We hope you have a wonderful day today with your family and friends!
Celebrate the 4th of July with these fun ideas!
Red, White & Blue Shot
Ingredients:
- ½ ounce Grenadine
- ½ ounce Peach Schnapps or Vodka
- ½ ounce Blue Curacao
Slowly pour each ingredient into a shot glass to create a layered effect. Add them in the order listed above.
Recipe source – punchbowl
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Red, White and Blue Sangria
Ingredients:
- Strawberries, sliced
- Blueberries
- Pineapple, cut into star shapes
- 2 bottles dry white wine
- 1 cup Triple Sec
- 1/2 Cup berry-flavored vodka
- 1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
- 1/2 cup simple syrup
Combine the ingredients in a large pitcher and stir. Chill in the refridgerator for at least four hours.
Recipe source – punchbowl
Patriotic Wedding Favors in Mason Jars
Supplies:
Baby food jars or small mason jars
Red, white, blue spray paint
Red & blue jello
Strawberries & blueberries
Twine
Miniature flags
Whipped topping
Two boxes of jello will make 12 jars. Start with blue mellow, follow the instructions on the jello box and fill the jars 1/3 full. Drop a few blueberries in each jar. Let chill for 4-5 hours.
After the blue jello sets, add sliced strawberries in each jar. Follow the directions to make red jello and pour equivalent portion in jars. Note: Jars should now be 2/3 full. Chill for 4-5 hours. While waiting you can spray paint the lids to the jars red, white and blue.
Top each jar with whipped topping (Cool Whip), another fun option would be mini marshmellows. Tie a piece of twine around each lid and slide a decorative flag through it.
Recipe source – onewed and green acres hobby farm.
Mini Cheesecake Trifle
This fluffy, no-bake cheesecake dessert is simple to prepare, and is delicious accompanied by fresh berries.
Yield: 6-7 Mini Desserts, or 4-5 moderate sized desserts
Ingredients:
Graham Cracker Crumble
1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs (about 10 full sized crackers)
1/3 cup butter, melted
1 Tablespoon sugar
Fluffy Cheesecake
1- 8oz block cream cheese
1/2 cup powdered sugar
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons milk (any fat content)
2 cups cool whip, or freshly whipped cream
Fresh berries (strawberries and blueberries shown)
Directions:
Graham Cracker Crumble
Crush crackers in a large ziplock type bag. Pour crumbs, sugar and melted butter into a bowl and stir until fully combined. Pour into a 9″x13″ casserole dish and press into a even layer. Bake at 350*F for 10-12 minutes, until light brown. Allow to cool.
Fluffy Cheesecake
1. Beat cream cheese in the bowl of an electric mixer until smooth. Add powdered sugar, beat to combine. Add lemon juice and beat until fully incorporated. Add milk, and combine.
2. Fold cool whip or feshly whipped cream into cream cheese mixture. Spoon into dessert dishes, or for smaller dishes, fill a large piping bag and pipe into dessert dishes.
Dessert Assembly
To create the dessert as shown, layer a spoonful of graham cracker crumble, then a layer of cheesecake, fresh chopped strawberries, more cheesecake, fresh blueberries, and a final layer of cheesecake.
Recipe source – Glorious Treats (based on Cherries on a Cloud)
Patriotic Licorice Bundles
Simple & easy treat for kids (& adults) to have at your bbq or to pack along to watch the fireworks! Wrapped in patriotic scrapbook paper, held together by double stick tape. Everyone loves red licorice!
Source – roomtoinspire.blogspot.com
Festive Fruit
Using a small star-shaped cookie cutter, turn watermelon or other types of fruit, patriotic. Fun project for the kids!
Source – Hiphiphooray
Patriotic Pretzels
Delicious chocolate covered pretzel rods with red, white and blue sprinkles and silver sprinkles.
Source – Leslie Ruth
July 4th Flag Cake
You will need (3) 9-inch layers.
1 layer colored blue
1 layer colored red
1 layer left white
Bake layers according to recipe or directions. Let completely cool. You can make them ahead of time and wrap in plastic wrap and store in the refrigerator for a day.
Level off tops of cakes, if needed, Wilton’s Bake Even Strips are great! They insulate the outside of the pan so the outer edge of the cake doesn’t bake faster that the middle, thus preventing domed tops and cracked middles.
One you have your red layer, your blue layer, and your white layer, you will need to slice the red and white layer horizontally with a long, serrated knife. This will be easier if your cakes have been refrigerated and are still cold. Cut them as evenly through the middle as you can. These layers form the stripes of the cake.
Next, take one red half-layer, and one white half layer and stack them on top of one another. Take the whole (uncut) blue layer and set it in front of you. Place the stacked red and white layer on top of the blue layer. Check that they are evenly centered on top of one another.
