Chocolate Cake Bites

Ingredients:

- 1 box chocolate cake mix
- 1 tub chocolate frosting
- 1 bag Wilton's chocolate candy melts
- 1/4 cup shortening (optional)
- Sprinkles (optional)

Directions:

- Bake cake according to package directions.  (I bake mine in two 9-inch round pans.)
- Let the cake cool completly.
- In large bowl, break up cakes into small crumbs (I use my hands).
- Mix in the frosting until all the cake is throughly coated.
- WARNING... this is going to get messy!  Portion out a heaping tablespoon (or your desired bite size) and roll into a ball.
- Place the bites on a parchment paper lined cookie sheet.
- Chill in the freezer for about 45 minutes.  If you don't have the freezer space I have just used the refrigerator for longer. 
- With about 10 minutes left of chill time, melt candy melts according to package directions.  I always add about 1/4 cup of vegetable shortening to make the chocolate a little thinner and more workable.
-  Remove from the freezer and reshape any messy bites into a tighter ball.
-  Using a skewer, dip the bite into the chocolate, tap off any excess, and replace on parchment paper.
- Once you have all the bites dipped, cover the skewer hole with a small amount of melted chocolate (this is what gives the dripped look).
- Let the chocolate cool just slightly and add the sprinkles if desired.
- Cool completely. 

Flip it!

- The same recipe can be used to make cake pops as well.  Follow the same directions, just dip a lollipop stick into the chocolate (this will "glue" the stick into the ball) then dip the ball into the chocolate, again tapping off the excess.  Stand in a glass filled with rice to dry (or something else to weigh down the glass so it doesn't tip)!
- Use any different combination of cake and frosting!
- Use any different color of candy melts for different occasions.  Dip in one color, drizzle in another!
- Use sprinkles to decorate for different occasions!