Christmas Cake Pops

Now you can enjoy your own festive Christmas Cake pops at home with this delicious recipe! They come together quickly with a store-bought cake mix, homemade cream cheese frosting, and then dipped and decorated with your favorite chocolate.

We’ve made this recipe even easier with step-by-step instructions, so you can skip the Starbucks drive thru and make these cute little bit-sized treats right at home.

We did a little crushed peppermint, sprinkles, and Christmas tree designs, but you can get creative as you’d like and let your family join in on the fun. We’ve seen cute reindeer, snowmen, and even ornament decorations that are perfect for a  Christmas dessert this holiday season.

Recipe Ingredients:

Vanilla Cake:

• Cake mix: you will need to get your favorite box of vanilla cake mix
• Other ingredients: be sure to have the other ingredients called for on the box including water/oil/eggs

Frosting:

• Butter: have unsalted butter ready at room temperature
• Sugar: powdered sugar
• Cheese: you will also need softed cream cheese
• Extract: use the pure vanilla extract you have on hand already or buy a bottle from the grocery store

Coating:

• Chocolate: you will need to get white chocolate melting wafers from either the grocery store or Michael’s
• Toppings: use your favorite festive sprinkles or other desired decorations

How To Make Christmas Cake Pops:

Prepare the Vanilla Cake

1. Preheat the Oven. Set the oven to the temperature indicated on the vanilla cake mix box.
2. Mix the Batter. Follow the directions on the cake mix box, combining the cake mix with the required water, oil, and eggs.
3. Bake the Cake. Pour the batter into a greased 9×13-inch baking pan or as directed. Bake according to the box instructions, typically until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean (about 30 minutes).
4. Cool. Allow the cake to cool completely before moving on to the next step.

Make the Frosting

1. Cream the Butter. In a medium bowl, beat 5 tablespoons of unsalted butter with an electric mixer until it becomes creamy. Gradually incorporate powdered sugar, beating continuously until the mixture is smooth.
2. Add cream cheese and pure vanilla extract. Beat until the frosting is light and fluffy.

Prepare the Cake Pop Mixture

1. Crumble the Cake. Once the cake is completely cool, crumble cake it into a large bowl using your hands or a fork. Aim for fine, even crumbs.
2. Combine with Frosting. Mix the crumbled cake with the prepared frosting. Stir until the mixture is well-combined and has a moist, dough-like consistency that holds together when pressed.

Form the Cake Pops

1. Shape the Cake Balls. Roll the cake mixture into 1-inch balls and place them on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Melt a small portion of the white chocolate melting wafers according to the package instructions. Dip the tip of each of the cake pop sticks into the melted chocolate and then insert it into the center of a cake ball. This will help anchor the stick in place.
2. Chill. Place the cake pops in the freezer for at least 30 minutes to allow them to firm up.

Coat the Cake Pops

1. Melt the Chocolate. Melt the remaining white chocolate melting wafers as per the package instructions.
2. Dip and Coat. Dip each chilled cake pop into the melted chocolate, ensuring it is completely covered. Gently tap the stick on the side of the bowl to remove any excess chocolate.
3. Decorate. While the coating is still wet, sprinkle with festive decorations of your choice.
4. Let the Cake Pops Set. Return the coated cake pops to the parchment-lined baking sheet. Allow them to set at room temperature or in the refrigerator until the chocolate coating is completely hardened.
5. Serve. Arrange the cake pops in a decorative display or serve as desired. They make a festive treat for any holiday gathering or special occasion.

Variations:

There are simple ways to change this Christmas tree cake pops recipe. Give one more of these a try if you want a few variations: 

• Cake flavor: switch up the flavor and color by using a red velvet cake mix or chocolate cake mix for the base of these festive treats
• Shapes: you can easily mold these into small triangles (instead of balls) to make Christmas tree cake pops, or take some pretzel “antlers” and red candy to make reindeer!
• Texture: add in large chunks of chocolate or sprinkles to add an extra topping of fun to the cake bites. You could also dust the outsides with more toppings like crushed Oreos or white sanding sugar.

Frequently Asked Questions about making the best cake pops: 

Storage Instructions:

Fridge: Once the chocolate coating is completely set, place the cake pops in an airtight container and store it for the next day or up to 7 days in the fridge. 

Freezer: To keep the cake pops good for even longer you can place them in a freezer-safe bag and place them in the freezer for up to 3 months.

