Pop Goes The World…
Well, this was a Daring Baker first for me. No, it’s not that I haven’t made this before, it’s that I have never waited until the day it was due to do the challenge! AHHHHH. I thought I had more time, guess not.
This month’s challenge comes from Elle of Feeding My Enthusiasms and Deborah of Taste and Tell. They selected Cheesecake Pops from one of my newer cookbooks, Sticky, Chewy, Messy, Gooey. These fell into the messy category as the dipping in the chocolate and the flying sprinkles everywhere got a little messy. Then again, I was in a bit of a hurry. 
These fun little pops would be a great thing to make with your kids or to serve at one of their parties. They can be formed into many shapes. If I had a little more time to be creative, I would have gone that route. Even if you are not a kid, these are certainly tasty…I mean it’s cheesecake on a stick…covered in chocolate!
Cheesecake Pops
Makes 30 ¢â¬â€œ 40 Pops
5 8-oz. packages cream cheese at room temperature
2 cups sugar
¼ cup all-purpose flour
¼ teaspoon salt
5 large eggs
2 egg yolks
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
¼ cup heavy cream
Boiling water as needed
Thirty to forty 8-inch lollipop sticks
1 pound chocolate, finely chopped ¢â¬â€œ you can use all one kind or half and half of dark, milk, or white (Alternately, you can use 1 pound of flavored coatings, also known as summer coating, confectionary coating or wafer chocolate ¢â¬â€œ candy supply stores carry colors, as well as the three kinds of chocolate.)
2 tablespoons vegetable shortening
(Note: White chocolate is harder to use this way, but not impossible)
Assorted decorations such as chopped nuts, colored jimmies, crushed peppermints, mini chocolate chips, sanding sugars, dragees) – Optional
Position oven rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 325 degrees F. Set some water to boil.
In a large bowl, beat together the cream cheese, sugar, flour, and salt until smooth. If using a mixer, mix on low speed. Add the whole eggs and the egg yolks, one at a time, beating well (but still at low speed) after each addition. Beat in the vanilla and cream.
Grease a 10-inch cake pan (not a springform pan), and pour the batter into the cake pan. Place the pan in a larger roasting pan. Fill the roasting pan with the boiling water until it reaches halfway up the sides of the cake pan. Bake until the cheesecake is firm and slightly golden on top, 35 to 45 minutes.
Remove the cheesecake from the water bath and cool to room temperature. Cover the cheesecake with plastic wrap and refrigerate until very cold, at least 3 hours or up to overnight.
When the cheesecake is cold and very firm, scoop the cheesecake into 2-ounce balls and place on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Carefully insert a lollipop stick into each cheesecake ball. Freeze the cheesecake pops, uncovered, until very hard, at least 1 ¢â¬â€œ 2 hours.
When the cheesecake pops are frozen and ready for dipping, prepare the chocolate. In the top of a double boiler, set over simmering water, or in a heatproof bowl set over a pot of simmering water, heat half the chocolate and half the shortening, stirring often, until chocolate is melted and chocolate and shortening are combined. Stir until completely smooth. Do not heat the chocolate too much or your chocolate will lose it¢â¬â„¢s shine after it has dried. Save the rest of the chocolate and shortening for later dipping, or use another type of chocolate for variety.
Alternately, you can microwave the same amount of chocolate coating pieces on high at 30 second intervals, stirring until smooth.
Quickly dip a frozen cheesecake pop in the melted chocolate, swirling quickly to coat it completely. Shake off any excess into the melted chocolate. If you like, you can now roll the pops quickly in optional decorations. You can also drizzle them with a contrasting color of melted chocolate (dark chocolate drizzled over milk chocolate or white chocolate over dark chocolate, etc.) Place the pop on a clean parchment paper-lined baking sheet to set. Repeat with remaining pops, melting more chocolate and shortening (or confectionary chocolate pieces) as needed.
Refrigerate the pops for up to 24 hours, until ready to serve.
Source: Sticky, Chewy, Messy, Gooey by Jill O¢â¬â„¢Connor
89 Responses
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April 27th, 2008 at 3:57 pm
heheheeee! Time flies doesn’t it? Well I am SO RELIEVED you’ve posted.. I’ve been clickin’ all day.
They are very cute! Well done on the fly, Gracie my love!
xoxooxo
April 27th, 2008 at 3:59 pm
c’est magnifique Peabody
April 27th, 2008 at 4:05 pm
I love the triangles – it made me realize that these would be great as little Christmas trees for the holidays! I’m glad you were able to do the challenge – they look wonderful!
April 27th, 2008 at 4:05 pm
Your cheesecake pops are urging me to bite into them! That’s how tempting they are.
April 27th, 2008 at 4:14 pm
This looks so gooey delicious and cute. And yes, who can resist a cheesecake on a stick covered in chocolate!
April 27th, 2008 at 4:19 pm
yay! So colorful!!!
April 27th, 2008 at 4:40 pm
Yeah, me too I’ve been clicking all day!
Love the white and the triangle.
Actually I think this is just the perfect cheese cake. One bite, well and then maybe two!
