Goldfish Marshmallow Pops

We served these adorable Goldfish Marshmallow Pops as part of our daughter’s Mermaid Under the Sea Birthday party. They would make a great accompaniment to many other themes as well:  Pool Party, Beach Party, Whale Party or just about anything nautical.

One of my favorite things about these pops is that they can be made days before your party. I am constantly collecting food and decor ideas for parties that can be done ahead of time. Make-ahead items are essential for actually getting to enjoy your party.

Goldfish Marshmallow Pops

You will need:

• Large Marshmallows
• Goldfish crackers
• Graham cracker crumbs
• Light blue Candy Melts
• 1/2 Cup Shortening (white in color)
• Wilton Sprinkles, White Sugar Pearls
• Paper straws (for pop sticks)
• Waxed paper

How to Make Goldfish Marshmallow Pops

1. Melt Candy Melts in microwave according to package directions. If you are making a lot of these you may need to reheat the chocolate 15-20 seconds after making every few pops to keep it smooth and easy to work with.
   UPDATE BELOW: Adding shortening to your melted chocolate makes them smoother and gives you a longer working time! You only need a teaspoon or so.
2. Stand a marshmallow on it’s flat side and push a paper straw into the center, then place into the melted chocolate. Use a fork to drizzle the chocolate over the marshmallow and cover as evenly as possible. Once your marshmallow is coated, place the fork under the marshmallow and lift it out of the chocolate. Using the fork allows some of the excess chocolate to drip off and also keeps the straw from pulling out as you lift it.
3. Gently place only the bottom part of the marshmallow into the graham cracker crumbs. Tilt it and roll it around slightly to get a little of the crumbs up onto the sides. Then place onto waxed paper.
4. Gently press a goldfish cracker into the melted chocolate. I placed mine a little to the left to leave room for the sprinkle “bubbles.”
5. Use a pair of tweezers to pick up and place the tiny sugar pearl sprinkles. I used 3 for each marshmallow. You might need to keep a paper towel handy to clean off your tweezers after placing each sprinkle.
6. Allow to sit and harden, then arrange on a pretty tray for your party!
   UPDATE BELOW: Add a layer of graham cracker crumbs to your serving platter!

Once completely hardened, these pops will keep 24-48 hours. You can place the entire tray into a large cellophane bag for safe keeping until your party begins.

UPDATE & A COUPLE OF NEW TRICKS:

A few weeks after my daughter’s party I helped plan a baby shower for a friend in a Baby Whale theme (pics coming soon!). Since these Goldfish Marshmallow Pops fit that theme and were such a big hit at my daughter’s party I decided to make them again. But, I did a couple of things differently the second time around.

The first time I made these my chocolate started to harden up quickly as I worked. I was only able to make 5-6 pops, then it had to go back into the microwave for 20-30 seconds for melting to get it smooth again.

Want to know the secret addition to my second batch of Candy Melts? Shortening!
After melting the Candy Melts I stirred in some shortening, a tablespoon at a time, until it became very smooth and easy to work with. Don’t add too much shortening at one time. Shortening is solid at room temperature but very soft. If you add too much, your pops won’t harden enough when cooled off.

With the addition of shortening, I was able to make over 20 pops without reheating AND they were much smoother in appearance!

The second time I made these, I also added a layer of graham cracker crumbs to the serving platter. This helped in 2 ways: it allowed me to kind of nestle the pops down into the “sand” layer keeping them from slipping, and it allowed me to position them so the sticks stood up straight. (You can see the sticks weren’t all completely straight the first time around.)

If you have any additional tips, please leave a comment below!!!

These Goldfish Marshmallow Pops could also be used as take-home gifts by placing individual pops into treat bags for guests to take home after the party. Simply tie the bag with a cute ribbon and viola…adorable take-home treats!

See lots more party foods and decorations from our Mermaid Under the Sea Birthday Party!