Pre-heat the oven to 350ºF. Grease a 8x8” pan with oil spray, and line with parchment paper. Set aside.

Mix the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together. Set aside. Beat the butter with a mixer for 1 minute. Add the brown sugar and beat for another minute. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating one egg until incorporated before adding the next one. Add the vanilla and mix.

Add half of the dry flour mixture to the bowl and mix on low to combine. Pour the milk in and mix. Add the remaining flour mixture and stir until incorporated.

Pour the batter in the prepared pan. Bake in the oven for 25 to 30 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean, or you touch the top of the cake, and it bounces back.

Let the cake cool down for about 10 minutes and place it in a cooling rack. Then let it come to room temperature. Use a knife to trim the edges of the cake. Chop the cake into cubes. You should have about 5 cups of cake cubes.

Beat the butter with an electric mixer for 2 minutes. Add the powdered sugar and mix on low. Add the milk and vanilla. Raise the speed to medium high and beat for one minute.

Place the cake cubes in the bowl of a mixer. Mix the cake with the mixer paddle until it’s crumbled. Add 1/4 cup of frosting to the cake and mix. Continue to add more frosting, one tablespoon at a time, until the cake crumbles have formed a dough. When making the cake pops, it’s important for the consistency to not crumble or fall apart. If you pick up some of the dough between your fingers, it should hold together.

Set it aside for 5 to 10 minutes.

Place the melted dark green chocolate in a piping bag. Snip just the tip at end with scissors, pipe little leaf shapes on a silicone mat or parchment lined tray. Place it in the freezer for 5 to 10 minutes until all the leaves are dry.

If you have a small leaf silicone mold, you can use that to make the leaves. Simply pour a bit of melted chocolate in the mold, place it in the freezer for a couple of minutes, remove the shaped leaf from the mold, and repeat until you have 20 leaves.

Use a medium cookie scoop to scoop the dough. Roll each dough piece between your hands until a smooth ball forms. Place the balls on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.

Place the red candy melts in a bowl, and the light green ones in a different bowl. Melt one bowl at a time by microwaving for 30 second intervals, stirring in between until the chocolate is melted.

Dip the end of each cake pop stick (about 1/2 inch) in either the red or the green melted chocolate. Tap it gently to shake off excess chocolate from the stick.

Push the dipped end of the stick into each cake ball that’s on the tray. Place the tray of cake balls with the stick in the freezer for 10 minutes.

While the cake pops are in the freezer, snap the pretzels into pieces to form small stems for the apples. It’s important to have this ready before you start dipping the cake pops

Remove the cake pops from the freezer and gather everything to assemble the cake pops.

If the red or green chocolate has hardened while the cake pops were in the freezer, place the bowl back in the microwave for a few seconds to re-melt.

Dip each cake pop in the melted red or green chocolate. Tap the stick gently on the side of the bowl to shake off excess chocolate.

Immediately after dipping, place the pretzel on top to form the stem, and place the leaf right next to the stem. If desired, sprinkle turbinado sugar on the apple, while the chocolate coating is still wet.

Place the cake pop on the cake pop stand to dry. Once dry, lay them down on a tray and serve!

Store the cake pops in the fridge for up to 6 days. Remove from the fridge a bit before serving. You can freeze the cake pops for up to 2 months in an airtight container or freezer bag.