Some Ideas for Treats for July 4th

As July 4^th approaches, I am thinking about what kind of goodies I can serve to my friends and family. Summer is my favorite season and I love to host cookouts and picnics during these nice warm months. I try to have a nice assortment of treats to go with my regular cookout dependable foods: Hamburgers, Hot Dogs, Chips (3 or 4 kinds), Dips (again, 3 or 4 kinds), Baked Beans, and Drinks.

My list for this year includes: Ice Cream, Cookies, Brownies, Fruit, Angel Food Cake, and Strawberry Pie.

Ice Cream is one of my favorite desserts to make and serve. I only serve my guests ice cream that I make myself. I use a regular ice cream freezer (usually making 4 quarts at a time). Here is my favorite recipe -it is very simple. First of all, I take 2 cans of sweetened condensed milk and add about ½ cup of sugar to it. Then I add almost ½ gallon of mile to the condensed milk/sugar mix. Blend/Stir this until it is well mixed. Next, add 2 to 3 tablespoons of vanilla flavoring. I like my ice cream strong! Mix again and does a taste test. The mixture should taste very sweet -too sweet actually, because we will add some more milk later. Go for a taste that you would like if it were a bit weaker. Pour the mixture into the ice cream freezer can and place the paddle into the bucket. Fill the freezer to the fill line with milk and stir a bit and then taste again. Add vanilla if needed. Then assemble the freezer and plug it in. Be sure to layer your ice with rock salt for maximum cold in the freezing. When the freezer stops, it is ready. You can either enjoy it as a soft serve or remove the canister and store it in the freezer for a firmer ice cream. I usually serve the ice cream with a few toppings: chocolate syrup, strawberries, caramel, whipped topping, etc.

My favorite treat for the children is a nice decorated cookie. I purchase these at my local bakery. The bakery decorates large sugar cookies in many designs. The last time I was in, they had starfish, stars, surfer boys and girls, butterflies, caterpillars, and soccer balls. I usually pick up a dozen or so stars. They are usually around one dollar each.

Next, I bake a pan of brownies using a standard mix. To add my personal flair, I add about a cup of milk chocolate chips to the mix just before I pour the mix into the pan.

I try to serve a variety of fresh fruit with either plain yogurt or a store bought fruit dip. Usually, my fruit selections include: strawberries, banana slices, grapes, watermelon wedges, apple wedges, and orange wedges. I arrange the fruit on a nice tray and place a bowl of dip in the middle. It is usually a hit.

I also serve an angel food cake, sliced, and place it near the fruit. My guests can embellish their cake any way they want. I have seen it with an ice cream topping, and with various fruit toppings, as well as plain.

Last, I make my favorite dessert -strawberry pie. First, I bake a packaged pie crust until it is flaky. Then, I mix cream cheese and sugar until it hits a taste that I like. I spread this mixture into the pie crust. Then, I use water, sugar and corn starch, cooking until it is thick and clear. To this, I add about ¼ cup of strawberry powdered gelatin and 1 ½ - 2 cups of sliced strawberries. I pour this mix over the cream cheese mixture in the pie crust. Then, the pie gets chilled for 6 hours. I usually end up making at least 2 of these -and there are NEVER any leftovers.

These are my 4^th of July cookout treats. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do.