Magical Treats at Home

candy melts

Mickey Mouse Vanilla Cake Pops

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Mickey Mouse Vanilla Cake Pop // magicaltreatsathome.com

Where can I find the original treat?

  • This treat can be found throughout the Disneyland resort.
Mickey Mouse Vanilla Cake Pop // magicaltreatsathome.com

These Mickey Mouse Vanilla Cake Pops are part of the three variety series. See the intro post here!

Mickey Mouse Vanilla Cake Pop // magicaltreatsathome.com

Let your young bakers help cut out shapes, dip chocolate, and decorate the cake pops. If you want your ears to be more precise, you might want to take over that part, or let older bakers help.

Mickey Mouse Vanilla Cake Pop // magicaltreatsathome.com
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Mickey Mouse Vanilla Cake Pop // magicaltreatsathome.com

Mickey Mouse Vanilla Cake Pops

  • Author: Elana Lepkowski
  • Yield: 8 1″, or 4 2″ Mickey Mouse Chocolate Cake Pops 1x
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Description

Vanilla Mickey Mouse shaped cake pops have hidden marshmallow ears, covered with semisweet chocolate, and drizzled with yellow candy melts for a fun treat! A Disneyland-inspired recipe.

Scale

Ingredients

For the vanilla cake pops:

  • 4 cups loosely packed vanilla cake crumbs (either from cake cuttings or from recipe below)
  • 1/4–1/3 cup vanilla frosting (store bought or homemade)
  • 1/2 ounce white candy melts
  • 16 mini marshmallows, or 4 regular sized marshmallows cut in half
  • 6 ounces semisweet chocolate, divided
  • 1 ounce yellow candy melts

Vanilla cake:
Recipe adapted from Dessert for Two

  • 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
  • 1/2 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 large egg
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
  • 6 tablespoons whole milk or milk alternative (I used almond milk)
  • 1/2 teaspoon apple cider vinegar

Special Tools:

Instructions

For the vanilla cake:

  1. Preheat the oven to 350°f and grease and flour a 6″ round cake pan.
  2. In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream together the butter and sugar, 1-2 minutes. Scrape down sides of bowl.
  3. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, and baking soda. Set aside.
  4. To the creamed butter and sugar, mix in the egg and vanilla. Mix well 15 seconds.
  5. Then add half of the dry ingredients to the wet, stir to barely combine, add half the milk and all the vinegar, stir again. Then add in the remaining dry ingredients, and then the rest of the milk.
  6. Pour into the prepared cake pan, and bake on the center rack for 35-37 minutes, or until a cake tester comes out clean.
  7. Let cool in the pan 5 minutes, turn out the cake onto a cooling rack, and let completely cool at least one hour.
  8. Cake can be wrapped until ready to use, or crumbled for the cake pops. Crumbs should be small and no larger than a pea.
    Mickey Mouse Cake Pops: chocolate, vanilla, and red velvet // magicaltreatsathome.com

For the cake pops:

  1. Combine the cake crumbs and frosting in a stand mixer until fully combined. Mixture should stay together when pressed in your hand.
  2. Next, line a loaf pan with parchment and press mixture firmly into about 1/2 to 2/3 of the pan. You want a solid brick to be able to cut out shapes later.
  3. Refrigerate the pan 1-2 hours, or 30 minutes in freezer.
  4. Next, using either a 1″ or 2″ round cookie cutter, cut out the shapes and set aside. This mix yields 8 1″ and 4 2″ circles. You can recombine scraps to cut out more shapes if you’d like, or roll into balls for classic shaped cake pops.
  5. Insert lollipop sticks into each circle.
  6. To attach marshmallows, melt the white chocolate in the microwave inside a microwave safe bowl, like glass, for 30 seconds. Stir and microwave again for an additional 30 seconds. Keep stirring and microwaving in short bursts of 15-20 seconds until melted and smooth. Place a small dollop at the 10 and 2 marks on the circle (like a clock), and immediately place the marshmallow circle facing outwards. Set to dry by placing in the fridge 20-30 minutes. You want to keep your cake pops firm before dipping into chocolate.
    Mickey Mouse Cake Pops: chocolate, vanilla, and red velvet // magicaltreatsathome.com
  7. Next, temper the chocolate. In a microwave safe bowl, add 2/3 of the chocolate. Microwave for 30 seconds, stir, microwave for another 30 seconds. Stir again and microwave in short bursts of 15-20 seconds until chocolate has uniformly melted and has reached between 114° – 118°F. Then add in some of the remaining chocolate, stir to completely melt and then add more (I did three batches). Continue to stir the chocolate until it has cooled to 88° – 89°F. The chocolate is now tempered and ready to use. (Alternatively, you can heat in a double boiler on the stove.)
  8. Remove the cake pops from the refrigerator for 5 minutes before dipping.
  9. Then either dip directly into the chocolate, or use a ladle or spoon to pour the chocolate over the cake pops. Gently tap the lollipop stick to remove any air bubbles and get off any excess chocolate, scraping the back side on the side of the bowl as well. Set aside on a sheet of parchment and repeat until all the cake pops have been covered.
  10. Finally, melt the yellow candy melts in the microwave inside a microwave safe bowl, like glass, for 30 seconds. Stir and microwave again for an additional 30 seconds. Keep stirring and microwaving in short bursts of 15-20 seconds until melted and smooth. Transfer to a piping bag (or directly melt in a heat proof piping bag). Cut a small amount off the tip of the bag and make zig-zagging lines across the face of the cake pop. Let set at least 15 minutes and enjoy!

