10 Rockin’ Recipes for 2010: #2 Candy Cane Brownie Lollipops

If you’ve got some leftover candy canes, here’s the perfect way to put them to use and turn them into a fun New Year’s treat!

When I was thinking about what to make for the Beautiful Christmas (on a budget) series that I worked on with Cha-Ching on a Shoestring, Good, True & Beautiful, and Infarrantly Creative, my friend at church gave me the recipe for Candy Cane Brownie Lollipops from The Pampered Chef. I thought they were too cute! I ended up making homemade candy canes for our series, but I kept the lollipop recipe in the back of my mind. Until today! I gathered up the ingredients, and while I had a bit of a fiasco the first time around with melting the chocolate almond bark, I persevered. And my toddler, Bradley, had the best time breaking the candy canes into little pieces. Check out the steps below.

Ingredients:

1 package (18-21 oz.) fudge brownie mix (plus ingredients to make brownies)
24 candy canes
10 oz. chocolate-flavored almond bark
Additional decorations, such as red jimmies (optional)

Directions:

• Line sheet pan with a piece of parchment paper. Lightly spray with nonstick cooking spray and set aside. Prepare brownie mix according to package directions. Pour batter into pan. Bake 30 minutes, or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out with moist crumbs attached. Remove from oven to cooling rack, and cool for 20 minutes or until slightly warm.

• Meanwhile, cut straight ends of candy canes off to form 4½-inch sticks. Place candy cane tops into resealable plastic bag, and crush into small pieces. Set aside.

• Roll brownie into 24 smooth balls. You can use a coffee scoop or something like that to make them the same size. (I didn’t have a coffee scoop, so I just eyeballed it. As with my homemade candy canes, these are like snowflakes. Every one is different!) Then, insert candy cane sticks into centers of balls, mounding brownie around each stick.

• Place almond bark into small bowl. Microwave according to package directions until smooth. (The microwave method didn’t work out so well for me, so I used the stove-top directions the second time around. Worked like a charm!) Spoon melted bark evenly over each ball, turning to coat completely. Allow excess bark to drip off. Dip into reserved crushed candy canes or jimmies, and stand upright on a piece of parchment paper. Repeat with remaining almond bark, lollipops and crushed candy. Let stand until set.

• You can place into miniature cupcake liners and wrap lollipops in cellophane, tie with ribbon and use as table décor, place cards, or take-home goodies for a special holiday touch. Yields 24 servings.

I originally thought about using white chocolate almond bark for these and going with a blue, wintery theme, but Hubs voted on the traditional Christmas colors. So that’s what you get, folks! Because I aim to please.

Have you made these little goodies before? Can you come up with any creative toppings? I’d love to hear some different ideas. Just leave a comment below!

Katie is a pastor’s wife, a stay-at-home mama of one little munchkin, and a part-time nursing student. Her family lives in a little cabin on a farm in Kentucky. Katie has been blogging since 2005, and she shares fun and thrifty talk for a well-managed home at her latest project, Frugal Femina.

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