4TH OF JULY DESSERT IDEAS

Happy 4th!

Today i'm sharing some of my favorite dessert recipes for 4th of July. They are all super simple and can be put together in a short amount of time. I typically make all four of these every year since each one of us always wants something different, ha! This post also includes my favorite brownie recipe of all time. I found this recipe a few years ago and it is the only recipe i will use! Anytime I make this for an event, people always follow me around asking for the recipe, lol. It's SO good! 😀


1. Patriotic Trifle-

This is my go-to every year! It's so simple and so good! It can be thrown together in a few minutes. You can also double this if needed. You'll need:

• Frozen or store bought pound cake; diced into cubes (i use the 13oz Sara Lee brand)
• whipped topping
• sugar free vanilla pudding mix
• 1-1/2 cups of cold milk
• 1-2 cups of fresh strawberries and blueberries
  
  
• trifle dish
  
  First, you'll want to make sure the pound cake is thawed out (if using frozen). You will cut it into small squares. Next, you'll whisk the pudding mix and milk in a bowl for about two minutes. Then, you are going to add in the tub of cool whip/whipped topping. 
  
  Next, get your trifle dish and add a couple of the pound cake squares, covering the bottom of the dish. Add a layer of the strawberries and blueberries covering the pound cake, and then top woth a layer of the pudding. Repeat each layer until you're finished. 
  
  Refrigerate at least an hour before serving.

2. Firecracker/Patriotic Bundt Cake-




We sometimes call it the "firecracker" cake because of the messy look the icing gives. I usually go all out and make everything from scratch. However, I was not trying to do all of that today so I went super easy with this one. For this one, you'll need:

• 1 box of white cake mix (love me some Betty!)
• 1 tub of white frosting
• food coloring (red and blue only)
• sprinkles
  
• bundt pan
• six small bowls/containers

First, you'll want to pre-heat your oven accordingly. For a bundt, it says 325. Then you will make the cake mix as the directions say on the back of the box. Next, you'll separate the cake batter into three different bowls. You'll keep one bowl with the plain batter (white), and for the next two, you will add a few drops of red food coloring into one, and a few drops of blue food coloring into the other. You may need to add more than necessary if you're trying to get brighter colors. I did about 6-10 drops into each and honestly could have done a little more of the red since it came out looking more pink than red. 

Spray your bundt pan with non-stick spray. Next, start with the red or blue mix, and add it to the bottom o the bundt pan. Next, add the white batter, and then top it off with the remaining batter. 

It will look like this.

Bake according to the box, usually about 40 minutes or so.When the cake is done, allow to cool for a few minutes before transferring to a dish. You'll want to use a rubber spatula to make sure it doesn't stick to the pan before transferring. When it's on a dish, continue to let cool down. While it's cooling, get your frosting and another three containers ready. You're going to do the same thing we did with the cake mix. Separate the frosting into three different mini bowls. I use two and then keep some of the white frosting in the frosting tub and use it from there. Add a couple drops of red food coloring to one bowl, and a couple drops of blue food coloring into the other bowl. When the cake has finally cooled down a bit, i microwave each frosting for maybe 10 seconds so it gives it a runny texture and then i drizzle each color onto the cake. It doesn't matter which color you start with, it'll look like one big red, white, and blue drizzle. Once you're done with the frosting, you can add some sprinkles on top!

3. Brownies -

 

This is my go to recipe! Has almost 13,000 five star ratings. It can be found here. Depending on the holiday, I will top if off with colored sprinkles, and candy bits. For today, I used the red, white & blue m&ms (found at Target!) and some patriotic sprinkles I had in the cabinet.

 

4. Red, White & Blue s'mores- I found these cookies and cream Hershey bars at Target (on clearance!) and used them instead of a standard chocolate bar. So so good! And then of course your graham crackers and marshmallows. We used the jumbo "s'more-mallows" squares for these and they triple in size. Just look at that gooey-ness! 😋

I'll have to do one of these posts every holiday! 

What are some fun recipes you make for the 4th? Would love to add some new ideas to my list.