Cake Pops... the bane of my existence

So I used to make great cake pops. Beautiful cake pops! Little balls of gorgeous, round, smooth, elegant deliciousness.

Then something in my brain exploded, and now all I can make is hidious blobs of dough. They are still yummy, but the chocolate either seizes or cracks, the balls are more square than round, and even the sticks won't stay in...

Where did I go wrong!?

So I made more cake pops with my kids the other day (totally preparing for the worst) and my oldest son's positive attitude changed mine. I was getting frustrated at the sticks that were falling out and the chocolate that was chunky and thick and I told him, "Give Mommy a minute. I need a minute to calm down."

(If you haven't figured it out yet, I'm a perfectionist and these lumps of ugly were just killing me.)

My adorable son says, "It's okay. They will taste great. And I think most of them look fine."

So, I pulled myself up by my bootstraps and said, "You're right. You know what? We can figure. This. Out."

So we did. We got out new chocolate, reserved half of the dough balls to do a second batch, and tried a few different things. I remembered stuff from my days of beautiful cake pops, and we got through it.

So whether this every helps anyone or this is just here so I have documentation on how to correct my errors, here is my GOOD, EFFECTIVE process for cake pops.

1. Bake cake according to box instructions. Smash. Use a WHOLE can of frosting to one WHOLE cake mix.
2. Refrigerate dough for about 30 minutes.
3. Roll into balls. Take a small amount of melted chocolate (or Candy Melts), dip the stick into the chocolate, then stick it in the ball of dough. This will "glue" it in place.
4. Put cake pops in the freezer for 15 minutes if they are starting to get too warm. If they are still cool to the touch, continue. DO NOT FREEZE. The dough needs to be cool, and the chocolate "glue" set, but if they are too cold, the coating with crack and get chunky.
5. Melt your Candy Melts in a double boiler. This will keep it nice and smooth and prevent you having to re-microwave it over and over while you are dipping.
6. Add cooking oil to thin the chocolate. Thin it until it no longer holds peaks when you stir. If you pull the spatula through the chocolate to the bottom, it should fill the space back in immediately. Add oil until this happens and stir smooth.
7. Dip cake pops and stir in a LARGE circle in the double boiler, making sure to coat the whole cake pop. (Little holes where cake is showing make is eek out after it dries. It looks like a zit...it's gross.)
8. Swirl the cake pop gently over the chocolate to remove excess. If it starts to crack or chunk on the pop, dip it back in and stir some more.
9. Place on parchment and add sprinkles while the chocolate is still hot so it sticks.

I will try to add pictures next time I make these little guys, provided they turn out and I don't end up with a bald spot from ripping out my hair.

Canning 2014! Pear Honey and Strawberry Pineapple Jam

So, I got a great recipe via my Aunt DeAnna that belonged to my Great-(great?) Aunt Mae.   We got to talking canning at my last visit to Grand Junction, and Nanny, DeAnna and I were discussing recipes.  They brought up Pear Honey and I said, "Wha?"   It's thicker than honey but thinner than jam.  It's meant to be put on pancakes or waffles.... I think I drooled a little.

So here is the recipe for

Aunt Mae's Pear Honey. :) 

1 quart pears, peeled and pitted  (4 cups)
2 tablespoons vinegar
1 cup of crushed pineapple
1 quart of sugar

I mashed pears with a masher, then used my hand mixer to get them down to a puree'd consistency.  I think having a large food processor would have been a bit better.  So it goes.

Put pears and vinegar in a pot and bring to a boil. Cook 6 minutes.  Add pineapple and bring back to boil.  Then add sugar and cook 15-20 minutes. I cooked it closer to 20 to encourage it to thicken. :)  Turn off heat, can. and process in a water bath canner for 10 minutes. 

I doubled it and got 6 1/2 pints.  :)  The color is SO beautiful and it tastes like heaven! I'm thinking pancakes for dinner are in my near future.

Then I made Strawberry Pineapple Jam. :)  My boys LOVE strawberry jam, and I had some frozen from when they were on sale recently, and I was hoping to make them stretch a little farther so I was looking for fruits to blend with strawberries.  I could have made strictly strawberry jam, but nothing I have canned is plain.... I just have to make it special somehow.  Last year it was strawberry rhubarb jam, so this year I went with Strawberry Pineapple.   I'm glad I did.  It has a GREAT flavor! And once again, the color is BEAUTIFUL!

