We’re getting excited to celebrate the 4th of July! It’s a great time to spend time with family and friends and celebrate our nation’s independence! In honor of Independence Day, our team has put together a few of our favorite red, white, and blue recipes…just in time for your celebration! From breakfast to snacks, appetizers to desserts, these recipes will have you celebrating the Red, White, and Blue all day long. We hope you enjoy!
Super Easy Strawberry Shortcake
Ingredients (for shortcake):
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/2 cups heavy cream or half and half
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, sugar, and salt in a medium bowl. Add cream and mix until just combined. Place mixture in a greased 8-inch square pan and bake until golden (16-18 minutes).
Remove shortcake from pan and place on a rack to cool slightly. Cut and split each piece in half horizontally.
Layer with strawberries and whipped cream, ice cream, or just more berries! I made a strawberry sauce by cutting/mashing one pint of berries and 2-3 tablespoons sugar. My ice cream melted by the time I took a picture, though.
RW&B Strawberries
This recipe adapted from Our Best Bites.
Ingredients:
- Strawberries
- Almond Bark (you can also use white chocolate chips)
- Blue Sugar or sprinkles
Directions:
Wash and dry strawberries. I like to leave the stems on to use as handles. You could also remove the stems and use toothpicks.
Melt almond bark in the microwave, stopping every 30 seconds to stir to avoid burning. You can use a double boiler if you want to be extra cautious. If your melted product is too thick, you can add a tablespoon of vegetable oil or melted shortening to thin it out a bit for easier dipping.
Holding on to the stem, dip strawberries two-thirds into almond bark, and then dip just the bottom third into blue sugar or sprinkles. Set on wax or parchment paper to cool.
RW&B Cherry Limeade
This recipe adapted from Creative Juice.
Ingredients:
Ocean Spray Cherry Cocktail
Gatorade Cool Blue
La Croix Lime Sparkling Water
A squeeze of lime
Directions:
You can use any three beverages you like, as long as they all have different sugar contents. For example, per 8 ounce serving, the cherry juice has 28 grams of sugar, the Gatorade has 14 grams, and the La Croix has 0 grams. Any kind of diet soda could be used for the top beverage, as it will have the smallest sugar content, but I tried to avoid artificial sweeteners in my drink.
Fill the bottom half of the glass with ice. Pour your sugary-est drink in the bottom, filling it up about halfway up the glass. Add some more ice, and pour your middle drink slowly on top, filling it up to about three-quarters of the glass. Add a bit more ice, and top it off with your lightest beverage. In general, you’ll only need a little of the top drink to create the three-layer effect. I tried using equal thirds of each beverage, but the bottom drink ended up looking “squashed”.
Squeeze a fresh lime on top, add a decorative straw, and enjoy! While they look pretty in layers, these drinks will stay separated into layers for only about 20 minutes, but that’s okay, because they tend to taste best all mixed up anyway!
Cream Cheese & Raspberry Jalapeño Dip
Ingredients:
- 8 oz cream cheese
- Raspberry jalapeño jelly (to taste)
- Crackers, chips, or pretzels (I usually use Wheat Thins, but this time we used blue corn tortilla chips to keep in the red, white, and blue theme!)
Directions:
Spread cream cheese on a plate. Top with the jalapeno jelly. Use the crackers, chips, or pretzels to dip! Enjoy!! I picked up some red, white, and blue goldfish for the kiddos. Yum!
Festive Flag Cake
Ingredients:
- 1 box of your favorite cake mix (I used brownie mix this time because I had it on hand)
- 1 can of frosting or container of cool-whip, thawed (or you can make your own frosting by mixing together 2 cups powdered sugar, 3/4 cup softened butter, 2 tbs milk, and 2 tsp vanilla)
- Strawberries, sliced thinly
- Blueberries
Directions:
Bake your cake/brownies according to the directions on the box. Let it cool. Frost. Then decorate it like a flag! Make a square out of blueberries in the top left corner for the stars. Then layer sliced strawberries in rows for the stripes! Eat and enjoy!
The best part about this recipe? Your kids can help! From mixing up the cake, to frosting and decorating, they can be involved in every step. My 4 year-old daughter loved doing the fruit, and pretty much decorated it by herself with just a little help from me!
Red, White, and [kind-0f] Blue Popcorn
Ingredients:
Air-popped popcorn
Banana chips
Yogurt-covered blueberries
Craisins
Directions:
Red, White, & Blue Pancakes
Ingredients:
1 & ½ cups flour 1 & ¼ cups milk
3 & ½ tsp. baking powder 1 egg
1 tsp. salt 3 Tbsp. butter (melted)
1 Tbsp. white sugar Dollops whip cream
Red food coloring Syrup (if desired)
Blue Candles (to be festive)
Directions:
Preheat electric skillet to 375 degrees. In a large bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, salt, & sugar. Pour in milk, egg, melted butter, & food coloring. Mix until smooth. Use a ¼ cup batter for each pancake. Brown on both sides. Top with cool whip and candles. Celebrate your Independence Day!!!
Substitutions:
Top with blueberries instead of blue candles. (If your 2-year-old daughter hasn’t eaten them all while you’re whipping these up.) Ha!
We hope you find some fun and festive ways to celebrate our great nation this Fourth of July!
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The strawberries are so cute and so simple! Thanks for the ideas!