The Iconic Store-Bought Cookies That You Can Easily Transform Into Cake Pops

Cake pops have grown in popularity over the years thanks to creative food blogger Angie Dudley's bright idea back in 2008 to combine crumbled cake with frosting to make little balls on a stick. Thankfully, you can now find these versatile treats in countless food stores and coffee shops like Starbucks. Yet, if you're on the hunt for an easy way to make these tender confections at home, you're in luck. If you don't have the time or ingredients necessary to make fudgy brownie cake pops from scratch, there's another tasty version worth trying that takes half the time (and less money). All you need are Lofthouse frosted sugar cookies, cream cheese, and white chocolate chips or candy melts. Lofthouse cookies are extra soft, with a thick layer of frosting. These traits give homemade cake pops the perfect toothsome texture.

Start by mashing together a whole container or two of Lofthouse sugar cookies with a package of softened cream cheese. Do this with either your hands or an electric mixer for added convenience. Roll the dough into smooth, even balls and refrigerate them on a parchment or wax paper-lined baking sheet for at least 10 minutes.

Once your dough is sufficiently chilled, dip lollipop sticks into melted white chocolate or candy melts and push into the cake balls. To ensure easy dipping, give your lollipop sticks and dough extra time to adhere to one another in the refrigerator before you fully dunk each treat in melted candy or chocolate. Once your freshly-dipped cake pops have set in the refrigerator, they're ready to enjoy.

If you can't seem to find packaged sugar cookies near the bakery section of your neighborhood grocery store, there's another type of cookie you can use to make cake pops at home. Not only do Oreos have that quintessential vanilla filling comparable to sugar cookie frosting, they're also readily available at most major supermarkets. Instead of using only the classic chocolate variety, you can also make cake pops with some of the best Oreo flavors ever made, including peanut butter, lemon, and classic birthday cake. To make these alternative confections, use a food processor to crush the cookies into fine crumbs, adding in small amounts of softened cream cheese to form your "dough."

For a completely different base, you can also make cake pops with leftover cake, or use boxed cake and canned frosting. For the latter, simply bake your preferred cake of choice, and once it's cooled, crumble the entire thing into a bowl, and mix with a container of store-bought frosting. Let this chill, and then carry on with rolling it into balls.

Whether you're using packaged Lofthouse cookies or leftover cake, don't forget to elevate your cake pops with a variety of toppings. When the exterior candy or chocolate coating is still wet, add colorful sprinkles, chopped nuts, shaved chocolate, or crushed, freeze-dried fruit.