Create May 2019

Can you even believe that May is almost over? I know I can’t. It just flew right on by and almost completely got away from me. On that note, does anybody else feel like May is honestly almost as busy as Christmas? Because I do. Busy in a different kind of way, but still crazy busy. Either way, I was able to work on my #Create2019 project this month: Cake pops.

Guys, not to brag, but I make the best cake pops I’ve ever tasted. Blake and I keep trying others, and nothing else is quite as good. The problem? They never turn out pretty. So that was my goal for this month. Well, that and to try out some new flavor combos. And I am here to report that, while I’m still not 100% there yet, I have upped my cake pop game quite a bit this month. (Cue the party music).

Here are my best tips, in no particular order, for tasty (and semi-pretty) cakes pops:

1. Start with Betty Crocker cake mix. It is honestly just the best. Some people swear by Aldi brand cake mix. It’s good, but I think Betty Crocker is the way to go. Wanna hit it out of the park? Buy the box of Party Rainbow Chip cake mix and the coordinating icing. You won’t regret it. I’ve gotten the most compliments on that specific kind.
2. Get yourself some good quality melting wafers. Not baking chips. They simply don’t work as well. No, you need melting wafers. If you want a smooth coating, splurge a little bit. I recommend Ghirardelli brand. They taste super good, plus, they melt and coat beautifully. I do not recommend Wilton brand, for two reasons. 1. It doesn’t taste as good. 2. They don’t really melt much better than cheap baking chips. I also found a brand at Michael’s that was pretty good, Choco Maker. I like them because they have a variety of colors and flavors. Plus, melted fairly nicely, which was a bonus.
3. Some tutorials instruct you to put your rolled cake balls into the freezer, and some instruct you to place them in the fridge. I’ve tried both, and I’m here to say that for me, it worked best to put them into our deep freezer.
4. If at all possible, melt your wafers in a tall mug. This makes it easier to cover all of your cake pop. While dipping, I also found it easiest to pick up the mug and move it around until the cake pop was covered, instead of swirling the cake pop around in the chocolate (does that make sense?) Otherwise, I had a lot of cake pops fall off the stick. Still tasty, but technically no longer a cake pop.
5. It helps to have some tiny helpers to mush up your baked cake and roll up the balls. Many hands make for quick work, and they can roll almost faster than I can scoop.

6. Speaking of scooping, it helps to use a scoop like the one sitting in that bowl. Mine is Pampered Chef. I believe it’s this one. That will give you nice, even sized cake pops.

7. It doesn’t hurt to have helpers sticking the sticks into the cake balls either. Just make sure they get them fairly centered, and don’t poke them all the way through.

8. If adding sprinkles to your cake pops, do so almost immediately after dipping, because that shell dries quickly.

9. One box of cake mix makes a heck of a lot of cake pops, so be prepared to share. I wonder if they freeze well? I’ll have to try that and report back.

10. Cake pops are fairly involved. I like to make the cake a day in advance, and then turn them into cake pops the following day. That helps to break it up a little. (Plus, cooling time takes foooorrrrreeeeevvvvveeeeeeerrrr and I’m just too darn impatient).

This time we made Chocolate Fudge cake mix with white chocolate coating and some with coffee coating. I prefer the coffee, the kids prefer the white chocolate (thank goodness, that means more for me!) Earlier in the month we made Party Rainbow Chip with white chocolate coating and some with dark chocolate coating. Time and again, the Party Rainbow Chip with white chocolate coating is my absolute fave. But let’s be honest, they’re all good. (Unless they’re made with the Wilton wafers, in which case I don’t care for them 😅). Now don’t mind me while I go come up with some names for these babies, and maybe eat one or two while I’m at it.

Create 2019

Photo by Studio 7042 on Pexels.com

By now it’s basically the end of January, and many of you may have already abandoned your resolutions for 2019. Right? I get it. You get all pumped up and ready to go when we ring in the new year, and then a few weeks go by, reality sets in and you see your resolutions slowly slipping through your fingers. Well, here in the Behr household we have ceased setting resolutions every year. We are, however, firm believers in goal setting. I know, I know, they sound so much the same. But believe it or not, there’s actually a big difference.

Probably about 3-4 years ago Blake purchased Michael Hyatt’s 5 Days to Your Best Year Ever course. He and a friend completed it, and that whole year I watched incredible growth in his life. There were some kinks to work out, to be sure, but he just kept accomplishing goal after goal after goal. So the following year, he invited me to do the course with him. I wasn’t quite sure it was “for me,” but after watching him grow so much I knew I couldn’t pass up the opportunity. So I did it with him! And you know what? It was super fun, I learned SO MUCH, and I got a whole lot more accomplished that year. We’ve been doing it together every year since. Hyatt’s whole “thing” is creating SMARTER goals for yourself. I’m a terrible goal setter. My goals are usually crazy vague and far too open ended. I have a hard time really zoning in my goals. Luckily for me I have Blake right by my side to help me narrow things down, and ask the right kinds of questions to get my goals where I need them to be. I highly recommend taking this course! The registration for the class is currently closed, but join that waitlist and sign up the second you can. It is worth every. single. penny. (P.s.-this is no way a paid advertisement for the class, I just really love it that much).

All of that to say, one of my goals for 2019 is to exercise my creativity more. That was my first goal, which is way too broad. As a creative, it feeds my soul whenever I get to create. And I love to create in all sorts of manners. Some people are exceptional photographers, and others are amazing seamstresses, while some are professional level bakers or chefs. As for me, well, I’m not an expert in anything, but I love to dabble a bit in everything. I knew I could commit to trying to really hone in on one skill, but I know myself, and how I can get burnt out doing that. I just love doing all sorts of creative things, it’s too hard to narrow it down to only one. Which got me thinking. As I worked through what I wanted my year to look like, I decided to try something new. And guys, I am so excited about it.

Every month this year, my goal is to pursue some sort of creative endeavor. At the beginning of every quarter, I’m going to map out what that specific quarter will look like. This month, my goal was to make macarons. And friends, I took off with it. Blake is so awesome and supportive, he planned an in-date for us to make them together. We made Smore’s Macarons, and other than not being able to get our marshmallow fluff to fluff up, they turned out surprisingly well. Plus, they were delicious. My Pinterest dessert board is filled with macaron recipes and I’m dying to try them all. I signed my oldest up for a macaron making class at a local Macaron Bar as a surprise. I’m so excited to tell her-and to learn right alongside her. Plus, a good friend of mine who has nailed macaron making after taking a class has offered to have me over to teach me all the tips and tricks. To say I’m excited would be an understatement.

Mmmmmmm

That marshmallow was goopy, but man were they delicious

I’ll be chronicling my creative endeavors on social media, and here on the blog using the hashtag #create2019. I would love for you to follow along! It’s gonna be seriously fun. I would love any ideas for what to create as well! I have this quarter planned out, plus a few ideas for the following months, but the calendar isn’t full yet, and I would love to have some input! As always, thanks for coming along. I’m so excited to see what this year holds for my creative soul.