Welcome Friends and happy March! It's officially the month of green in our house...good thing it's my favorite color! Some of my blog friends and I had so much fun with our Secret Santa and Valentine's Day blog swap, we wanted to continue the fun for St. Patrick's Day, but this time we want you to join us!
So today we bring you the Lucky Link Up! Each one of us is sharing a St. Patrick's Day themed recipe and we are including a link a up below for anyone who'd like to join in! Just post your recipe to your blog and link up with one of us using the LinkyTool below by next Monday, March 10th. After that we will work to match everyone up with another blogger and you will then make that blogger's recipe! Then we'll all share how it goes down - the good, the bad, the pinterest-worthy on St. Patrick's Day, March 17th.
So now...let's talk St. Patrick's Day cake balls!!!! These are guaranteed to keep little pinching fingers away from you...they will be too busy slamming these amazing cake balls in their mouth! Seriously, I can't stop eating them. Someone please send help!
Here's what you'll need. A cake mix and all the stuff you need to make it. Also, a can of frosting, white baking chips, food coloring, vegetable oil, and sprinkles.
First, bake the cake. Easy enough, right?
Let it cool for a few minutes, but not all the way. Then crumble the entire cake in to a bowl and add the can of frosting....then stir it all up! This would be a good task for kiddos because it isn't too hard.
Try not to eat the entire bowl. It's that good. Once it's all mixed up, pop your bowl in to the freezer for about 10 minutes. When the cake is warm and gooey it's really hard to work with...putting it in the freezer helps firm it up.
Next, roll the cake in to small balls. These are about the size of a cookie scoop. The smaller they are, the easier they are to work with. If your cake balls have warmed up, put them back in the freezer again for a few minutes.
Then, melt your baking chips in the microwave...I like to do 30 second intervals followed by 10 seconds until they are all melted. Here's another tip: add a little bit of vegetable oil to the chips to make the mixture smoother and easier to work with. Then, use your food coloring to tint the melted chocolate (if you want to!). I like to use a mini spatula and a tooth pick to dunk the cake balls. I dunk one in, use the spatula to make sure it's covered, then use the tooth pick to help pull it out. You have to work fast! Place the covered cake balls on to some wax paper so they don't stick to everything.
Here's another tip....use sprinkles to cover up your imperfections....works every time! Also, be sure to take a break every three cake balls or so to sprinkle...otherwise the chocolate will dry and you won't be able to get your sprinkle on. This would also be a good task for a little one....sprinkler. My little one was thankfully taking a nap during the cake ball baking time...otherwise, there would be no cake balls today.
Luckily, my husband is an excellent cake ball sprinkle decorator.
Ta-Da! (Final tip: You can make these with any type of cake and any type of frosting. I prefer a darker cake (like chocolate or red velvet) because they tend to look better than a lighter cake when they are cooked and then mashed up. Lighter cakes show imperfections, like slight burns, a lot more.
So...now for the link up! We are looking forward to seeing all the yummy treats! Everyone will have one week to make the swapped recipe. Feel free to make any edits to the recipe you want to fit your dietary needs/restrictions. Perhaps you are dairy free, don't use food coloring, or have trouble finding an ingredient at your local market - no problem. Make any edits you want to make it your own!
Your recipe will get exposure on another blog and your hosts (us!) will be pinning our favorite recipes to a St. Patrick's Day recipe Pinterest board. This is a great way for you to meet new blogger friends!
We hope you are as excited about this link as we are!
1. Link up your recipe below by March 10th.
2. Check out who you've been partnered up with and recreate their recipe
3. March 17th: share the recipe you've recreated and come back here to linkup your final recipe!
Here are your hosts!
Erinn at Strawberry Swing and Other Things
Natasha at Schue Love
Natalie at Nat Your Average Girl
Veronika at Veronika's Blushing
Erin at Hello Erin
Emily at Dear Owen
Colleen at Meet the Sullivans
Vanessa at Sunflower State of Mind
Megan at Hello Newlywed Life
Natasha at Hello Happiness
Sara at Running from the Law