Leprechaun Hat Pops

My mom is a figure skating coach and always enjoys giving her students a little something when holidays come around. With St. Patrick’s Day on Monday, she asked if I could make her some little treats. I thought to myself, "I've done the cake pop, cupcake, and cookie route numerous times. I would really like to try something different."

So as I walked the aisles of Target one night after work (filling my cart with numerous things I didn’t know I needed until that exact moment…anyone else have this issue!?!?), an idea finally came to me. Leprechaun hats on a stick! Quickly I grabbed a bag of marshmallows, fudge striped cookies, and chocolate candy melts and headed home to try out my idea.

Well, it worked! These leprechaun hats are so cute they put a smile on my face, plus are so simple and easy to make. These would also be great to make with kids of all ages as well...if you don’t mind getting a little messy!

Leprechaun Hat Pops

{yield: 24}

1 package Keebler® Fudge Stripes™ Cookies
1 16oz. bag large marshmallows
Chocolate candy melts
24 paper straws
Gold disco dust (or gold sanding sugar)
Assorted St. Patrick’s Day royal icing decorations

Start by melting the chocolate candy melts in a glass measuring cup or bowl for 30 seconds at a time, string after each heating until fully melted. I prefer using a measuring cup because it is deeper and easier to coat the marshmallows. 

Dip one end of the straw into the melted chocolate and insert into the marshmallow halfway. Allow chocolate to set for a few minutes, then dip the marshmallow in the melted chocolate and coat completely. 

Tap off excess chocolate and place on a parchment lined baking sheet.

Immediately take a striped cookie and slide down the straw onto the marshmallow with the stripes facing up.

Continue with this process until all 24 hats have been created. 

After the chocolate has set, remove hats from parchment paper and place the straws in a block of styrofoam or cake pop stand so the hats are facing upright. 

In a small bowl, combine disco dust and a couple of drops of water and mix until combined. Take a small brush and paint a stripe around the base of where the hat and brim meet. If you do not have disco dust, you can paint on melted chocolate and cover with gold sanding sugar to get a similar look.

Using an assortment of royal icing decorations (I found these at my local cake supply shop), add a drop of melted chocolate to the back and place the decoration onto the hat.

Give the finished leprechaun hats a few minutes for the decorations to set up before packaging up in individual treat bags. You can also store these little guys in a tupperware container for up to a week, but I bet they will be long gone before that!