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!

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