Friday, July 4, 2014

Happy 4th of July!




Wishing you a wonderful and relaxing Fourth of July celebration!





One of my favorite things to for the holidays is baking,
and I love having a pretty platter of sweets.  Here is a delicious dessert
menu that is fun and easy to bake with the kids.
Strawberry Napoleons, blueberry cheesecake, chocolate mousse bites,
Jello jigglers, peach cobbler, and raspberry chocolate mousse cups.






The recipes are simple to prepare.  Serve them in individual parfait
glasses for an attractive dessert platter.
Pepperidge Farm® Strawberry Napoleon Recipe
William Sonoma® Chocolate Mousse Recipe
(fill the mousse into chocolate cups and glass dishes) 
Martha Stewart® Peach Crumble Recipe
(garnish with whip cream)





Cheesecake Bites
1 (8 oz.) package of cream cheese, softened
1 1/2 cups of cold milk
1 (3.4 oz) package of vanilla pudding
1 1/2 cups of whipped cream
Beat the cream cheese in a mixer and gradually mix in the milk.
Add dry pudding mix and mix well.  Fold in the whipping cream.

Graham cracker crust:
1 1/2 cups of finely ground graham crackers
5 tbl melted butter
1/4 cup sugar and a dash of salt
Combine all ingredients and press 2 tbls of mixture into cupcake molds.
Bake at 350 degrees until golden brown (about 6-10 minutes).
Remove crust from pan and pipe the cheesecake mixture
onto the cooled graham cracker crusts.





4th of July Jello™  Jigglers
Step 1: Prepare the red layer and combine two 6 oz boxes of red jello
with two and a half cups of boiling water.  Stir until dissolved and pour
into greased 9x13 dish.  I sprayed the dish with a light layer of PAM oil.
Place the jello in the refrigerator until it sets, about 20 minutes.

Step 2: To make the white layer, dissolve two envelopes of unflavored
gelatin with a quarter cup of boiling water.  Set aside.  In a separate bowl,
mix a can of condensed milk with a cup of boiling water.  
Add the gelatin mixture into the creamy mixture, and stir in another 
half a cup of boiling water.  Pour the white jello mixture onto the
set blue layer, and allow the jello to completely set in the refrigerator. 

Repeat Step 1 with blue jello mix to prepare the blue layer,
and allow the jello to completely chill before cutting.

Enjoy!