I made cheesecake pops several years ago for our SoCal family Christmas and they were a big hit then, so I decided this was the year to make them for our Wolfe family Christmas. Did I mention that they are great to look at, everyone loves them and last but not least, they are a very time intensive project. I worked two days for the 52 pops that I made, and that was with help. My son scooped a whole cheesecake into the balls that I needed to work with, which helped so much. If he hadn't done that the night before, they would not have been completed in time for the party.
As it ended up, I was decorating until 4pm in the afternoon, which left me with just enough time to get myself ready and to the party by 6:30. Oh, and one other little detail, as I was walking out the door, I somehow fell down and found myself laying in a downward position on the steps, with my legs above me, stunned and bleeding. At least I wasn't home alone, my crash was heard and everyone came running, I was helped up, brushed off and headed for the party.
Isn't it funny how just when you think that you are on Holiday overload, and you are up against time with just enough time to accomplish what you have set out to do, real life continues on, just like every other day, and, splat, you find yourself ... on the ground or stuck in traffic, on a impossible to ignore phone call, in the slowest lane at the grocery store, etc. We still managed to arrive only 4 minutes late, and I'm hoping I won't still be feeling like I was run over by a truck in a few days, hopefully.
I digressed, now, about the cheesecake pops. I have a few suggestions about things that have worked for me. If you decide to make them, you need to allow two days, especially if you are baking the cheesecake from scratch. After cooling to room temperature, it needs to be refrigerated for 24 hours so that it becomes firm. I would suggest baking your cheese cake a little longer than you normally would, just to make sure that it firms up enough.
After the 24 hours in the fridge, you can scoop them out with the scoop size of your choice. I then roll mine in crushed graham crackers or crushed chocolate wafers. You know, the Famous ones in the small yellow box, usually on the top shelf on the cookie isle. Within the hour of dipping and decorating, I place a plate of about a dozen balls in the freezer on a plate. I wait about 30 minutes so that they partially freeze and then take them out one at a time to dip.
I take one of the Wilton cookie sticks and dip it into the warm coating, just covering about a half inch. I then poke it into about the middle of the ball and immediately put it into the coating, turning it in a circle until the whole ball is coated. I take it out of the mixture and keep turning the ball until all of the excess coating has dripped off into the bowl or has stopped shifting. Once the pop goes into the warm chocolate or candy coating, it will start to harden very fast, so you need to have your sprinkles/candies right there so that you can start sprinkling them immediately.
Next, I set them in a sturdy mug where they can harden completely and then I place them in the fridge or freezer, depending on when I need them. It usually takes a little longer than I think it will, so I suggest making these at least the day before you actually need them, if your schedule allows. It seems that mine never does; somehow, I'm always dipping and sprinkling right up to the very last minute! I always place them in individual bags, just because I don't like other peoples dirty fingers touching my food before it is eaten. That's about it.
Just tonight, I saw in the freezer that a dozen had been left behind accidentally. That will be an unexpected treat to add to our Christmas Eve or Christmas day dinner. Yes, there are two more Christmas gatherings in our near future. And I'm still loving it!!
Enjoy!
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