This month's Daring Bakers Challenge was the fabulous Cheesecake Pops from Sticky, Chewy, Messy, Gooey by Jill O’Connor. Our gracious hosts were Elle from Feeding My Enthusiasms and Deborah from Taste and Tell. I had so much fun with this month's challenge. I was a little worried at first, because Brad is not a big fan of cheesecake. So, I didn't know if I'd get a chance to make them. But luckily, 2 of my best friends gave me the perfect reasons to try them out!
Ashley's birthday was April 15th, and she LOVES cheesecake...so of course I made her a batch! Then, Jessica had her Bachelorette Party this month. Her wedding colors were purple and green, so I made a second batch to coordinate with her colors. I think they turned out really cute!
Click HERE for the recipe.
By the last batch, I realized a few things:
1. If you chill the entire cheesecake in the freezer overnight, it makes it much easier to form it into balls the next day. The cheesecake never really got frozen all the way through, so it was still perfectly easy to work with.
2. If you lightly spray your hands with cooking spray (like Pam), it helps to keep your hands from getting too goopy during the ball-forming process. I did have to wash my hands several times and re-apply before the entire batch was formed into balls.
3. I think I heated the first batch of chocolate too quickly. I was more patient with the second batch, and it was much easier to dip. I also found that the chocolate morsels...instead of the chocolate blocks...made for easier dipping and prettier pops in the end.
For the second month in a row, I've posted my Daring Baker's Challenge late...I'm sorry! For some reason, I had it in my head that the last day of the month was the post day. I'll try to be on time next time!
I'm looking forward to next month's challenge...can't wait to see what it is!
Ashley's Birthday Pops...
An assortment....
Jessica's Wedding Pops...
Before dipping...
