wow. summer's almost over.
where'd it go?
soon i'll be hearing those dreaded words,
"so how was your summer?"
because i will have to go back to work full time nursing.
"have a great summer!"
are much much better sounding words to me!
but nevertheless, i will keep blogging along and tell you all about these summer popsicles now before that school bell rings.
so let's get started!
first,
while i was cleaning out my kitchen drawer, i found a pack of small halloween cookie cutters. in it was a small ghost cutter that instantly looked like a popsicle to me. so this was my inspiration. i got what i had around my kitchen and came up with these.
if i had wax paper, i would've used that but all i had was parchment paper so that's what i used.
if you do have wax paper. i would recommend using that instead. (i'm thinking it'd be easier to remove the popsicles?!)
the amount of almond bark candy depends on how thick you want your popsicles to be or how many you want to make.
when i made these i ended up using only 2 cubes of candy chocolate for a total of
one dozen toppers.
now you will have to adjust the sticks.
one stick was enough for 2 popsicles.
your sticks don't have to be exactly 2 inches. as a matter of fact, i just eyeballed mine and cut away.
now you'll need to do this:
after you measure your cutter, draw 2-3 areas slightly larger than that measurement on your parchment or wax paper to give you the space needed for the popsicles.
as you can see from the pic below, this will be your guide to help you place your melted candy.
i put an "x" on the space in between so i wouldn't mess up since i tend to do that often-LOL
you can do it too, if you want.
then FLIP THE PAPER OVER and use the back side so you won't get pen/sharpie/pencil (whatever you used to draw your line areas) poisoning on your popsicles. just be sure your lines are heavy enough to be seen on the back side of the parchment or wax paper you use.
so now for the next step,
melt one candy bark cube as directed on the package til smooth and creamy.
then:
got that?
good!
now comes the fun part!
you can sprinkle the entire area if you want but as you can see, i chose to use different sprinkles and estimate the area for each popsicle.
sometimes i alternated colors to resemble stripes like the orange and yellow you see in the pic or just used multicolored sprinkles in 2 separate rows (see top popsicle).
no need to be perfect, just have fun with it.
so here are some other ideas i thought about aside from plain sprinkles.
it's a swirl popsicle!
or how about this one?
or get real creative and make picture popsicles with different sprinkles!
you can make a bunch of different kinds!
just remember though,
do ONE ROW AT A TIME
because the candy chocolate will harden
and the sprinkles won't stick so you have to move quickly when decorating!
also, as you can see, i ended up using the 2 outside rows for the popsicles and left the middle row blank for room for the sticks!
i think if you want to make more of these, draw the same pattern on the paper for your next batch and just use the outside rows (man i hope i am making sense here-i think the pic explains it better than i do!)
anywhoo, now it's time to:
this next step is optional because i didn't want the popsicles sticking to the parchment paper once i cut them. i think if i had used wax paper, this step could be eliminated, even though parchment paper is pretty much nonstick.
now onto the cutting process:
now i'm no expert at making these, and i was winging it as i went along. but i'll be honest with you, it was a little tricky cutting these out because some cracked a little on me due to the stick.
but that was easily fixed by using some melted candy as glue and it looked good as new!
just be patient and go slow & careful during the cutting process and they should all come out great :) i was a bit spastic when i cut a few of them at first cuz i was excited and cut them in a hurry :>P
so now that you have them all cut,
hmmm...not bad but try to cut them out with the stick more in the center spazo!
(i'm talking to myself here)
let's take a closer look at 'em.
and closer still...
awww, what is it about BRIGHT colors that makes me giddy?
anyway, hope you like these as much as me and my kids did!
happy popsicle topper making!
ps(if i was an expert blogger, i would've added colorful twine bows on the cupcakes to up the cuteness factor-but since i'm not, i'll use that as an excuse)
