Sunflower Brownie Pops

If you know me, you know I love sunflowers. They're easy to grow and the return is amazing~bright,  happy, HUGE flowers! We usually plant them every summer.  This year we planted about two dozen of the mammoth flowers.

This is one of our beauties. I can see the sunflowers right out my kitchen window and just looking at them makes me happy.

I decided it would be fun to make sunflower brownie pops and started looking around the internet for ideas. I finally found one and it was made simply by attaching yellow m&m's to the brownie with chocolate. Why didn't I think of that? So simple, but so cute!

(I always link to the original idea, but I can't seem to find it.  If you know of a m&m sunflower cake pop, please let me know!)

I decided to fashion the brownie pop after a sunflower cookie that I made, and that's just what I did.  I'm pretty happy with the results. These pops make me smile:)



Sunflower Brownie Pops

Supplies:1 box of brownie mix (Prepare as directed. Cool completely)

8 oz. of prepared cream cheese frosting
14 oz. bag of chocolate candy melts
lollipop sticks (2-3 dozen)
block of styrofoam (to hold drying pops)
chocolate sprinkles
yellow m&m candies~12 per pop
Lime green royal icing

Directions:
1. Put prepared brownies in a large bowl, and break up into small crumbs with your hands(clean of course).
2. Add the frosting and mix well, either with your hands, or a sturdy large spoon. If you need a bit more frosting to hold it together, go ahead, but not too much.
3. Roll the mixture into balls (about 1 1/2 inches) and place on wax paper-lined cookie sheet. Cover and chill in the refrigerator for a few hours, or place in freezer for 15 minutes. You want them chilled, but not frozen. (I actually froze my unfrosted brownie balls in an airtight container and thawed them when I was ready to make them into pops, days later.)
4. Place the candy melts in a small, deep ( big enough to hold all the melted candy, but deep enough to dip the pops) microwave-safe bowl and follow the directions on the bag for melting.
5. Dip a lollipop stick about 1/2- inch into the candy melt and then insert it directly into the brownie ball, no more than halfway in(this helps the pop adhere to the stick).
6. Holding it by the stick, dip the brownie ball into the melted coating until it's completely covered (use a spoon if need be), all the way to where the brownie meets the stick.
7. If there's too much coating on your pop, hold the brownie pop in one hand and use the other hand to gently tap the first wrist, letting the excess drip back into the bowl. Try to make the coating even all the way around.
8. Add chocolate sprinkles to the front side of the pop (while chocolate is still wet), which would be the "face" of the flower.
9. Quickly, but carefully, while chocolate is still wet, add the m&m's around the perimeter of the pop (look at top photo) to form the "petals". If the chocolate dries, slightly dip each  m&m into the melted chocolate and then onto the pop. Hold it in place until it adheres~about 15 seconds.
10. Stick the brownie pop into a block of styrofoam until completely dry.
11.. Repeat with each brownie pop and let them dry completely.
12. When dry and sturdy, add the green royal icing decorations with a #4 tip. Let dry completely.

Have fun!

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