Happy Green Day!

Good morning all!

If you're a Facebook friend of mine, you've heard me talking about these mint chocolate cake balls I've been working on the last couple of days. If you're not, then you have no idea...so, to catch you up: We somehow got on the topic of cake balls at work the other day, and since I'm always looking for an excuse to bake (because I love to bake, but don't really have a sweet tooth), I said I'd make something for St. Patty's Day. Enter the mint chocolate cake balls.

That's the finished product (FYI, it's extremely difficult to photograph anything in a cellophane bag). I'll write the (very simple) recipe at the bottom, so if you want it, it's yours to have. It's pretty basic.

For the packaging, I just took a cello bag with a self-adhesive strip on top, put in two cake balls, and sealed it closed. Then I used a pad of SU! patterned paper and cut out squares that were 3" x 3.5" inches (3.5" wide...just a little wider than my bag). I scored at 1.5" on the short side. Then I stamped the "Happy St. Patrick's Day" stamp to the left side. I stamped the "pinch proof" label on orange cardstock with Versamark ink, then embossed with gold embossing powder, and punched out the label with a 1.5" punch. The labels were attached to the top right corner, hanging over the side and top when the topper was folded. I just stapled the topper to hold it closed and attach the bag. Pretty simple, it took me less than an hour to make 24 bag toppers (I sent some to Mike's work too).

I hope everyone has a happy (and safe!) day o' green :)

Mint Chocolate Cake Ball Recipe
1 box of chocolate cake mix (and the ingredients you need to make it)
1 can of fudgey frosting
1 package of chocolate almond bark
1 package of Andes brand mint baking chips

Mix cake as directed on package. Fold in 1.5 cups of the baking chips. Bake as directed on the box (I used a smaller pan than I should have, so I had to bake mine a little longer. Just make sure you're testing the cake to make sure it's done before you pull it out of the oven).

Let cake cool completely. Crumble it into a large mixing bowl, and mix together cake and whole can of frosting with a mixer. Cover the bowl and refrigerate for 3 hours or overnight.

Roll your cake/frosting mixture into 1 - 1.5" balls. Place them on a cookie sheet lined with waxed paper. After you've rolled all the balls, put the cookie sheet in the freezer for 1 hour.

Melt the entire package of almond bark in a double boiler. Crush the remaining baking chips in a food processor and stir into the melted chocolate, until melted. (I know a lot of people who use the microwave to melt their almond back...if that works for you, go for it. I just prefer my double boiler). Dip the balls into the chocolate, making sure they are entirely coated. Let remaining chocolate drip from the balls, and place them on waxed paper to harden.

Eat immediately (my vote!) or place in the refrigerator until you serve them.

My cake balls never last, but I would guess they would keep in an air-tight container for a couple of days. Honestly, I don't think you'll have to worry about that unless you're planning ahead :)

Tip: This is the first batch of cake balls I've made without lollipop sticks (which, I suppose, would make them cake pops)...I highly recommend going that route. Dipping them is extremely easy with the sticks in and it's much easier to get a complete coating. You can find lollipop sticks at craft stores (I get mine from Hobby Lobby in the cake decorating section).