These cute cake pops are disguised as apples and would be a great addition to your next picnic, or as a cute gift for teachers. They look complicated, but are actually very simple to make, and it would be a fun activity to decorate these "pops" with children.

Let's get started!

Step 1: Gather Ingredients

For this recipe you will need some candy melts. You can buy these at Walmart, Hobby Lobby, Micheals, and other craft stores. I recommend using your 40% off coupons to save some money. If you really can't find these, you can use white chocolate that has been mixed with some gel food coloring. Also, if you don't want to use a boxed cake mix or premade frosting, feel free to make your own homemade versions. I just used these items for convenience.

Ingredients:

Decorations

one package of red candy melts
one package of green candy melts
10 or more pretzel sticks
1 1/2 tablespoons oil
one package white candy melts (optional)

Cake Base

one box of white cake mix
apple cider
eggs
oil
about five tablespoons white frosting

We will be using apple cider instead of water in the cake mix. Exact measurements for the cake mix will be on your cake mix box. Mine used 1 1/4 cups of water, which means that I'll be using 1 1/4 cups of apple cider instead.

Step 2: Is It a Lie?

1. Mix all of the cake ingredients in a bowl until the mixture is smooth.

2. Pour the cake mix into a greased pan and cook according to the directions on the cake mix box. I ended up baking mine for about 20 minutes. The finished cake should be golden brown on the edges and a inserted toothpick should come out clean.

Optional: Make donuts with the extra cake mix!

Step 3: Cake Pop Base

1. Break up your cake into a bowl and use your hands to mash it into small crumbs. In the second photo you can see how I took out some pieces of the cake that were a bit hard and would not break easily. These pieces should be discarded (or eaten).

2. Add about five tablespoons of frosting into the cake crumbs and use your hands to squish the cake mixture until it forms a soft dough.

Step 4: Decorating Prep

1. Use your hands to mold the cake dough into apple shaped balls. If the mixture is too dry, work another scoop of frosting into the dough to make it softer. The balls should be about the size of a golf ball.

2. Melt the green candy melts in the microwave for about 2, 15-second intervals. You only will need about 10 of them. Then, using a toothpick, draw green leaves on a ziplock bag. Let these pieces dry for at least one minute before using.

3. Melt about twenty of the red candy melts in the microwave for about 3-4, 15 second intervals. Then, dip the end of the lollipop stick into the red candy melt, and gently push it into the end of the cake ball. Let the "naked" cake pops dry for at least two minutes before moving onto the next step.

4. While the pops are drying, take the pretzel sticks and break them into small 1/2" pieces.

Step 5: Decorating

Feel free to get the kids to help you with this step!

1. Add 1 1/2 tablespoons of oil to the red candy melts and stir well. This makes the candy melts more liquid-y and easier to work with. Then, peel the green leaves off of the ziplock bag and get ready to decorate!

2. Completely submerge the cake pop into the melted red candy melts and make sure to coat all of the sides. Let the excess candy melt drip off.

3. While the cake pop is still wet with the red candy melt, gently poke the pretzel "stem" onto the cake pop and stick on the "leaf". If you are confused, look at the last photo to see how the end result should look like.

4. Do not touch the cake pops and let them dry for at least five minutes before eating!

To make green apples, add green and white candy melts into a bowl and melt them in the microwave. I would do a ratio of every 3 green candy melts, add 1 white candy melt. Then, get decorating like normal.

Step 6: Enjoy!

Enjoy your apple cake pops! They are a fun treat to make and have an interesting texture (crunchy coating, soft insides). If you made these cake pops, make sure to leave a comment on how it went!

If you enjoyed this Instructable, please take a second out of your day to vote for me in the Apple Contest! It would mean the world to me!

Have a fantastic day,

Thederpyninja