Strawberry Pineapple Jam

3 cups hulled and crushed strawberries
1 cup pineapple
1/2 tsp. unsalted butter
6 cups sugar  (yes, I know...)
3 tbsp. pectin or 1 box

Mix strawberries, pineapple, butter, and sugar in a LARGE pot!  The butter helps it from foaming too much, and it is REQUIRED! I didn't use it at first, and it foamed almost over the pot! I dropped in the butter and POOF no more foam.  It was amazing.   Anyway, bring your fruit and sugar to a boil.  Once it's at an active boil (doesn't stop when you stir), add pectin and bring back to a boil, stirring constantly.  Hard boil while stirring for 1 minute.  Put in hot jars and process in a water bath canner for 10 minutes. 

I doubled it and it made 8 pints. YAY!  This should keep my boys rolling in PB&J for the whole school year.

The Obsession with Canning

So, I'm going to try to keep a record of my canning adventures, especially this year, because for the first time, I actually have friends who want to know how I do what I've been doing.  So list is as follows (for this year)

Cherry Infused Vodka
Pineapple Infused Vodka
Strawberry Rhubarb Jam
Jalapeno Jelly
Rose Petal Jelly
Cowboy Candy (Jalapenos and pineapple)
Canned Peaches
Peach Pie Filling
Peach Pit & Peel Jelly

on deck:

Strawberry Rhubarb Pie Filling
Orange Rhubarb Jam
Lemon Rhubarb Jam?
Dilly Beans

Wow, after looking at the list, I'm a little shocked at how much I've done this year. My dad has begun calling me "Susie" in a very loving manner, and my kitchen has a giant water bath canner perpetually warming on the stove.  This since the first of August.  I don't know what part of me just love to can, but it's really no surprise to me that I've decided to obsess over it.  It's fairly easy and hard to mess up, but is precise enough that I feel special for knowing how to do it.

So, for myself, I'm going to keep track of my recipes this year, so I can find them again with ease.  I have a few recipes memorized because I've done multiple batches, so those are first.  The other ones I'll list shortly.  But for my first blog, this should look pretty good.

The Infused Vodkas are nothing more than pitted and cleaned fruit in Vodka.  Not processed.  They don't need to be, apparently, because the alcohol preserves the fruit.  I just put it downstairs, in a cool, dry place, for four weeks.  I give it a shake every few days.  Soon, I'll take out the fruit and strain the vodka.  I hope it's good.  It's interesting at the very least.  

 Strawberry Rhubarb Jam

4 cups strawberries, mashed slightly
4 cups rhubarb, chopped
4 cups sugar
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 box pectin

Combine fruit, pectin, and lemon juice in large pot.  Bring to a boil.  Boil 2 minutes, mashing fruit.  Add sugar.  Bring back to a boil and boil hard 1 minute.  Turn off heat and ladle into hot, sterilized jars.  Process 5 minutes in water bath.  Makes about 5 half-pint jelly jars.


Canned Peaches

Peaches (we did a whole box)
Sugar

Mix light syrup.  Light syrup = 1 cup sugar to 1 quart water.   Keep on stove just under a boil.   Peel and pit peaches.  Treat with citric acid.  I did this in the cold water bath used in my peeling process.  1 tsp. citric acid to 1 gallon of water.   Slice peaches and pack in jars, one jar at a time.  Ladle hot syrup into the jar and remove bubbles.  Set in canner to keep hot while packing other jars.  This prevents any more browning.  Process in boiling water 30 minutes for quart jars, 25 minutes for pints.


Peeling Peaches

Drop peaches in near boiling water for 5 minutes.  Do not boil.  Remove with slotted spoon and drop in ice water bath.  (I did this in the sink)  I added the citric acid to the cold water, so that way they were treated as I sliced them.  KEEP THE PEELINGS AND PITS!  I kept the peelings and pits and put them right into a sauce pan.


Peel and Pit Jelly

Pit and Peels from peaches
3 cups water
3 cups sugar
3-4 tbsp. lemon juice
1 package pectin

Boil pits and peels in 3 cups of water for 10 minutes.  Let steep for another 10 minutes.  Drain well and discard peelings and pits.  Be sure you have 3 cups liquid.  Add water if necessary.  Add lemon juice and pectin. Bring to a boil.  Boil 1 minute.  Add sugar and return to a boil.  Boil 1 minute.  Skim off foam and ladle into hot jars.  Process in water bath for 5 minutes.  Makes 5 half-pint jars.