasn't even sure I was going to keep it for myself. I thought it might make a good gift, or something I could put in the store at next year's Nash Bash. The fact that I'm not a kitchen diva has been well documented here. With research and everything.

But the cake pops sounded so easy, and they looked so irresistibly cute, that I decided I would attempt some on my own. And it wasn't enough just to make them; I volunteered to bring some to school as rewards for students who haven't pissed us off as much as the rest of them have have shown success in coursework, standardized testing, or attendance.

There were several designs with a Christmas theme, but I decided on the Christmas trees. I really liked the Santa hats, but they required TWICE the dipping and two different colors, and I didn't want to push my luck. (You can find those on Bakerella's site. They're adorable.)

They weren't a total disaster, but you may notice (if you can see past the glare of the reflection from the treat bags) that I only decorated a few of them. It was tedious work, and it was taking me about 5 minutes to decorate each tree, not counting the time I spent looking on the floor for the #$*!#$ microscopic sprinkles I was trying to use as decorations. At 9:30 I said "screw it" and left the majority of the trees naked.

I apologize that the pictures aren't better. I didn't take the time to photograph each step of the process, and I only had my point-and-shoot handy.

It wasn't very difficult to make them, but it is an all-day project. (Note to self: Beginning this little adventure at 4:00 PM probably isn't the best plan.) One thing that bothers me about making cake pops is the waste. You have to melt enough candy coating to dip the entire cake pop at one time, so that means there is a lot left. I guess I could have saved it and used it again, but I didn't think I would need any dark green candy coating any time soon.

I may make some cake pops again, but I think I'll stick with something round and simple. Smiley faces. Basketballs.