In Honor of July 4th: Patriotic Goodies!!

Happy 4th of July!!! Here's a couple of my favorite red, white, and blue recipes to help you celebrate. They are great for packing on the go which makes them perfect for snacking on while watching fireworks. 

Red, White, and Blue Cupcakes (recipe from Betty Crocker)

Ingredients:

for the cupcakes
2 3/4 c. all-purpose flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup shortening or butter
1 2/3 cup sugar
5 egg whites
2 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups milk

for the frosting
6 cups powdered sugar
2/3 cup butter, softened
1 tablespoon vanilla
3 to 4 tablespoons milk

Directions

For the cupcakes:
Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Place a paper baking cup in each of 24 regular size muffin cups. In medium bowl, mix flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside. In large bowl, beat shortening with electric mixer on medium speed 30 seconds. Gradually add sugar, about 1/3 cup at a time, beating well after each addition and scraping bowl occasionally. Beat 2 minutes longer. Add egg whites, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla. On low speed, alternately add flour mixture, about 1/3 of mixture at a time, and milk, about 1/2 at a time, beating until just blended. Divide batter evenly among muffing cups, filling each about 2/3 full. Bake 18-20 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pans 5 minutes. Remove cupcakes from pans; place on cooling racks to cool. Frost with desired frosting. 

For the frosting:
In a large bowl, mix powdered sugar and butter with spoon or electric mixer on low speed. Stir in vanilla and 3 tablespoons milk. Gradually beat in just enough remaining milk to make frosting smooth and spreadable. If frosting is too thick, beat in more milk, a few drops at a time. If frosting is too thin, beat in a small amount of powdered sugar. Generously frosts 24 cupcakes. 
Use patriotic sprinkles, picks, and sugars to decorate. 

Chocolate Chip Cookie Cake

(one of my very favorite dessert recipes of all time! - Original recipe)

Ingredients:

for the cookie cake:

3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened

3/4 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup white sugar

1 egg

2 tsp vanilla extract

2 cups all purpose flour

2 teaspoons cornstarch

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 1/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips OR about 1 cup of chocolate chunks.

for the icing:

see above frosting recipe for cupcakes -just double it if making both cupcakes and cookie cake

For this cookie cake, I divided the frosting into thirds and used food coloring to make the red and blue seen in the photo. 

Directions:

Cream together butter and sugars together until light and fluffy, about 3-4 minutes. Mix in egg and vanilla extract. With the mixer on low speed, add flour, cornstarch, baking soda and salt. Stir in chocolate chips or chunks. Dough will be thick. Chill for at least 30 minutes or overnight. When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Place parchment paper into the bottom of a 9" or 10" cake pan to help the cookie not stick. Spread the dough out into the cake pan. Bake for 18-20 minutes or until the edges are slightly golden. Remove from oven and let cool for a couple minutes on the cookie sheet, then transfer to cooling rack to cool completely. Decorate as desired with lots of frosting in patriotic colors and sprinkles.