Fourth of July Thin Mint Cake Pops

Cake Pops...they are all the rage right now! My first attempt was not so hot though. I put WAY too much frosting in the cake pops and they were mushy and wouldn't stay on the stick. So a couple of weeks later I tried again, this time using an idea my very clever friend came up with. She is a Girl Scout mom as well and had lots and lots of leftover Thin Mints that she didn't sell. So she made cake pops with them. How do you do this, you ask. It was very simple and a very big hit!! And I didn't mess up this time!

You will need:
1 box of Girl Scout Thin Mint cookies
2 ounces of cream cheese (I used 1/3 less fat)
Melted white chocolate chips
Sprinkes and gel frosting decorating tubes
Candy sticks
Foam flower decorating bars

First you will need to crush the cookies into crumbs. I did it with a gallon size zipper bag but you could use a food processor if you wanted to. After you have crushed the cookies, add them to a medium bowl and add the cream cheese. You don't have to soften it because you will work the crumbs and cream cheese together with your hands. Once you have a consistency you can mold, you are ready to make the balls. I worked them into about 2 inch balls and refrigerated them for about 30 minutes to get them hardened just a bit. Meanwhile, melt your white chocoalte chips. You could use whatever kind of chips you wanted...chocolate, white, butterscotch...I used white to go along with my 4th of July theme. I used my little Wilton choclate melter but you could put them in the microwave or melt them over a double boiler as well. After you take your balls out of the fridge, insert your cake pop sticks (candy sticks) into the pops and then dip them into the chocolate. Immediately sprinkle your decorating sprinkles on top and mount them onto the foam flower blocks. Then put them back into the fridge for another 30 minutes to harden the chocolate. At this point you can decorate them however you want. I found my metal container at Michaels - it is really a silverware holder. I put the foam blocks inside the silverware compartments, added some checkered wax paper (also from Michaels) and wound some wire garland around the middle. I think it turned out so cute!!

I was thinking you could probably do this for any kind of cookie you like. I have some Girl Scout Do Si Dos that would go great with peanut butter chips. The possibilities are endless!!

Have fun!!