April 27th, 2008 at 4:50 pm
Your pops are so colorful and fun!
April 27th, 2008 at 4:59 pm
I’ve looked at many of the cheescake pops and your’s are the prettiest.
April 27th, 2008 at 5:00 pm
Lovely as usual Peabody! The sprinkles are a very nice touch.
April 27th, 2008 at 5:16 pm
Glad you were able to make them. I thought the dipping and sprinkles was really messy as well!
April 27th, 2008 at 5:26 pm
Looks like you work well under pressure, Peabody!! I LOVE your sprinkle-covered cheesecake lollipops – hooray for making them just in time! :0)
April 27th, 2008 at 5:26 pm
Love! the colour schemes you used. Green and blue with white is so chic!
April 27th, 2008 at 5:27 pm
Errr, I mean blue and yellow – not green. That’s the border at the side. Must move away from the screen. Too much time on the computer is making my eyes cross.
April 27th, 2008 at 5:27 pm
Looks deeeelish! Looks like you and I will be sitting in Geometry class together!
April 27th, 2008 at 5:33 pm
For being done in a jiffy, they sure look fabulous!
April 27th, 2008 at 5:54 pm
Ah, I must be extra special, because mine were both messy AND sticky.
April 27th, 2008 at 5:57 pm
Nice to see your post and glad I wasn’t the only one who waited until the last minute! Your pops are totally cute and fun
I can just imagine the flinging of chocolate and sprinkles!
April 27th, 2008 at 5:58 pm
So cute! I love the coloured sprinkles. You know inspite of myself I just loved making these!
April 27th, 2008 at 6:09 pm
Whew! You’re great under pressure – your pops look so dainty and pretty! Terrific!
April 27th, 2008 at 6:21 pm
How pretty and Springy! You did a great job.
April 27th, 2008 at 6:24 pm
I love the pink sprinkles on the white chocolate! Grace under pressure! Great job!
Carrie
April 27th, 2008 at 6:25 pm
they look like sparkly icebergs. how cute.
April 27th, 2008 at 6:31 pm
These are so pretty and colorful! I love seeing how creative everyone has gotten with these. The pink sprinkles are especially lovely.
April 27th, 2008 at 6:32 pm
I ran myself down to the last minute as well. Your pops look lovely, Peabody!
April 27th, 2008 at 6:51 pm
Love your pops! I like the triangle shape!
April 27th, 2008 at 7:05 pm
Perfect party food — I think one perfect bite of cheesecake, with chocolate on the outside, is just what I’d want!
April 27th, 2008 at 7:08 pm
Now you know how I feel. Every single month, I’m right up to the end. Maybe I like living life on the edge? Uh, nope. Cute pops, peabody.
April 27th, 2008 at 7:17 pm
Really beautiful and springlike. I can see these at a shower or some type of party.
April 27th, 2008 at 7:20 pm
Your pops look great! I almost always forget to do the challenge till the day of; know exactly how you feel!
April 27th, 2008 at 7:31 pm
Great pops! I love the pink sprinkles.
April 27th, 2008 at 7:31 pm
I made mine early in the month but for some reason thought I had a lot more time to write the post, I was scrambling to get it done tonight, (of course, I had all day to do it, but morel hunting got in the way).
April 27th, 2008 at 8:03 pm
awesome as usual, peabody!
keep up the great work!
April 27th, 2008 at 8:09 pm
You’re still on time and those are cute and creative pops. Like you say, cheesecake on a stick and chocolate…what’s not to like?
April 27th, 2008 at 8:09 pm
Very cute pops Peabody. You definitely can’t go wrong with delicious cheesecake on a stick.
April 27th, 2008 at 8:25 pm
i waited till day-of, too (but i have done that on a few challenges before)! this time it was an accident, as i had it in my head that it was due on the 30th. love your pastel decorations!
April 27th, 2008 at 8:29 pm
This reminds me of the frozen cheesecake on a stick they serve on Balboa Island.
April 27th, 2008 at 8:44 pm
Procrastination or not, yours look very fun and festive – I love the pastel colors!
April 27th, 2008 at 9:01 pm
a hurry or not, these pops look terrific!! oops, i see someone else just wrote that, haha. well basic shapes or not, i love the spring colors!
April 27th, 2008 at 9:08 pm
Such pretty pops, Peabody! Great job!!
April 27th, 2008 at 10:50 pm
I had Lisa earlier on the phone and we were wondering where the heck you were!!
They look stunning in white and colored sprinkles!
April 27th, 2008 at 10:58 pm
Very pretty! I agree… fun for kiddos to help. My son was going nuts choosing things for me to dip the pops in!
April 28th, 2008 at 12:04 am
They look ever so cute and pretty! I love the decorations! Wonderful!
Cheers,
Rosa
April 28th, 2008 at 1:54 am
So we were baking this one together then? I too thought I had a few days to spare..
They look gorgeous! Serious partyfood!
April 28th, 2008 at 1:59 am
Pea, you’re too good…in a hurry ,and still you managed to make them so perfectly
April 28th, 2008 at 2:08 am
So, so cute! Brilliant ideas for the coatings – I love what you’ve done with the decorations.