Notes

  • Cake crumbs should be small and no larger than a pea.
  • To be efficient, after all your cakes are made in this series, you can assembly line adding the marshmallow ears, and then the chocolate dipping.
  • Cake balls should not be too wet or too dry to hold their shape properly. If too wet, add more cake crumbles. If too dry, add more frosting a small bit at a time.
  • You can use a combination semisweet/bittersweet at 75/25% for a less sweeter chocolate coating.
  • If cake balls are slipping off the sticks, dip lollipop stick tip in the melted chocolate and insert into cake ball. Refrigerate a few minutes to set.
  • If you do not pop the air bubbles, then moisture from the cake will seep out as the chocolate dries. If this happens, gently wipe away anything that has seeped out, and coat a second time in the melted chocolate. You can also store freshly baked cake a day or two in the refrigerator, wrapped in plastic wrap, to dry it out a bit before crumbling.

Tempering Chocolate tips:

Keywords: treat, cake pop, vanilla, Mickey Mouse, Disneyland

Mickey Mouse Cake Pops: chocolate, vanilla, and red velvet // magicaltreatsathome.com

Mickey Mouse Red Velvet Cake Pops

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Mickey Mouse Red Velvet Cake Pop // magicaltreatsathome.com

Where can I find the original treat?

  • This treat can be found throughout the Disneyland resort.
Mickey Mouse Red Velvet Cake Pop // magicaltreatsathome.com

These Mickey Mouse Red Velvet Cake Pops are part of the three variety series. See the intro post here!

Mickey Mouse Red Velvet Cake Pop // magicaltreatsathome.com

Let your young bakers help cut out shapes, dip chocolate, and decorate the cake pops. If you want your ears to be more precise, you might want to take over that part, or let older bakers help.

Mickey Mouse Red Velvet Cake Pop // magicaltreatsathome.com
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Mickey Mouse Red Velvet Cake Pop // magicaltreatsathome.com

Mickey Mouse Red Velvet Cake Pops

  • Author: Elana Lepkowski
  • Yield: 8 1″, or 4 2″ Mickey Mouse Chocolate Cake Pops 1x
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Description

Red Velvet Mickey Mouse shaped cake pops have hidden marshmallow ears, covered with semisweet chocolate, and drizzled with red candy melts for a fun treat! A Disneyland-inspired recipe.

Scale

Ingredients

For the chocolate cake pops:

  • 4 cups loosely packed chocolate cake crumbs (either from cake cuttings or from recipe below)
  • 1/4–1/3 cup cream cheese frosting (store bought or homemade)
  • 1/2 ounce white candy melts
  • 16 mini marshmallows, or 4 regular sized marshmallows cut in half
  • 6 ounces semisweet chocolate, divided
  • 1 ounce red candy melts

For the red velvet cake:
Adapted from Dessert for Two

  • 95 g (3/4 cup) flour
  • 4 teaspoons cocoa powder, unsweetened
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 cup coconut oil or neutral oil
  • 2 tablespoons warm water
  • 1/2 cup (99 g) granulated sugar
  • scant 1/4 cup (57 g) Greek yogurt
  • 1 egg
  • Red food coloring (see notes below for type and amounts)
  • 1/4 tsp vanilla

Special Tools:

Instructions

For the cake:

