What’s better than cake? Cake pops! These bite-sized balls of deliciousness have built-in portion control, which is important because you’ll want to devour the batch!  This moist, festive pop is the perfect balance of sweet and nutrition. If you want a show-stopping dessert, make these for your next celebration. We highly recommend the Babycakes 12 cake pop maker, but we also included the by hand instructions, which are messy and fun for children.

Ingredients:
½ cup all-purpose flour, enriched
¼ cup whole wheat flour
½ cup brown sugar, packed
3 tablespoons cocoa powder, unsweetened
½ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon sea salt
1 tablespoon flaxseeds, ground
¼ cup low-fat buttermilk
¼ cup low-fat milk
3 tablespoons grapeseed oil
1 egg
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
30 cake pop sticks

Powdered Sugar Coating:
½ cup powdered sugar
2 teaspoons water (if not using cake pop machine)

Directions for Cake Pop Machine:

1. Plug in your cake pop maker and allow it to come up to the baking temperature.
2. In a large bowl, combine flours, brown sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and flaxseeds, mix thoroughly.
3. In a medium bowl, combine buttermilk, milk, oil, egg, and vanilla extract. Whisk thoroughly. Gradually fold wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, and mix until combined.
4. Spoon ½ tablespoon of batter into each well. Close the lid, and wait 4-5 minutes. Open the lid and insert a toothpick into one of the cake pops – if it comes out clean, it is done!
5. Carefully remove cake pops from machine and place on a plate or wire rack to cool. Repeat with remaining batter.
6. In a shallow plate or bowl, pour powdered sugar. Insert a stick into each cake pop, and roll each pop into the powdered sugar to coat until complete and eat!

Directions for Hand-Rolled Cake Pops:

1. Preheat the oven to 350°
2. In a large bowl, combine flours, brown sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and flaxseed, mix thoroughly.
3. In a medium bowl, combine buttermilk, milk, oil, egg, and vanilla extract. Whisk thoroughly. Gradually fold wet ingredients into dry ingredients, and mix until combined.
4. In an 8 x 8 square pan with parchment paper, pour the batter evenly into the pan. Bake for 13-15 minutes or until an inserted toothpick can be removed cleanly. Cool on a wire rack.
5. To prepare the icing, in a medium bowl, mix ¼ cup powdered sugar with the water, adding one teaspoon at a time and mixing thoroughly. Set aside.
6. When cake is completely cooled, use your hands to crumble the cake into a large bowl. Pour the icing over the cake crumbs and mix to evenly distribute. Prepare more icing as necessary.
7. Scoop 1 tablespoon balls of cake crumbs and roll them tightly between your hands so they form 1-inch balls. Repeat with the rest of the crumbs.
8. Insert sticks into pops and roll in remaining ¼ cup powdered sugar in a shallow plate or bowl. Stand upright and enjoy.

Makes 15 servings (2 cake pops per serving).

Nutrition Facts per serving:  100 calories; 3.5g fat (0g sat fat, 1g mono, 2g poly, 0g trans fat); 10mg cholesterol; 17g carbohydrate (1g fiber, 12g sugar); 2g protein; 95mg sodium; 2% DV calcium; 2% DV iron.

– Stacey Antine, MS, RDN, author, Appetite for Life, founder, HealthBarn USA, director, HealthBarn Foundation, and recognized as top 10 dietitians nationally by Today’s Dietitian magazine for her work with HealthBarn USA.