Cake Pops

For my son's upcoming birthday, I thought I would make some cake pops to go along with his cake.  I love eating cake pops--but making them?  Not so much.  Since I have done it a couple of times now, it was easier this time (still not "easy", though--please be warned).  I looked through recipes from a few sites and most of them are quite similar to the one I had used in the past.  I also took some hints from this site:
http://www.instructables.com/id/How-To-Make-Cake-Pops-Step-By-Step/

Whereas I'm sure there are people that really care if the cake pops look like perfect round balls on the end of a stick, having attempted such before, I decided I would just go for dipping them and leaving them with flat bottoms, stick up.  Not one person seemed displeased about this, especially my son lol.

Ingredients:

1 box of cake mix with the ingredients to prepare it (usually eggs, oil, water)
1/2 can of frosting
2 bags (12 oz. each) of candy melts
50 lollipop sticks

Instructions:

1. Prepare the cake as instructed on the box, but use only 3/4 of the amount of oil indicated.  Since the cake is going to get crumbled, it does not matter what size pan you use (I used 13"x9").

2. After the cake has cooled completely, cut into pieces and place pieces in food processor (unless you have a massive one, you'll need to do this in batches).  Process until only crumbs are visible.  **you can also crumble by hand, but it is quite messy and time consuming--I don't recommend it**

3. Add the 1/2 can frosting to the crumbled cake and mix together.  This is best done with your hands (yes, literally).  Mix until the texture is clay-like.

4. Line a baking sheet (or tray, or platter) with parchment paper.  Form balls by hand that are around 1 inch diameter and place on parchment.

5. Chill balls in fridge for a few hours or freeze for 20 minutes (I chose the latter).  If you are freezing them, do NOT go past 20 minutes or they will be too cold to coat correctly.

6. Pour the candy melts into a microwave-safe bowl.  Microwave for 30 seconds, stir, and then repeat until the melts have just about melted and can be stirred to completely melt.  I only went for 1 minute and 20 seconds total and it worked perfectly.  The problem is, if you get them too hot, they will turn into a nasty globby texture and start to separate.  Also, reheating after this will result in the same thing, so basically, you get one shot at it.  I microwaved only 1 bag of melts, then dipped, then repeated, as this is a temperature sensitive process.

7. Once your melts are ready, dip one end of the lollipop stick in the melts, then insert in the center of a cake ball.

8. Plunge the ball into the melts and if it is not deep enough to coat entirely, use a spoon to help coat.  Don't roll the ball in the melts--it will most likely fall off the stick and it doesn't work very well even if it does stay on the stick.  Just use the spoon, trust me.

9. Return coated ball to parchment and if desired, sprinkle with sanding sugar or other decoration (I used mini m&m's this time).

10. The candy shell will harden fairly quickly, so no need for any extra cooling.  Enjoy with a glass of milk and celebrate!