  1. Preheat oven to 350°f and grease and flour a 6″ round cake pan.
  2. In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
  3. In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the oil, warm water, granulated sugar, Greek yogurt, egg, red food coloring, and vanilla.
  4. Add in the dry ingredients and mix until combined.
  5. Pour into prepared baking pan and bake 20-25 minutes, or until a cake tester comes out clean.
  6. Let cool in the pan 5 minutes, turn out the cake onto a cooling rack, and let completely cool at least one hour.
  7. Cake can be wrapped until ready to use, or crumbled for the cake pops. Crumbs should be small and no larger than a pea.
    Mickey Mouse Chocolate, Vanilla, and Red Velvet Cake Pop // magicaltreatsathome.com

For the cake pops:

  1. Combine the cake crumbs and frosting in a stand mixer until fully combined. Mixture should stay together when pressed in your hand.
  2. Next, line a loaf pan with parchment and press mixture firmly into about 1/2 to 2/3 of the pan. You want a solid brick to be able to cut out shapes later.
  3. Refrigerate the pan 1-2 hours, or 30 minutes in freezer.
  4. Next, using either a 1″ or 2″ round cookie cutter, cut out the shapes and set aside. This mix yields 8 1″ and 4 2″ circles. You can recombine scraps to cut out more shapes if you’d like, or roll into balls for classic shaped cake pops.
  5. Insert lollipop sticks into each circle.
  6. To attach marshmallows, melt the white chocolate in the microwave inside a microwave safe bowl, like glass, for 30 seconds. Stir and microwave again for an additional 30 seconds. Keep stirring and microwaving in short bursts of 15-20 seconds until melted and smooth. Place a small dollop at the 10 and 2 marks on the circle (like a clock), and immediately place the marshmallow circle facing outwards. Set to dry by placing in the fridge 20-30 minutes. You want to keep your cake pops firm before dipping into chocolate.
    Mickey Mouse Cake Pops: chocolate, vanilla, and red velvet // magicaltreatsathome.com
  7. Next, temper the chocolate. In a microwave safe bowl, add 2/3 of the chocolate. Microwave for 30 seconds, stir, microwave for another 30 seconds. Stir again and microwave in short bursts of 15-20 seconds until chocolate has uniformly melted and has reached between 114° – 118°F. Then add in some of the remaining chocolate, stir to completely melt and then add more (I did three batches). Continue to stir the chocolate until it has cooled to 88° – 89°F. The chocolate is now tempered and ready to use. (Alternatively, you can heat in a double boiler on the stove.)
  8. Remove the cake pops from the refrigerator for 5 minutes before dipping.
  9. Then either dip directly into the chocolate, or use a ladle or spoon to pour the chocolate over the cake pops. Gently tap the lollipop stick to remove any air bubbles and get off any excess chocolate, scraping the back side on the side of the bowl as well. Set aside on a sheet of parchment and repeat until all the cake pops have been covered.
  10. Finally, melt the red candy melts in the microwave inside a microwave safe bowl, like glass, for 30 seconds. Stir and microwave again for an additional 30 seconds. Keep stirring and microwaving in short bursts of 15-20 seconds until melted and smooth. Transfer to a piping bag (or directly melt in a heat proof piping bag). Cut a small amount off the tip of the bag and make zig-zagging lines across the face of the cake pop. Let set at least 15 minutes and enjoy!

Notes

  • If cocoa powder is lumpy, sift before using.
  • If you are using grocery store food coloring, you will need about 1-1/2 teaspoons of red food coloring to get the cake a nice bright red. If you were using a gel paste from like Americolor, you will need about a quarter teaspoon or two big squirts from the bottle.
    Mickey Mouse Red Velvet Cake Pop // magicaltreatsathome.com
  • Cake crumbs should be small and no larger than a pea.
  • To be efficient, after all your cakes are made in this series, you can assembly line adding the marshmallow ears, and then the chocolate dipping.
  • Cake balls should not be too wet or too dry to hold their shape properly. If too wet, add more cake crumbles. If too dry, add more frosting a small bit at a time.
  • You can use a combination semisweet/bittersweet at 75/25% for a less sweeter chocolate coating.
  • If cake balls are slipping off the sticks, dip lollipop stick tip in the melted chocolate and insert into cake ball. Refrigerate a few minutes to set.
  • If you do not pop the air bubbles, then moisture from the cake will seep out as the chocolate dries. If this happens, gently wipe away anything that has seeped out, and coat a second time in the melted chocolate. You can also store freshly baked cake a day or two in the refrigerator, wrapped in plastic wrap, to dry it out a bit before crumbling.

Tempering Chocolate tips:

Keywords: treat, cake pop, red velvet, Mickey Mouse, Disneyland

Mickey Mouse Pumpkin Cookies

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Mickey Mouse Pumpkin Cookie // magicaltreatsathome.com

Where can I find the original treat?

