Fourth of July Desserts: Let's Hear It for Red, White & Blue! - Other Holidays & Parties - Cooking

Fourth of July Desserts: Let’s Hear It for Red, White & Blue!

No Comments | Written on July 2, 2012 at 5:00 pm, by Ann Hodgman

Sparkling Fourth of July Cake

Here's the "flaggiest" of all flag-themed desserts. Kids, especially, will love that blue cake swirl!

Stars and Stripes Cupcakes

But … if you want a treat that's quicker to assemble, go for these flag cupcakes.

Berry and Sour Cream Pie

With all the delicious fruits in season now, an easy fruit pie is great to have in your arsenal. This recipe is perfect if you're expecting company — it can be made up to a day ahead.

Triple Delicious Pie

If you want a more traditional pie, here's one to fit the bill. (Did you know that blueberries are native to the Northern Hemisphere?) Rhubarb adds a wonderful tang to the filling.

Star-Spangled Shortcakes

Themed sprinkles make me feel awfully patriotic. What other country could have come up with them? Kids will love decorating these classic shortcakes.

Red, White and Blue Parfaits

Speaking of fruit and easy-to-assemble desserts, these parfaits are also low-cal to boot. For a richer flavor, you can replace the whipped topping with 8 ounces of chilled heavy cream, whipped and sweetened to taste. Either way, you'll end up with an eye-popping treat.

Blueberry Cheesecake Bars

Cheesecake bars are easy to pack and serve. Thanks to prepared pie filling, they're also easy to make. If you'd like to serve individual cheesecakes like the ones pictured, this recipe will make a dozen cupcake-sized mini-cakes.

Star Sugar Cookies

Classic sugar cookies are so good — and so much fun to decorate. Lining the baking sheets with parchment paper will ensure that none of these beauties stick to the pan.

Patriotic Salad

I don't care what anyone says — I LOVE Jell-O molds. But they're not really salads, are they? They're desserts. And they're All-American desserts, at that: Jell-O was invented here, after all. I say serve this beauty on a cake platter (sans lettuce) and pass some whipped cream along with it.

Strawberry-Chardonnay Gelee

This sophisticated gelatin dessert is for adults only! Garnish with blueberries and whipped cream if you want all three flag colors — but the gelee is beautiful as is.

Frozen Strawberry Margaritas

While we're on the subject of grownups, a strawberry margarita would taste awfully good right about now. The kids can float some berries in their lemonade if they feel left out.

Dibs on dessert! Bringing it, that is. I’m sick of always having to bring salads and main courses to potlucks. So for my neighborhood’s Fourth of July block party, I’m bringing a dessert. Maybe two desserts, because desserts are more fun to make than any other kind of food.

Fourth of July desserts are especially fun because of the color scheme. You can’t make baked beans look like Old Glory, and if you could, no one would want to eat them. But lots of delicious desserts are red, white and blue! Red and white are no problem, of course; blue can be a challenge, but that challenge has been more than met by these patriotic sweets, from a good old stars-and-stripes sheet cake (a surefire crowd-pleaser) to an elegant berry parfait.

So I say, let someone else bring the potato salad this year.