Pillsbury Funfetti Brownie Pops

So this post is sort of a product review, but also my first foray into the world of cake/brownie pops.  I know they have gained in popularity, but I never really understood the appeal of them.  It just seemed like a lot of work for not a lot of payout, but I can see them as an easy way to have a decorative dessert at a themed party if you're willing to put in the time and extra money to get the supplies.  With that in mind, I avoided them until my mom bought me this ready to go package from Pillsbury.

The nice thing about the package is that they provide the sticks and everything you need to make it other than a pan to cook the brownies in.  This appealed to me, because I know I'm not going to go out and buy the special cake pop cooker and only special parties or projects send me to a store where I can also get the pop sticks.

I followed the directions and you pretty much bake the brownies, and cut off the evil crust to leave the yummy gooey soft center part.  Yes, I am not a fan of the edges of brownies and if you are, then you could have easily eaten the edges if you were here when I made them.

Then you cut them into twelve pieces.  It was at this point that I realized my brownie cutting abilities are about the same as an eight year old child, although that child would probably cut them straighter than me.  It was also at this point I realized my pan was 9x9" instead of the 8x8" the instructions called for.  This just meant I really had to roll my brownies into balls to get them to work.

After rolling, you use chocolate to adhere the sticks to the brownies and let them chill in the fridge.  This is another reason I wasn't too interested in cake pops due to the extra wait time you have to put in, but it is necessary.

So then they look like the one with the stick in it and are ready to be coated with chocolate and sprinkles.

I got my chocolate and sprinkles ready to go.  The package reminds me not to overheat the chocolate, which I already knew not to do after having some previous disastrous  results when trying to chocolate dip strawberries.  If you aren't aware of the consequences, the chocolate clumps and becomes a hard chalky/clump mess.  Anyway, I wasn't sure the best method for sprinkle adhesion, so I made it dip-able.

The chocolate hardens fast due to the thermodynamics involved in placing warm chocolate on cold brownies, so get those sprinkles on fast.

They came out pretty delicious, so I can understand more of the appeal to them.  They seem like they are easy to customize and chocolate coated brownies are just an amazing product.  My only criticisms is that it is a lot of time for so few, so I would make larger batches if I was going to do this.  Also, for people really interested, a foam block would make drying the chocolate easier.  That being said, if I was still 8 I would beg my mom to buy these all the time. As a much older than 8 year old, I can see these as a good party food with a lot of design potential.