  • These treats can be found all over the Disneyland resort.

The start of the fall season is pretty much the start of cookie season for me. Sure, I’m baking the odd chocolate chip cookie for after school snacks every so often, but when I say “cookie season” I mean the decorated, complicated looking cookies. The ones that are given as gifts or swapped for other elaborately decorated cookies. However, just because a cookies looks complicated to make, doesn’t mean it is complicated. Like today’s treat: the Mickey Mouse Pumpkin Cookie.

Mickey Mouse Pumpkin Cookie // magicaltreatsathome.com

Actually, this isn’t complicated AT ALL. You just need to do a little cookie puzzle piece action and melt a little chocolate. I think you all can handle that! I saw somewhere online that you could actually buy a Mickey Mouse pumpkin cookie cutter, but I figured that if you bake holiday time cookies, chances are you already have a pumpkin cutter, and a circle cutter, so I opted to just try it this way at home. Check out the photos in the recipe for examples of how I attached the ears to the pumpkin cut outs.

Mickey Mouse Pumpkin Cookie // magicaltreatsathome.com

Now, the cookie at the parks is SO almond flavored, and I love almond extract, but I decided here to dial it back just a bit in case you wanted it not so overpowering; feel free to add more extract though if that’s your thing. The parks seem to work a lot with chocolate for decoration, so the piping here is with candy melts. I’m sure you could also sub royal icing as well.

EXTRA EXTRA: if you really wanted these cookies to be more… PSL like, you could also add in a tablespoon of pumpkin pie spice mix to the dry ingredients here.

Mickey Mouse Pumpkin Cookie // magicaltreatsathome.com

Ok, grab those cookie cutters and let’s get baking!

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Mickey Mouse Pumpkin Cookie // magicaltreatsathome.com

Mickey Mouse Pumpkin Cookies

  • Author: Elana Lepkowski
  • Yield: 5–8 Mickey Mouse Pumpkin Cookies 1x
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Description

Almond laced sugar cookies, shaped like the iconic Mickey Mouse pumpkin, are perfect for fall! A Disneyland-inspired treat.

Scale

Ingredients

For the cookies:

  • 2 cups (240 g) all purpose flour
  • 2–1/2 tablespoons arrowroot powder (or cornstarch)
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 cup (114 g) unsalted butter
  • 1/2 cup (100 g) granulated sugar
  • 1 large egg
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1/4 – 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
  • orange food coloring

For the decoration:

Special Tools:

Instructions

For the cookies:

  1. Sift the flour, arrowroot powder, and salt in a large bowl.
  2. In your stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar together. Add the eggs while mixer is going. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.
  3. Add vanilla and almond extracts and mix to combine.
  4. Add in 4-6 drops of orange food coloring. Mix again to combine.
  5. Pour in the flour mixture and mix until everything is well incorporated, scrape down the sides a few times.
  6. Put the dough in a plastic bag, roll it out to fill the bag, and then chill it in the refrigerator at least 20 minutes or up to two days.
  7. Preheat oven to 375°F and line a baking sheet with parchment.
  8. 
Once the dough is chilled, place it on a rolling mat, sprinkle with flour and roll out with a rolling pin. 
  9. Cut pumpkin shapes out, and then two circles for each pumpkin. Using the circle cutter, cut half circles in the sides of the pumpkin to attach the ears. Gently press the circles into the half moon indentations to connect. Re-roll any extra dough for more cookies if necessary.
    Mickey Mouse Pumpkin Cookie // magicaltreatsathome.com
  10. Place them on a non-stick baking sheet and, using a scribe, draw pumpkin lines on the pumpkin.
    Mickey Mouse Pumpkin Cookie // magicaltreatsathome.com
  11. Bake for 12 minutes and let cool before decorating.

For the decorations:

  1. Melt the yellow candy melts in a microwave safe bowl, like glass. Microwave for 30 seconds. Stir and microwave again for an additional 30 seconds. Keep stirring and microwaving in short bursts of 15-20 seconds until melted and smooth. Use can alternatively use a double boiler for melting. Pour melted chocolate into a piping bag with a small amount of the tip cut off.
  2. Draw on the eyes, nose, and smile, using a scribe to smooth out any lines or bumps in the chocolate. If chocolate starts to harden too soon, microwave bag for an additional 5-10 seconds.
  3. Next melt the green chocolate in the same manner as above. Draw on the green stems for the cookies.
  4. Set aside to cool and let the chocolate harden, up to 30 minutes, and enjoy!

