Panini Pops!

I don’t know why I didn’t try this sooner!

Do you follow Bakerella and her ridiculously cute cake pops? Her creativity is truly boundless, I always look forward to see what cuteness is coming up next. It was her venture into pie pops earlier this month that sparked an idea in my head – if you can bake little pies on sticks, why not little sandwiches?

These were incredibly simple to make. The main concern is ensuring enough “adhesive” (a.k.a., cheese) to hold the bread and lollipop sticks all in place. I went with a shredded Mexican blend because I knew it would melt well without becoming too goopy. Crumbled bacon and chopped chives added flavor without disrupting the stickiness factor.

I opted to grill the sandwiches first and then cut out the shapes while they were still hot – the edges stayed nice and clean and the cheese was still melty enough to grip the sticks. I got two cutouts per sandwich, so there were plenty of leftover ends for my toddler (“More!” “More!” “Samwich!”) and I to devour. The only issue was that the cookie cutter got really hot really fast, so if you’re planning to try this as an activity with kids I’d highly recommend only using cutters with handles.

This was fun! Next time I’ll have to figure out how to add on some little faces…this could turn into a whole new level of panini “happiness”.

Panini Pops

These are basically mini grilled cheese sandwiches on a stick, so you can choose whatever bread and cheese you like. It’s probably best to stick with the semi-firm cheeses, as soft cheeses may melt too much to hold the lollipop sticks in place.

INGREDIENTS:

Sliced country-style bread (relatively dense is best, I used sourdough)
Cheese (semi-firm, such as cheddar)
Finely crumbled or minced add-ins (e.g., bacon, herbs, peppers, olives)

Lollipop sticks (I used Wilton’s)
Cookie cutters

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat the panini grill to medium-high heat (375°).

Assemble your panini, incorporating a generous amount of cheese to ensure there will be enough to hold the lollipop sticks in place.

Grill the panini for about 4 minutes until golden grill marks appear. Remove from the heat and immediately cut out shapes with cookie cutters (NOTE: If you’re using a metal cutter it will get HOT very quickly, so take care not to burn your fingers) and insert lollipop sticks.

Depending on the cheese you’re using you may need to wait a minute or two for the cheese to set the stick in place before serving. Enjoy!

>Want more panini recipes? Check out the Recipe Index for a list of all recipes on Panini Happy.

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Tagged as: appetizers, pops