Fourth of July Treats: Something for Everyone

The fourth of July is a time of celebration. Freedom, friends, FOOD! After all, this is America. With Independence Day just around the corner why not bake a bang of your own. Try one of these four explosive treats!

Fourth of July Apple Pie

Ingredients:
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup shortening
5 tablespoons ice-cold water
8 sliced apples
1 cup Sugar
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Mix together the flour, salt, and shortening until crumbly. Add the water and mix well. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, sugar, and cinnamon. Then add the slices of apple and mix well. Take 1/2 of the dough and roll flat using a rolling pin. Place the dough in a 9 inch pie pan. Fill with the apple mixture and drizzle with butter. Take the remaining dough and roll flat. Place this dough on top of the pie. Using your thumb and index fingers, crimp along the edges to seal. Take a knife and cut slits into top of pastry to allow steam to escape. For a festive option create the image of a shooting star. Bake for about 50 minutes or until crust is golden brown. Let cool and serve. Add a spoonful of whipped cream or vanilla ice cream to make your taste buds glow.
An American Favorite

Red, White, and Blue Flag Cake

Ingredients:
Margarine
Flour
1 package white cake mix + ingredients to make cake
1 package gelatin, any red flavor
1 cup boiling water
1/2 cup cold water
3 1/2 cups thawed whipped topping,
1 pint strawberries, washed and sliced
1 cup blueberries, washed
1 cup miniature marshmallows

Directions:
Grease 13 x 9 pan with margarine and dust lightly with flour. Prepare, mix and bake cake mix according to package directions. Let cool cake for 15 minutes. With a large fork, make holes in cake about every 1/2 inch. Pour the gelatin into the mixing bowl. Add a cup of boiling water and use a scraper to mix thoroughly until the gelatin is completely dissolved. Use measuring cup to pour gelatin over the cake. It will run down into holes, giving the cake a red stripe effect. This will make the cake soggy so don't worry. Chill the cake in the refrigerator 3 to 4 hours. Remove the cake and frost the top and sides with whipped topping. Arrange strawberries and marshmallows in alternating rows for stripes, leaving upper left corner for blueberries. Chill again until it's ready to be served.

Shooting Stars on a Stick

Ingredients:
3 tablespoons margarine
1 package of regular marshmallows
6 cups Rice Krispies
Red, white, and blue candy sprinkles
12 wooden ice cream sticks

Directions:
Melt margarine in large saucepan over low heat. Add marshmallows and stir until completely melted. Remove from heat. Add the Rice Krispies and stir until well coated. Using buttered spatula or waxed paper, press mixture evenly into pan coated with cooking spray. While warm, decorate with individual red, white, and blue sprinkles, alternately making stripes across the top. Let them cool completely. Then using star shaped cookie cutter, cut into shapes. Serve them on an ice cream stick and you've got festive shooting stars!

Rocket Pops

Directions:
Line up several 3 oz. paper cups on a baking sheet. Pour 2 tablespoons of red juice into each cup. Freeze 2-3 hours until firm-slushy. Remove from the freezer and poke a Popsicle stick into the center of each cup of juice. Add 2 tablespoons of white juice and freeze 2-3 hours. Remove from freezer. Top off with blue juice and freeze 1-2 hours until slushy. Remove from freezer and insert a 2 or 3-inch string of licorice into each Popsicle. Freeze until hard. Peel off paper cups to serve. Sure to make any child's eyes and heart sparkle with joy.Ingredients:
Red juice (cherry, strawberry)
Blue juice (blue Kool Aid, blue raspberry)
White juice (lemonade, clear Kool Aid) Red string licorice (Twizzlers pull and peel)
3 oz. paper cups
Popsicle Sticks

Directions:
Line up several 3 oz. paper cups on a baking sheet. Pour 2 tablespoons of red juice into each cup. Freeze 2-3 hours until firm-slushy. Remove from the freezer and poke a Popsicle stick into the center of each cup of juice. Add 2 tablespoons of white juice and freeze 2-3 hours. Remove from freezer. Top off with blue juice and freeze 1-2 hours until slushy. Remove from freezer and insert a 2 or 3-inch string of licorice into each Popsicle. Freeze until hard. Peel off paper cups to serve. Sure to make any child's eyes and heart sparkle with joy.