Pumpkin Balls

There is an inside joke behind this post - but I had to share it with you because what came out of it is absolutely delicious.  My love for cake balls is not a secret (I mean Oreo Balls and Cake Balls are personal favorites of mine), and the challenge was laid down to make something with pumpkin and for it to be in ball form.  Challenge accepted.  :)  Big Papi was kidding when he suggested that I make something like it, but me being me, my mind started working overtime about the things I could do. BP had thrown the gauntlet down and I was going to pick it up and run with it. 

BP and I were out Saturday night and we decided to make the balls together - he was going to be my sous chef.  I have to admit he was a damn cute one too - my favorite sous ever, and I can't wait to bake with him again.  We laughed a lot and I have to admit, he impressed me with his skills.  We tasted and adjusted the recipe as we went along (I had left my version of the recipe at home - we decided to do this on a whim). Once we were both happy with it, into the oven it went. We went to watch a movie and when the timer went off, we went upstairs to take the cake out of the oven and wow - the smell that came out of the oven was amazing.  We knew we had something tasty on our hands.  Once the cake was cooked and cooled, now came the fun part.  Time to make it into balls!


we went for large sized balls

Now, we know from past posts you can roll these into anything you want.  With these you could roll them in powdered sugar, dip them in melted chocolate, roll them in colored sugars, crushed nuts, mini chocolate chips, I could go on but I'm sure you already know there are endless options.  We opted to keep these naked - so we rolled them out and put them in the fridge to firm up. And when it came time to finally try them - phenomenal!!

Pumpkin Balls

 

1 box white cake mix

1 box (3.4 oz) vanilla pudding mix

4 large eggs

1 16 oz can pumpkin puree

2 tsp maple syrup

1/4 tsp salt

2 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp pumpkin pie spice

 

 

1 can vanilla frosting

2 tsp maple syrup

pinch of salt

1 tsp pumpkin pie spice

 

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Spray 13x9x2 pan with cooking spray and set aside. 
2. In a large bowl combine cake mix, pudding mix, pumpkin puree, eggs, maple syrup, salt, cinnamon and pumpkin pie spice.  Mix together until smooth. Pour into prepared pan. Bake 35-40 minutes, rotating halfway through, until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean.  Cool completely.
3. In a large bowl tear up cake into tiny pieces, add frosting, maple syrup, salt and pumpkin pie spice. Mix thoroughly until well combined.  Form into balls and place on a parchment paper lined cookie sheet.  Chill in the fridge for at least 2 hours.  If you want to roll them in something/dip them in chocolate, do it after they have chilled.