We made these decadent treats for the holidays. They were way too wonderful not to share. Whip up a batch before the new year hits and you have resolutions to stick to!
Chocolate Cake Balls
Ingredients
1 box of your favorite cake mix (we used golden vanilla)
1 can of your favorite icing flavor (we used caramel)
1 bag or bar of your favorite baking chocolate (we used a bag of white chocolate morsels and a bag of chocolate morsels)
Preparation
Mix and bake cake according to directions.
Let the cake cool and crumble into a big bowl.
Add container of frosting and mix well.
Roll into half-inch balls and chill in refrigerator for about an hour.
Melt down chocolate and dip each ball into the chocolate and then re-chill until chocolate is set.
~ My Cake Crumbler ~
I found it easier to use my Kitchen Aid to mix the cake and frosting together.
This mixture was way too sticky for me to roll into balls.
It really needs to be chilled and then rolled. I stopped rolling several times to re chill.
(*and worked on the following chocolate covered pretzel recipe at this time)
Place the rolled up cake balls on wax paper.
When melting the chocolate be sure not to overheat or get water into the chocolate.
I rolled the balls around the melted chocolate then spooned them out & back onto the waxed paper.
I found sprinkled coconut flakes did a nice job of hiding the less than perfect places.
It also gave my daughter a very important job.
These really were scrumptious and I would definitely make them again!
While I waited for my cake/frosting mixture to chill we made these incredibly easy ...
Chocolate Covered Pretzels
and with the many new Hershey Kiss flavors out we made several different kinds (have you tasted the candy cane kisses, wow!). So simple and little ones can really help out.
Ingredients
Bag of pretzels ~ the recipe I found called for circle pretzels but I picked up a bag of these window panes and it worked just fine.
Bag of Hershey Kisses ~ we used dark chocolate kisses, cherry, and hugs. The cherry ones were delicious but a bit messy as the melted cherry filling doesn't quite harden (don't let this deter you if you like the cherry kisses!)
M&M's ~ you won't need a whole bag (oh what to do with the leftovers)
Directions
Remove foil from the Kisses. (perfect kid job but keep your eye on the kid or they will eat your chocolate)
Place the pretzels on a cookie tray (lined with wax paper for easy clean up).
Place one Kiss on top of each pretzel.
Heat in 200F oven for about 5 minutes or until chocolate has softened (the hugs/white chocolate tend to melt faster).
Remove from oven, place an M&M on top and lightly press down.
Cool in refrigerator for about 10 minutes or until set.
Store in an airtight container or eat them all right away!
Well it's summer (though it doesn't feel like it here) and with summer comes the critters. 
