For a fraction of the cost, make your own Williams-Sonoma reindeer cake pops (or, in this shortcut, donut pops) at home. These cute treats are a perfect homemade holiday gift.
I love Williams-Sonoma, I do, and have my share of cookware from their stores. They have quality stuff.
I just can’t afford all the quality stuff. I might splurge on a top-notch baking tray, but I can’t justify splurging on cute treats I can make myself for a fraction of the cost.
When I saw six reindeer cake pops cost nearly fifty dollars, I realized I might be in the wrong gig. I should be selling reindeer cake pops.
Last year, I made these way-more-budget-friendly snowman marshmallow stirrers to mimic the pricier version in their catalog, and they were a huge hit.
If you want to stick more closely to the original, prepare chocolate cake pops for dipping.
I, for one, am a busy woman (right, ladies?), so I instead used chocolate store-bought donut holes. It’s the best shortcut for cake pops.
A few tips in making these: Chocolate can be a fickle thing. You may also substitute chocolate candy melts for easier melting, dipping, and setting.
If you are using real chocolate, I find melting the chocolate in the microwave at a lower heat works well. I use a bowl for more even heating, and then transfer to a narrower mason jar for easier dipping.
If you find your chocolate is too thick to dip well, add some vegetable shortening to thin it.
If your donuts are falling off the stick from the weight of the chocolate, dip the stick in the chocolate, insert into the donut, and pop them in the fridge to set well.
You should also wait a bit for the chocolate to set before adding the eyes and nose, or they may slide down the front of the pop.
For all of these reasons, I often use the more user-friendly candy melts. But you can’t beat the taste of real chocolate (especially if we’re going for a Williams-Sonoma quality).
These cuties are as delicious as they are adorable, too. Serve them on a tray with your other Christmas treats, maybe these easy Christmas Rice Krispie Treats, at your holiday party, and they will be sure to get a few comments.
Or, add name tags to the stick, and have reindeer donut pops welcome your guests to the dinner table. Or, just eat them all, like I want to do.
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Reindeer Cake Pops Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 cup Semisweet Chocolate Chips
- 10 Chocolate Donut Holes
- 10 Lollipop Sticks 6-inch
- Red Candies
- Candy Eyes
- Tan Pipe Cleaners
Instructions
- Melt the chocolate chips in a microwave-safe bowl at 50 percent power for 90 seconds.
- Stir and continue to microwave until the chips are just starting to melt.
- Stir well to use the residual heat to completely melt the chocolate chips. I prefer to transfer the chocolate into a small mason jar for easier dipping.
- Dip the tip of a lollipop stick into the chocolate and insert into a donut hole. For best results, let set 10 to 15 minutes.
- Dip the entire donut hole into the chocolate, and tap the stick against the rim of the jar to remove excess chocolate, and place the donut on a baking tray lined with wax paper.
- Let the chocolate set enough so the candies won’t slide, about ten minutes.
- Adhere the red candy nose and candy eyes to the donut.
- Let fully set at room temperature or in the refrigerator (preferred).
- Twist the pipe cleaners around the lollipop stick to make antlers.