America’s birthday is almost here and I cannot wait! Independence Day is one of best stress-free holidays there is! It’s a casual gathering of friends and family surrounded by food, fireworks, and a gorgeous sunny sky.
Because July 4th is such a casual and fun time for me, I love trying out some new and exciting desserts that are easy to make and festive enough to bring to any holiday Barbeque or beach setting.
Here are a few of my holiday favorites:
Festive Popcorn. One of the easiest and cheapest snacks to make! Just add food coloring to the oil before the kernels, and pop three separate batches, one with blue food coloring, one with red food coloring and one plain. Combine all three batches of colorful popcorn and season.
For the fruit lovers in your life, try dipping whole strawberries in white chocolate then shake on some blue sprinkles for the finishing touch.
For guests who prefer cookies, design your sugar cookies into American Flags. Spread creamy white icing on top of the cookie into 3 separate parts. Dip blue food coloring onto one section and red food coloring onto the other. Use a toothpick to make starts and stripes.
If you like American Flags but prefer it was made out of fruit instead of cookies, try arranging strawberry and banana chunks into alternating rows as stripes in the flag and lay out blueberries in a square in the corner to represent the stars.
If you prefer cheese AND fruit, use chunks of Swiss or mozzarella cheese in place of bananas.
Are you a parfait lover? Place six jars or glasses on counter. Start layering fruit in red berries, home-whipped cream, and blueberries.
Baked Apples. Bake a few apples and setting them in the oven or on the grill caramelizes the sugars to make them even tastier. Remove the core, add cinnamon and raisins. Cover with foil and bake until soft.
Old Fashioned Cupcakes. Whip up a batch of your favorite cupcakes. After cooling, top them with white icing and decorate with red and blue sprinkles or red and blue berries.
Love your Kebabs? Get festive and line up halved strawberries, banana rounds, and three blueberries on wooden skewers on a beautiful platter.
Prefer a Drink Instead? Serve a colorful red, white, and blue Sangria. This refreshing light wine punch is a summer favorite of mine. For a fruitier taste, add a few blueberries, some red apple slices, three ounces of orange liquor, and some club soda to a bottle of white wine. Mix, pour and enjoy!