Other dessert recipes:

• Cake Mix Christmas Cookies
• No-Bake Ritz Cracker Thin Mint Cookies Recipe
• Mini Oreo Cheesecakes Recipe
• Hot Fudge Chocolate Poke Cake

Christmas Cake Pops

Now you can enjoy your own festive Christmas Cake pops at home with this delicious recipe for homemade easy bite-sized treats.

ServingServing: 24 Cake Pops

Prep Time 20 minutes minutes

Cook Time 35 minutes minutes

Freezing Time 30 minutes minutes

Total Time 1 hour hour 25 minutes minutes

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Ingredients

For the Vanilla Cake:

• ▢ 1 15-ounce box vanilla cake mix
• ▢ other ingredients called for on the box including water/oil/eggs

For the frosting:

• ▢ 5 Tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
• ▢ ⅔ cup powdered sugar
• ▢ 3 Tablespoons cream cheese
• ▢ 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

For the coating:

• ▢ 18 ounces white chocolate melting wafers
• ▢ Festive sprinkles or other desired decorations

Equipment

• 30 Cake Pop Sticks
• Mixing Bowl
• Mixer (Hand)
• Baking Dish (9 x 13)
• Mixing Bowl (Medium)
• Mixing Bowl (Large)
• Parchment Paper
• Sheet Pan (Quarter)
• Bowls (Microwave Safe)

Instructions

Prepare the Vanilla Cake

1. Preheat the Oven. Set the oven to the temperature indicated on the vanilla cake mix box.
2. Mix the Batter. Follow the directions on the cake mix box, combining the cake mix with the required water, oil, and eggs.
3. Bake the Cake. Pour the batter into a greased 9×13-inch baking pan or as directed. Bake according to the box instructions, typically until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean (about 30 minutes).
4. Cool. Allow the cake to cool completely before moving on to the next step.

Make the Frosting

1. Cream the Butter. In a medium bowl, beat 5 tablespoons of unsalted butter with an electric mixer until it becomes creamy. Gradually incorporate powdered sugar, beating continuously until the mixture is smooth.
2. Add cream cheese and pure vanilla extract. Beat until the frosting is light and fluffy.
3. Prepare the Cake Pop Mixture
4. Crumble the Cake. Once the cake is completely cool, crumble it into a large bowl using hands or a fork. Aim for fine, even crumbs.
5. Combine with Frosting. Mix the crumbled cake with the prepared frosting. Stir until the mixture is well-combined and has a moist, dough-like consistency that holds together when pressed.

Form the Cake Pops

1. Shape the Cake Balls. Roll the cake mixture into 1-inch balls and place them on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Melt a small portion of the white chocolate melting wafers according to the package instructions. Dip the tip of each cake pop stick into the melted chocolate and then insert it into the center of a cake ball. This will help anchor the stick in place.
2. Chill. Place the cake pops in the freezer for at least 30 minutes to allow them to firm up.

Coat the Cake Pops

1. Melt the Chocolate. Melt the remaining white chocolate melting wafers as per the package instructions.
2. Dip and Coat. Dip each chilled cake pop into the melted chocolate, ensuring it is completely covered. Gently tap the stick on the side of the bowl to remove any excess chocolate.
3. Decorate. While the coating is still wet, sprinkle with festive decorations of your choice.
4. Let the Cake Pops Set. Return the coated cake pops to the parchment-lined baking sheet. Allow them to set at room temperature or in the refrigerator until the chocolate coating is completely hardened.
5. Serve. Arrange the cake pops in a decorative display or serve as desired. They make a festive treat for any holiday gathering or special occasion.

Notes

Makes 24-30 Cake Pops Depending on Size of Cake Balls.

You can use chocolate chips instead of the melting wafers. However, you will need to add a little bit of vegetable oil to the chocolate to get it thin enough to dip and not break the ball of cake batter.

 

Nutrition

Calories: 233 kcal · Carbohydrates: 34 g · Protein: 2 g · Fat: 10 g · Saturated Fat: 6 g · Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.4 g · Monounsaturated Fat: 3 g · Trans Fat: 0.2 g · Cholesterol: 12 mg · Sodium: 176 mg · Potassium: 80 mg · Fiber: 0.3 g · Sugar: 25 g · Vitamin A: 90 IU · Vitamin C: 0.1 mg · Calcium: 93 mg · Iron: 0.5 mg

Cuisine: American

Cost: $15

Author: Steph Loaiza

Course: Dessert

Did You Make This Recipe?We’d love to hear your thoughts! Leave a review or a question in the comment section below the post.