April 28th, 2008 at 5:39 am
I LOVE the colors on that first one. The sprinkles make it so much fun!!
April 28th, 2008 at 5:40 am
So pretty!!! I love them.
April 28th, 2008 at 5:53 am
They look beautiful, you can’t even tell you were in a hurry! ; )
April 28th, 2008 at 6:33 am
They’re adorable! I wouldn’t have guessed they were a rush job.
April 28th, 2008 at 6:48 am
Cute little cheesecake pops you got there.
April 28th, 2008 at 6:55 am
Oh I Love them they so bright and beautiful they look delicious too
April 28th, 2008 at 6:56 am
They look like spring with the colors that you chose!
April 28th, 2008 at 8:26 am
your last minute cheesecake pops look perfect! Love the pastel sprinkles!
April 28th, 2008 at 8:30 am
Still very cute Peabody, even in a rush.
April 28th, 2008 at 8:35 am
Last minute or not, they came out great! Glad you made the deadline.
April 28th, 2008 at 9:42 am
They look great none the less! I would like to try white chocolate next time I make these. I ended up using milk chocolate this go around.
April 28th, 2008 at 10:03 am
Spring is here!
Your balls look amazing.
Great work.
Iisha of
http://thefablifeofi2daj.blogspot.com/
April 28th, 2008 at 10:35 am
Whoa! These are serious party pops! *so* pretty!
April 28th, 2008 at 11:32 am
They still look great, even if they were last minute. I really like the pink sugar.
April 28th, 2008 at 11:32 am
Pretty pops, even in a rush
Well done.
April 28th, 2008 at 11:37 am
last minute or not they still look amazing! Wish I would have done white chocolate!
April 28th, 2008 at 11:57 am
In a rush? They look so cute that one would think you had all month to do them LOL! Nice one!
April 28th, 2008 at 12:30 pm
My sister is gonna love these, Pea.
April 28th, 2008 at 12:38 pm
They look fantastic I will have to try to make them.
April 28th, 2008 at 1:34 pm
Just gorgeous! The little wedge shape is a perfect choice.
April 28th, 2008 at 3:38 pm
I love the triangle shape! Your pops look beautiful with the way the sprinkles stand out.
Yeah, made the cheesecake on midnight, then finished the pops on Sunday. That has been the latest I’ve ever finished a challenge.
April 28th, 2008 at 3:46 pm
I love how you shaped and decorated the pops! I am thinking the white chocolate is very elegant!
April 28th, 2008 at 4:27 pm
So cute! I’m wishing that I had done that as well…made a small batch yesterday. Oh well. You pops are quite good looking!
April 28th, 2008 at 5:21 pm
As always-stunning!
April 28th, 2008 at 6:03 pm
These look so decidedly cheerful!
j
April 28th, 2008 at 7:29 pm
You did this the day OF? Wow! They look great!
April 28th, 2008 at 10:09 pm
So cute! I love the pale colors.
April 28th, 2008 at 10:29 pm
oh my gosh! how fat are you trying to make me?
April 28th, 2008 at 10:31 pm
i was wondering when you were going to post!
i love the cute little dipping dots…they’re adorable
April 28th, 2008 at 11:58 pm
Your pops look gorgeous. The colors are beautiful. I bet they tasted great too.
April 29th, 2008 at 4:09 am
Nice pops! I can’t believe that you did them in a day. I took three days to do mine.
April 29th, 2008 at 5:28 am
These look like a beautiful tribute to spring. Great job!
April 29th, 2008 at 11:19 am
How pretty! Love the whimsy. These look like the perfect party treat.
April 29th, 2008 at 4:33 pm
Welcome to my world Peabody. Hey… at least you got it posted on time.
And you did a great job of capturing this whimsical challenge photographically.
April 29th, 2008 at 4:55 pm
Adorable. I love the shapes of them, and they are so cute!!
April 30th, 2008 at 12:32 am
I love the pastel colors you used. It’s very distinctive and makes me feel like a kid, as I gaze at the pictures.
April 30th, 2008 at 6:01 am
The next time I make these, triangles will be the order of the day.
April 30th, 2008 at 10:18 am
I LOVE that you made them in triangles… do you like the flavor with the white chocolate? I wanted to use it, but I was afraid (from the comments about white chocolate being harder to use).
Yours are just adorable…
)
April 30th, 2008 at 2:22 pm
I like the beautiful color combos–mine thought they were going to be triangles, but when push came to shove they changed their minds and insisted on ball shapes. Sigh.
May 2nd, 2008 at 4:47 pm
I was really looking forward to seeing your pictures this challenge! They look awesome.
May 4th, 2008 at 1:26 pm
desperately cute little things
it’s … art
You’ve done wonderful lollipops, congratulations
May 5th, 2008 at 4:40 am
you never fail to amaze me with your decorative skills! Even when you make it late, it still turns out so nice!
May 5th, 2008 at 9:53 pm
i love the pink decorating sugar! also triangles *and* white chocolate! Nice!!