Using a circle template as a guide, cut a circle exactly centered through all three layers of the blue, white, & red. For this 9-inch cake, use the plastic lid off the top of a shortening can. It was 5 inches. Try to get as close to this measurement as you can so the color ratio looks right. Cut carefully and thoroughly, making sure you get all the way through all the layers.
Next, separate the blue from the red and white layers. Take the middle out of the blue. You won’t be using the blue circle for this recipe, so set it aside. You now have a donut-shaped ring of blue. This will be the star field of your flag.
Now remove the outside ring from the red & white layers. This is not used either, so set it aside. You should have a 5-inch circle consisting of 1 white half-layer, and 1 red half layer. This will be the top stripes of your flag cake.
Assembly:
Take the uncut white half-layer and center it on a cake circle or cake stand. Spread a 1/8–1/4 inch layer of frosting over the top. Keep it as even as you can. Lay the uncut red half-layer on top of the frosting, making sure it is centered. These make up the bottom two stripes of your flag. Frost like the last layer. Make it as even as you can.
Now take the blue donut circle and center it on top of the bottom stripes layer. Using a small offset spatula or knife, spread a very thin layer of frosting around the inside of the blue ring. You don’t really want to see this layer of frosting, it’s just to help adhere the layers. Plus, too much frosting, and your circles won’t fit inside.
Take the white 5-inch circle and set it carefully, but firmly inside the blue ring. Push it down as far as you dare. You want it as even with the blue as you can get it. Spread a thin, thin layer of icing over the white that is inside the blue ring. Place the red circle on top and press down carefully, trying to make the top layers even.
Now you are ready to frost! The recipe below makes about 5 cups of frosting. You will need all of it for a nine inch cake. Put a nice, thick layer on the outside of the cake. You need to make up for the not-so-much frosting on the inside.
Keep the cake refrigerated until ready to serve. You can pull it out a bit ahead of time to take the chill off.
Use a sharp knife that has been dipped in very hot water and wiped dry. It makes very clean cuts. Clean off and re-dip the knife between slices.
White Cake
makes (2) 8 or 9 inch layers–for the Flag Cake, you will need to make this recipe twice, dividing and coloring as directed below before baking
8 tablespoons (1 stick, 4 ounces) unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup vegetable shortening
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoon almond extract
5 large egg whites (these should be room temperature)
2 3/4 cup cake flour , sifted (11 oz. sifted–this is the most accurate way to measure)
1 cup milk (room temperature)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Prepare your cake pans by rubbing a layer of shortening all around the inside. Lay in a circle of parchment int each pan and grease the bottom again. Then tap flour all around the inside as well, tapping out the extra flour. Wrap pans with the dampened Wilton Bake Even Strips. Set aside.
In a mixing bowl, cream together the butter and shortening until very well incorporated and very light in color. Add the baking powder, sugar, flavorings, and salt and beat another minute.
Add the egg whites, one at a time, beating very well and scraping down the sides in between each addition. This should take about 5 minutes. The mixture will be very light in color and very fluffy by this time.
Next, to incorporate the flour and milk, add about 1/4 of the flour, and then 1/3 of the milk. Add another 1/4 flour, another 1/4 milk and so on, ending up with the last 1/4 cup of flour.
Make sure all ingredients are well incorporated, but take care not to over beat the batter. You just spent a fair bit of time getting the air into the cake, don’t deflate it by being too aggressive.
Split your batter in half and add the food coloring at this time. I made one batch and colored 1/2 blue, and 1/2 red. It will take quite a bit, especially of the red. Americolor Gel Paste Super Red, and Royal Blue. Add the tiniest bit of black to each one just to deepen the colors. TINIEST!! To get the white layer you will need to make a second batch of cake, leaving it white. You will have a leftover layer of white cake.
Use a scale again to fill the pans evenly. If you don’t own scales just do your best to make them even. Use a spatula to spread the batter around evenly.
Bake the two layers in the oven for 27–32 minutes, depending on your oven and altitude. The cakes will be done when they spring back to the touch in the middle and barely begin to pull way from the sides. Watch carefully towards the end. It doesn’t take long to over bake a cake, especially one from scratch.
Remove pans from the oven and let cool 10 minutes on a rack. Use a knife to loosen the edges and carefully remove from pans and let finish cooling on a rack. When completely cooled, wrap in plastic wrap and store flat in fridge.
Cream Cheese Frosting
3 (8) oz. packages cream cheese, softened
1 cup (8oz.) unsalted butter, softened
1 lb. powdered sugar, sifted
Whip together the cream cheese and butter until very fluffy. Add the sifted powdered sugar. You can add colorless flavors or lime/lemon zest. This recipe results in a very soft frosting. Try not to let your cake sit out too long in the heat.
Recipe source – secretlifeofachefswife.com
ENJOY – we would love to hear if you tried any of these July 4th treats & recipes!