Shortcut Halloween Cake Pops (Donut Cake Pops)

These Shortcut Halloween Cake Pops are a quick and easy way to make a treat for Halloween. Using donut holes dipped in candy melts is the smart secret to a homemade look in half the time. 

So, just to warn you: I have a LOT of Halloween food ideas coming up in the next month. If you’re a Halloween hater, you might want to check back occasionally for the non-Halloween recipes, but don’t say I didn’t warn you!

We are unabashedly Halloween lovers around here, and October can’t come and go without enjoying a Halloween charcuterie board and Halloween deviled eggs!

Is it normal to have an entire drawer in your house devoted to Halloween sprinkles and candy eyeballs of all sizes? And a skull mold to make cheese skulls for Halloween salad?

Maybe not, but here we are. These shortcut Halloween Cake Pops are made with mini donuts and donut holes, for an easy, adorable sweet treat with lots of eyeballs.

What you’ll need to make Halloween cake pops:

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• small donuts – I used a combination of mini donuts and donut holes for these Halloween cake pops, but you can use all one or the other. You’ll need 24 pieces, total. I used plain flavored donuts, but I discuss other options below.
• candy melts – you’ll need 1 cup total candy melts to coat all of the Halloween donut holes. You can use all green candy melts, or a smaller amount of a variety of colors, like a combination of green, orange and purple.
• candy eyeballs – it isn’t a Halloween treat without candy eyeballs.
• assorted sprinkles – you can find fun Halloween sprinkles (also cute on Halloween jello shots (adults only!)) online and in a ton of stores these days. You can also buy a package of assorted colored sprinkles and just use a few select Halloween-ish colors, like green, orange and purple. Use the other colors on chocolate covered bananas!
• black food coloring writing gel – I used black decorating gel to make the mouths of my little donut creatures.
• lollipop sticks – 6- to 7-inch are a great size for cake pops for Halloween. White lollipop sticks and colored lollipop sticks are found online or at craft stores.

First, melt the candy melts and put sticks in the Halloween donut holes:

If you’re using donut holes for Halloween cake pops, prepare them for dipping by giving them a quick roll between your palms and determining where you will place your stick (although don’t skewer them yet).

I like to make sure the smoothest rounded side will be at the top of the cake pop, so my creature has a nice round head. You do not need to worry about this for mini donuts – you’ll just put the stick anywhere along one edge of the donut.

Then, melt the candy melts according to their package directions. Carefully dip each stick about 1/4- to 1/2-inch into the melted candy melts and then stick that end into each donut at the place you’ve determined is best.

Allow these to cool on wax paper for a few minutes until hardened, upside down, with the donuts resting on your wax paper-covered work surface and the sticks pointing toward the ceiling.

Then, dip each Halloween cake pop in candy melts:

After the candy melts around the stick bases are hardened, it’s time to fully submerge each “cake pop” into the candy melts.

Carefully dip each donut into the melted candy melts and rotate it around until it’s fully coated. Again, allow these to cool on wax paper, upside down, until completely hardened.

Time to decorate the donut cake pops!

Now, it’s time to use candy eyes, sprinkles, more candy melts and black writing gel to decorate the Halloween cake pops.

For sprinkle-topped pops, allow the first layer of candy melt to set for just 3 minutes before dipping tops in sprinkles.

For drizzled pops, allow the first layer of candy melt to almost set completely before drizzling on the second layer.

For monster pops, allow the first layer of candy melt to completely dry. Then, use additional melted candy melt to stick the eyes to the cake pops and decorate with sprinkles and black writing gel as desired.

To make monster horns, pipe melted candy melt into horn shapes onto wax paper and attach to cake pops using additional candy melt. For large horns, I like to stick a sprinkle in the head for support/backing.

Some tips and tricks for the best possible cake pops for Halloween:

• Melt the candy melts according to package directions. Each brand may vary slightly. I use the microwave in 15 second intervals, but you can also melt them on the stove top or in a double boiler.
• In between intervals, make sure to stir the melts for a full minute. I often find that the final few lumps melt away if you give it a bit of time. 
• If your candy melt mixture is too thick and is pulling the donut holes off their sticks, stir in vegetable oil or coconut oil 1/2 teaspoon at a time to thin it out.
• If adding a second layer of candy melt to the pops, make sure the candy melt temperature is close to room temperature to ensure the layers don’t crack or separate.
• If you have lumpy donut holes, use those ones to fully coat in sprinkles. It helps hide the flaws!
• I have learned to choose candy melts that do not have a white film. Wilton is my favorite brand, but most brands have a little window where you can see into the package. If you pick up a bag with white film, your final result will likely have a white film.

Storage tips for donut cake pops:

These Halloween cake pops are best enjoyed the day they are made, but you can make them up to 24 hours in advance (my Halloween dirt cups are a better make ahead treat if you’re looking for that).

Do not store them in the fridge or freezer. The candy melts may sweat when brought to room temperature, and this can cause cracking and color bleeding.

If storing the donut cake pops overnight, store at room temperature in an airtight container.

Experiment with variations on this recipe, like pumpkin cake pops!

While I used plain donuts for my Halloween cake pops, you can definitely use flavored ones. Chocolate mini donuts and donut holes would be delicious.

You can also make pumpkin cake pops with pumpkin-flavored donut holes (shouldn’t be too hard to find this time of year).

Another way to switch up these cake pops for Halloween is by changing the coating. Instead of using the colored candy melts, you could dip the donuts in melted white, milk or dark chocolate.

And if you want to get SUPER ambitious (but these would no longer be shortcut treats!) you can make your own donut holes.