Show your patriotic colors with these spirited dessert ideas.
Fruit-Tart Flag
Ingredients:
- 48 miniature tart shells or phyllo cups
- 8 oz. mascarpone cheese
- 3 tablespoons Confectioners’ sugar
- Blueberries
- Strawberries
- Whipped cream
How to:
- Fill premade miniature tart shells or phyllo cups with sweet mascarpone cream (recipe below)
- Arrange on a tray and top with blueberries and halved strawberry slices to create stars and stripes.
Mascarpone Cream Recipe:
Beat an 8-ounce container of mascarpone cheese and 3 tablespoons confectioners’ sugar with a mixer until smooth. Gently fold in 1/2 cup freshly whipped cream.
Flag Cake
(Courtesy of the Barefoot Contessa)
Ingredients:
- 18 tablespoons (2 1/4 sticks) unsalted butter at room temperature
- 3 cups sugar
- 6 extra-large eggs at room temperature
- 1 cup sour cream at room temperature
- 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 3 cups flour
- 1/3 cup cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
For the icing:
- 1 pound (4 sticks) unsalted butter at room temperature
- 1 1/2 pounds cream cheese at room temperature
- 1 pound confectioners’ sugar, sifted
- 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
To assemble:
- 2 half-pints blueberries
- 3 half-pints raspberries
How to:
- Heat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter and flour an 18 by 13 by 1 1/2-inch sheet pan.
- Cream the butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment on high speed, until light and fluffy. On medium speed, add the eggs, 2 at a time, then add the sour cream and vanilla. Scrape down the sides and stir until smooth.
- Sift together the flour, cornstarch, salt, and baking soda in a bowl. With the mixer on low speed, add the flour mixture to the butter mixture until just combined. Pour into the prepared pan. Smooth the top with a spatula. Bake in the center of the oven for 20 to 30 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool to room temperature.
- For the icing, combine the butter, cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mixing just until smooth.
- Spread three-fourths of the icing on the top of the cooled sheet cake. Outline the flag on the top of the cake with a toothpick. Fill the upper left corner with blueberries. Place 2 rows of raspberries across the top of the cake like a red stripe. Put the remaining icing in a pastry bag fitted with a star tip and pipe two rows of white stripes below the raspberries. Alternate rows of raspberries and icing until the flag is completed. Pipe stars on top of the blueberries.
Red, White and Blue Shortcake Stars
(Courtesy of Betty Crocker)
Ingredients:
- 1½ quarts strawberries, sliced (6 cups)
- 1½ cups granulated sugar
- 4 2/3 cups Original Bisquick® mix
- 1 cup milk
- ½ cup chopped dried cherries
- 6 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 6 tablespoons butter or margarine, melted
- 2 cups blueberries
- ¾ cup whipping (heavy) cream
- 2 tablespoons granulated or powdered sugar
How to:
- Mix strawberries and 1 1/2 cups sugar. Let stand 1 hour.
- Heat oven to 425ºF. Mix Bisquick mix, milk, cherries, 6 tablespoons sugar and the butter until soft dough forms.
- Gently smooth dough into ball on surface sprinkled lightly with Bisquick mix. Knead 10 times. Roll dough 1/2 inch thick. Cut with floured 3-inch star-shaped or round cutter. Place about 1 inch apart on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until golden brown.
- Stir blueberries into strawberries. Beat whipping cream and 2 tablespoons sugar in chilled medium bowl with electric mixer on high speed until stiff. Split shortcakes in half. Fill and top with berries and whipped cream.
Stained Glass Jello – Red, White & Blue for the 4th of July
Ingredients:
- 2 boxes (3-ounces each) red Jello
- 2 boxes (3-ounces each) blue Jello
- 14-oz can sweetened condensed milk
- 2 envelopes unflavored gelatin (Knox)
- Water
How to:
- For each flavor, dissolve one box of Jello in 1 cup of boiling water. Pour into a square container that is about 6 to 8″ square and chill at least 3 hours, or overnight. (Try to use the same size for all four so that the blocks will come out the same. In this case the smaller the better)
- After chilling the flavors, cut them into small blocks.
- Carefully mix the blocks in a 9×13-inch pan.
- In a separate bowl, sprinkle 2 envelopes of unflavored gelatin into ½ cup cold water. After the gelatin blooms, add 1½ cups boiling water and dissolve. Add the can of condensed milk. Stir and let cool. Pour cooled milk mixture over Jello blocks in 9×13 pan. Skim off any small bubbles that are created when you pour the condensed milk on the Jello pieces. Chill overnight or at least 3 hours until firm.
- Cut into stars and serve.
Patriotic Pops
Ingredients:
- 2 cups Blue Kool-Aid, Powerade or Gatorade
- 1 cup frozen whipped topping
- 1 cup vanilla yogurt
- 2 cups cran-raspberry juice
- 12 craft sticks
- 12 5-ounce disposable cups
How to:
- Divide the blue juice equally among the cups and freeze for 30 to 45 minutes.
- Mix the whipped topping and yogurt and divide into cups equally.
- Place a craft stick in the center of each popsicle and freeze again for another 45 minutes.
- Add the cran-raspberry juice equally and place back in freezer until solid.
- To remove pops, run outside of cup under warm water.
4th of July Strawberries
Ingredients:
- 16 ounces white chocolate chips
- 2 tablespoons shortening
- 1 pound fresh strawberries with leaves
How to:
- Insert toothpicks into the tops of the strawberries.
- In a double boiler, melt the white chocolate and shortening, stirring occasionally until smooth. Holding them by the toothpicks, dip the strawberries into the chocolate mixture.
- While the chocolate is wet, dip the tip of the strawberry into blue crystals.
- Turn the strawberries upside down and insert the toothpick into styrofoam for the chocolate to cool.
Firecracker Rice Krispies
Ingredients:
- Festive Fourth of July paper
- Waxed paper
- Non-stick cooking spray (optional)
- Chocolate wafers
- Sprinkles
- Licorice
- Star wire
- 6 cups Rice Krispies cereal
- 4 cups mini marshmallows
- 3 tbsp. butter
How to:
- Whip up a batch of Rice Krispie treats (recipe on the cereal box). Scoop the Rice Krispie/Marshmallow mixture onto a piece of waxed paper.
- Take another piece of waxed paper and place it on top. Use your hands to smooth it out into a square shape. If you need to get in there with just your hands, forgo the waxed paper and spray a little bit of non-stick spray on your hands.
- Once you’ve made a square-ish shape (no need for perfection), cut 1 ½” strips of the Rice Krispie mixture. Depending on how large you decide to make them, you may want to then cut the strip in half.
- Use waxed paper and shape strip into a cylinder. You want to make sure that it stands up, so the bottom needs to be flat. Continue making these Rice Krispie cylinders until you’ve used up your mixture. One batch makes approximately 12 (diameter approx. 1 ¼”, 4” tall)
- Use a paring knife to hollow out a little hole in the top. This is where the licorice wick will go after you’ve dipped the firecrackers in chocolate. Melt chocolate in the microwave at thirty-second intervals, stirring in between. Dip the top of the Rice Krispie treats into the chocolate, coating well, and shaking off any excess. Add sprinkles before the chocolate dries. Stand them up to set.
- While the chocolate is setting, take the licorice piece and gently push it into the top into the hole that you made. As the chocolate hardens, it will help secure the licorice into place.
- To finish these off, cut a strip of festive paper 1 ½” wide, wrap it around the circumference and use double-sided tape to adhere. Inside the licorice piece, put a few pieces of colorful, star wire.