Notes

  • Dough can be refrigerated up to two days and frozen up to three months.
  • Dough can be made in larger batches and colored after it’s been brought to room temperature by kneading color in (use gloves!).
  • You can also bake off the leaf/football shapes that get created when removing the dough to attach for ears. Just bake a few minutes less than the larger cookies. I made mine into a few small leaf cookies.
    Mickey Mouse Pumpkin Cookie // magicaltreatsathome.com
  • By not including a leavening agent in, these cookies do not puff up or expand while cooking.
  • Cookies can be kept at room temperature in an air tight container up to one week.

Keywords: treat, cookies, Mickey Mouse, Halloween, sugar cookies

Mickey Mouse Pumpkin Cookie // magicaltreatsathome.com
Mickey Mouse Pumpkin Cookie // magicaltreatsathome.com

Cheshire Cat Tails

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Cheshire Cat Tail // magicaltreatsathome.com

Where can I find the original treat?

  • These treats can be found at the Candy Palace on Main Street in Disneyland.

These sweet treats, based on the iconic pink and purple coloring of Alice in Wonderland’s Cheshire Cat, are more than meets the eye. At its base, it’s a marshmallow wand, enrobed in a layer of caramel, and then dipped in pink colored white chocolate. The white chocolate is strawberry flavored, and the whole thing is finished with stripes of purple sanding sugar held on with white chocolate.

Cheshire Cat Tail // magicaltreatsathome.com
Wands on the left have have had excess caramel removed. Wands on the right were placed immediately onto sheet without excess caramel removed.

While these marshmallow wands might seem straightforward, there is actually a lot of temperature control needed, as well as precise ingredients. Why? Because we’re dealing with caramel and chocolate.

Now, admittedly I started this recipe off with the wrong caramel recipe. See, I have this super yummy salted caramel recipe that I love. So without thinking I started there and only when I tried to dip the marshmallows in it, and it just started falling off the marshmallows, did I realize that this yummy recipe was in fact the wrong type of caramel. A soft, liquid-y caramel is not what one wants here for two reasons. One, well, it falls off the marshmallows and does not become fully solid. And two, when the not fully solid caramel hits the very warm white chocolate… it all just melts off into a puddle. Yuck.

Cheshire Cat Tail // magicaltreatsathome.com

So, melting caramels are a good bet here. And on second try this was the perfect solution to getting a firm caramel that held up to being dipped in warm chocolate. Alternatively, there are homemade caramel recipes out there that will become solid, you’ll just need to use that type of recipe. Usually there is corn syrup in it.

With melting chocolate, there are a few factors you need to remember. First, the type of chocolate you’re using will determine how hot you can get your temperature. White chocolate, which isn’t technically chocolate, should not go above 110°f. If you temper your chocolate you will lose its temper and you also risk burning your chocolate if you get it too hot. Also, if you get your chocolate too hot, it will start to “break” when you try to coat items like these caramel covered marshmallow wands. Check out the notes below the recipe for tips dealing with this if it happens. The trick with coating is to get it warm enough to drip off your spoon and keep it warm, not hot, for even coating.

Cheshire Cat Tail // magicaltreatsathome.com
Kid Friendly icon

I did say this was a “kid friendly” recipe and you might think I have lost my mind. Molten caramel! Scalding hot chocolate! What the heck?! But really, the fun part for kids is the decorating. Older kids can dip wands into the pink white chocolate because really, at the dipping point the chocolate should not be hot enough to burn skin. And small kids will have lots of fun covering their marshmallow wands with purple sprinkles. And it’s OK if adults enjoy it just as much (I do!!).

So let’s get into the kitchen and whip up a batch of Cheshire Cat Tails! They’re sure to make you grin!

Cheshire Cat Tail // magicaltreatsathome.com
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Cheshire Cat Tail // magicaltreatsathome.com

Cheshire Cat Tails

  • Author: Elana Lepkowski
  • Yield: 6 Cheshire Cat Tails 1x
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Description

These ooey-gooey marshmallow wands found at the Candy Palace at the Disneyland Resort are more than meets the eye! Sweet, buttery caramel covers a marshmallow wand while the whole treat get covered in strawberry flavored pink white chocolate and topped with purple sanding sugar stripes… just like the Cheshire Cat’s tail. A Disneyland-inspired treat.

