With the 4th of July just around the corner, if you’re on the lookout for some fun patriotic foods that your kids will love, you’re in luck. And, better yet, your kids will want to help you make these tasty treats! From pretzels to punch, these red, white, and blue recipes will have your kids starry-eyed and ready for the fireworks to start!
Patriotic Pretzels
What you need:
- long stick pretzels
- white chocolate chips or candy melts
- red and blue icing (if they don’t come in tubes, you’ll want a pastry bag and tip)
- red, white, and blue (or rainbow) sprinkles
- wax or parchment paper, or plastic bags
Instructions:
Start melting the candy in a double boiler. If you don’t have a double boiler, fill a large pan with boiling water and place a metal bowl in the middle. Once melted, dip the pretzels in, using a spoon as needed to cover the ends of the pretzels. Place wax or parchment paper or ziplock bags on a flat surface like a cookie sheet. Line up the pretzels, then drizzle the icing over the top, and top with sprinkles. Let cool and then serve. A large wide mouth mason jar works well.
Patriotic Punch
What you need:
- sprite or 7up
- red juice of your choosing
- blueberries, strawberries, pineapple, and watermelon
- star-shaped cookie cutter (optional)
Instructions:
Freeze blueberries ahead of time. Cut the pineapple and strawberries into stars. Just before serving, mix juice and soda in a 1:1 ratio. Add fruit and berries and serve!
Patriotic Popsicles
What you need:
- plain or vanilla yogurt
- red and blue food coloring
- re-usable popsicle molds, or paper cups and tongue depressors
Instructions:
Divide yogurt into thirds. Leave one third plain white. Then add blue and red food coloring to the second and third bowls. Fill the molds 1/3 full with the red yogurt, and then add the white yogurt and blue yogurt. Freeze! If using paper cups and tongue depressors, peel off the cup just before serving.
Alternate option 1: you can also use vanilla, strawberry and blueberry yogurts to the same effect without adding in food coloring, and for more flavors.
Alternate option 2: Instead of food coloring, dice bananas, strawberries, and blueberries and mix in with the three bowls of plain yogurt, and use them to create a layered fruit pop.
Patriotic Parfaits
What you need:
- vanilla yogurt
- rolled oats or your favorite granola mix
- honey
- strawberries, bananas, blueberries, diced and separated
- whipped cream or chocolate syrup (optional)
- parfait glasses or small wide mouth mason jars
Instructions:
Layer in the glasses small amounts in the following order: vanilla yogurt, granola, fruit (choose one), and repeat with alternating fruits, until the glass is full. Top with a drizzle of honey, and garnish the glass with a sliced strawberry. Refrigerate up to 1 hour and serve. (These can be made and frozen ahead of time, but the granola may get soggy.)