Scale

Ingredients

Instructions

  1. Place four marshmallows, round side facing out, on each lollipop stick. Set aside.
  2. Place a sheet of parchment on a sheet pan. Butter it lightly and set aside.
  3. Unwrap all the caramels and add to a small saucepan. Pour water in and heat over medium-low heat.
  4. Stir constantly until everything has melted and caramels are smooth (about 7-8 minutes).
  5. Once melted (caramels should drip in a ribbon from a spoon back into the pan), dip each wand into the caramel, turning quickly to coat. Let excess caramel drip off for at least 30 seconds, turning while it drips for even coating, and then place on the buttered parchment.
  6. When all the wands have been dipped, refrigerate for thirty minutes.
  7. About 15 minutes to wands coming out of refrigerator, set up your sanding sugar station by setting out an empty wide, shallow bowl and another bowl with sanding sugar in it.
  8. Remove wands from the refrigerator. Then, in a double boiler, combine pink candy melts, strawberry flavoring, and coconut oil (this can alternatively be melted in the microwave as well. Please see notes below.). Melt over medium heat, stirring constantly until smooth. Do not let the temperature go above 110°f (you might want to use a candy thermometer if you’re unsure).
  9. Once smooth, dip caramel covered marshmallow wands in the chocolate, turning evenly to coat and fill in any gaps. Let the pink chocolate drip back into pan and lightly scrape one side on the edge of pan to remove any additional excess. Place back on buttered parchment. Repeat for all wands and let coating dry about 30 minutes.
  10. Next, melt the white chocolate (you can melt in a heavy duty piping bag as well), and create stripes on the first marshmallow wand, and immediately pour the purple sanding sugar over the stripes, letting excess catch in the empty bowl. You can press the wand lightly into sugar if you’d like a more thicker coating (I was fine with the lighter stripes). Set aside. Repeat with additional wands. If sanding sugar adheres to the pink coating, use a small brush to brush crystals away after fully dried. Then enjoy!

Notes

  • Melted caramel is HOT! Use caution in the kitchen. Do not dip your fingers or hands into the caramel has it can adhere to skin and burn you. Keep away from children.
  • Use hot water to remove caramel from pans and utensils.
  • If you wish to microwave your candy melts, combine them with strawberry flavoring, and coconut oil in a microwave safe bowl, and heat for 30 seconds on half power, stir, and continue to microwave in about 15-20 second increments until smooth.
  • If you have extra melted caramel that has dried around your wand, use kitchen shears to remove it immediately after removing from the refrigerator.
  • Did your chocolate coating break when you first dipped your wand in? Wait for the chocolate to cool down more. It should drip freely from a spoon without it seizing when the spoon is shaken slightly (will cause crevices in the chocolate on the spoon). If it breaks on the wand, your wand also might be too cool, so let them warm up more. And don’t worry, once that chocolate starts to firm up, you can dip it AGAIN into the chocolate to get a more even, although slightly thicker, coating.

Keywords: treat, marshmallow, Candy Palace, strawberry, caramel, white chocolate

Cheshire Cat Tail // magicaltreatsathome.com

Minnie Mouse Rice Krispie Treat Pops

by 1 Comment

Minnie Mouse Rice Crispie Pops // magicaltreatsathome.com

Where can I find the original treat?

  • These treats can be found at the Candy Palace on Main Street in Disneyland.

Since we covered Mickey Mouse doughnuts last week, I figured it was definitely time to give Minnie Mouse a turn. If you’re looking for a nostalgic treat, these Minnie Mouse Rice Krispie Treat Pops fit the bill!

Minnie Mouse Rice Crispie Pops // magicaltreatsathome.com
Minnie Mouse Rice Crispie Pops // magicaltreatsathome.com

Chewy, Minnie Mouse shaped rice krispie pops are dipped into red and light cocoa candy melts and decorated with red sprinkles, white buttons, and Minnie’s signature red bow. The trick to getting that chewiness is with the butter; don’t skimp on it or the rice krispie treats will turn rock hard. Still edible, but rock hard.

Minnie Mouse Rice Crispie Pops // magicaltreatsathome.com

Also, try not to use too large of a sauce pan to melt the marshmallows in. If there’s too much space once you add in the cereal, what happens is the marshmallows have too much space to move around in, and will start to dry out and form strings, making it harder to mix together. I used the red candy melts to also make the bows in addition to the dipped lower half. If you are more advanced with your chocolate, go ahead and use high quality white chocolate here with red food dye and temper.

Minnie Mouse Rice Crispie Pops // magicaltreatsathome.com

There are lots of variations of these rice krispie treats throughout the parks. If you have a favorite one, let us know in the comments below, or shoot us an email at hello@magicaltreatsathome.com and we’ll add it to our list of treats to make.

With this post, I’ve also started to note which recipes kids can participate. A big reason for starting this site, apart from having Disneyland treats whenever I want them, was to get my kids more involved with baking and cooking projects at home. I started helping in the kitchen at an early age (maybe four?), and that helped cement a life long love of creating with food. Many people find baking intimidating because they did not do it at home, or had parents who didn’t do it or let them help, and because baking is, well, more specific, it can seem daunting. So, if you’re a little uneasy with the idea of baking, these kid friendly recipes are a great place to start!

Minnie Mouse Rice Crispie Pops // magicaltreatsathome.com

Kid Friendly tips:

  • Older kids can complete this recipe from start to finish. Have an adult supervise when using the stove.
  • Elementary age kids can help cut out shapes, dip in chocolate, and put on the sprinkles and decorations.
  • Very young kids can help sprinkle on the sanding sugar. Sprinkling on decorations is always a good task for the very little ones! (If the sanding sugar on these looks a bit uneven that’s because my two year old helped me with that!)
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Minnie Mouse Rice Crispie Pops // magicaltreatsathome.com

Minnie Mouse Rice Krispie Treat Pops

  • Author: Elana Lepkowski
  • Yield: 3 Minnie Mouse Pops
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Description

Crispy, chewy, chocolatey Minnie Mouse shaped rice krispie treat pops. A Disneyland-inspired treat.

Ingredients

For the rice krispie treat:
2 tablespoons butter, unsalted
157 g ( 2 cups) mini marshmallows or 10 jumbo marshmallows, ripped apart
1-1/2 cups crisped rice cereal

For the chocolate dips:
2 ounces light cocoa candy melts
2 ounces red candy melts

For the bow:
8 red candy melts
1/2 ounce white candy melts

Decorations:
red sanding sugar
white M&Ms

Tools:
Minnie Mouse cutter
parchment
9″ bread loaf pan
Minnie Mouse bow mold
lollipop sticks

Instructions

For the rice krispie treat:

  1. Before beginning, line a 9″ bread loaf pan with parchment.
  2. Combine the butter and marshmallows in a small sauce pan over medium heat. Stir constantly until marshmallows have melted and mixture is smooth.
  3. Immediately dump in the crisped rice cereal and mix to combine.
  4. Pour into the prepared loaf pan and gently press mixture into place with a rubber spatula. Set aside for at least an hour in the refrigerator so that the mixture can firm up enough to cut shapes.
  5. Once firm, use parchment to lift out rice krispie treats. Use a Minnie Mouse shaped cutter to cut out shapes and set aside.

To decorate:

  1. First, melt the light cocoa candy melts in the microwave inside a microwave safe bowl, like glass, for 30 seconds. Stir and microwave again for an additional 30 seconds. Keep stirring and microwaving in short bursts of 15-20 seconds until melted and smooth. Use can alternatively use a double boiler for melting.
  2. Once melted, dip top half of Minnie ears into the light cocoa. Set aside on parchment. Repeat for all treats.
  3. Using the method above, melt the red candy melts. Dip the lower half of the Minnie Mouse treat, letting any excess drip off. Immediately sprinkle with red sanding sugar and press 5 white M&Ms into the sanding sugar. Set aside.
  4. Make the bows by melting the remaining red candy melts using the method above. Pour into bow molds and set aside for 15 minutes.
  5. Melt the white candy melts in a microwave safe piping bag using the method above but kneading instead of stirring.
  6. Gently pop out bows and pipe small white polkadots on them. Set aside.
  7. Pipe a small amount of the white candy melts onto the center head part of the rice krispie and press the bow to “glue” on.
  8. Let everything stand for about 30 minutes and then enjoy!

Notes

The chocolate will be smoother if you use the flat side as opposed to the bumpy rice krispie side.

You can combine some extra rice krispie treat scraps into the mold to shape a third Minnie Mouse if you could not cleanly cut out 3 from your batch.

Treats can be kept in an air-tight container for up to 3 days.

Keywords: chocolate, rice krispies, Minnie Mouse, crispy treat, rice crispies, treat

Mickey Mouse Shorts Doughnuts

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Mickey Mouse Shorts Doughnuts // magicaltreatsathome.com

Where can I find the original treat?

  • These vanilla cake doughnuts can only be found at Craftsman Bar and Grill (formerly White Water Snacks) inside the Grand Californian Hotel in Downtown Disney.

I found myself googling “does Mickey Mouse wear pants or shorts?” this morning to make sure I was getting the title correct for this treat. Answer: most definitely shorts.

Mickey Mouse Shorts Doughnuts // magicaltreatsathome.com

And these are most definitely delicious and easy to make. My #1 easy tip for this is that you most certainly can use store bought doughnuts to make these. The actual treat from White Water snacks reminds me of grocery store doughnuts (like Donettes!), but today I’m also providing a super quick (and I mean quick!) recipe to make baked doughnuts. So put that vat of hot oil away for another day (like churro making day… we have a lot of those recipes coming up!).

Mickey Mouse Shorts Doughnuts // magicaltreatsathome.com

One surprise after dissecting my doughnut to find out all the components… Disneyland uses M&Ms to make all their buttons for treats! Who knew? Well, maybe you if you’re like me and need to know how they make everything.

If you can find chocolate wafers, go ahead and use those for the ears, however since my chocolate wafers were on the small side, I used the same candy melts chocolate to make rounds in a mold, and then that chocolate was used again to coat the ears and doughnut.

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Mickey Mouse Shorts Doughnuts // magicaltreatsathome.com

Mickey Mouse Shorts Doughnuts

  • Author: Elana Lepkowski
  • Yield: 6 doughnuts 1x
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Description

Vanilla cake doughnuts dipped in chocolate look a lot like Mickey Mouse’s shorts. A Disneyland-inspired treat!

Scale

Ingredients

Vanilla Cake Doughnuts
Adapted from King Arthur Flour

2 tablespoons butter
25g (1/8 cup) vegetable oil (or refined coconut oil)
49g (1/3 cup) granulated sugar
35g (1/4 cup) brown sugar
1 large eggs
3/4 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
159g (1-1/3 cups) Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
113g (1/2 cup) milk (or milk substitute like almond milk)

Chocolate Discs

1–1/2 ounces light cocoa candy melts

Decorating

5–1/2 ounces light cocoa candy melts
3-1/2 ounces red candy melts
12 yellow M&Ms

Instructions

For the doughnuts:

  1. Preheat the oven to 425°F. Lightly grease one standard doughnut pan.
  2. In a medium-sized mixing bowl, beat together the butter, vegetable oil, and sugars until smooth.
  3. Add the eggs, beating to combine.
  4. Stir in the baking powder, baking soda, salt, and vanilla.
  5. Stir the flour into the butter mixture alternately with the milk, beginning and ending with the flour and making sure everything is thoroughly combined. 
  6. Spoon the batter into the lightly greased doughnut pans, filling the wells to about 1/4″ shy of the rim.
  7. Bake the doughnuts for 10 minutes. Remove them from the oven, and wait 5 to 7 minutes before turning them out of the pans onto a rack.

For the Chocolate Discs:

  1. Melt candy melts in a microwave safe bowl (preferably glass) or piping bag for 30 seconds. Stir, and continue to microwave in short bursts until fully melted and smooth. (I found once more at 30 seconds and then again at 20 seconds worked for me, but your microwave may be different)
  2. Pour melted chocolate into round molds about 1/8″ high or alternatively, pipe out into rounds on parchment.
  3. Wait 10 minutes and then remove from molds. The discs are ready to use.
    Mickey Mouse Shorts Doughnuts // magicaltreatsathome.com

For assembly and decorating:

  1. Start by cutting two slits for the chocolate discs in each doughnut for the ears along the seam line of the doughnut. Insert the discs halfway into the doughnut. Set aside.
  2. Melt the light cocoa candy melts following the method above. Alternatively you can do this over a double boiler as well.
  3. Dip the doughnut half including the “ears” into the melted light cocoa candy melts. See note below if you have trouble keeping the discs in place.
  4. Set the dipped doughnuts down on parchment and melt the red candy melts using the same method above or in a double boiler. Dip the bottom half of the doughnut in the red candy melts, overlapping with the light cocoa candy melts. Immediately press two yellow M&Ms into the red to make Mickey’s buttons. Set aside.
  5. These take about 30 minutes to fully set and can be eaten then, or stored in an air tight container for up to 3 days.

Notes

  • Several components can be purchased instead of made. The doughnuts and chocolate discs can be store-bought and assembled.
  • If the discs pop out while dipping the doughnut into the melted chocolate, remove them and dip the doughnut separately, and then they can be dipped separately in the melted chocolate and inserted into the doughnuts.
  • Never rest items that have been dipped into candy melts on a wire rack. Always use parchment paper or you risk the melted chocolate fusing onto the wires and ripping off once cool.

Keywords: chocolate, doughnuts, Mickey Mouse

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