Across the U.S., friends and families will gather on Saturday to celebrate the 4th of July. Here are a couple ideas for festive desserts that you could make for your 4th of July picnic. If you don't have time to bake anything, you could always pick up some Rocket Pops at the grocery. I'll post some pictures of the Monteagle Assembly's 4th of July picnic next week. This recipes makes the best sugar cookies I've ever eaten. The cookies turn out sweet and buttery, but not too sweet. Everyone will LOVE these cookies.
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1 cup butter or margarine, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
1 egg
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cream of tartar
Mix powdered sugar and butter in a large bowl until light and fluffy (2-3 minutes). Add vanilla, almond extract and egg. Stir in remaining ingredients. Cover and refrigerate at least 2 hours.
Heat oven to 375ºF. Lightly grease cookie sheet or cover sheet with parchment paper or Silpat liner.
Divide dough in half (I usually quarter it instead). Roll each half 1/4 inch thick on lightly floured surface. Cut into desired shapes with 2- to 2 1/2-inch cookie cutters( for the 4th of July, I suggest cutting-out w/ different size star cookie cutters). Place on cookie sheet. The key here is to move quickly and not let the dough warm up. It becomes difficult to manage once warm. If it does warm up, wrap dough in saran wrap and place back in the fridge to chill.
Bake 7 to 8 minutes or until edges are light brown. Remove from cookie sheet. Cool on wire rack.
*This dough can be made in advance then baked when ready. It freezes well too!
Easy Icing Recipe
This icing recipe complements the sugar cookies perfectly. It makes a glossy coating and hardens nicely.
1 cup confectioners' sugar
2 teaspoons milk
2 teaspoons light corn syrup
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
assorted food coloring
In a small bowl, stir together confectioners' sugar and milk until smooth. Beat in corn syrup and almond extract until icing is smooth and glossy. If icing is too thick, add more corn syrup.
Divide into separate bowls, and add food colorings to each to desired intensity. Dip cookies or pipe icing onto cookies (you might need to thicken icing a bit w/ more conf. sugar). Allow icing to harden (at least 1 hour) before packaging cookies.
Here's how my stars turned out tonight! I dipped them in red icing, let that icing set for a bit then piped white and blue designs on top.
Blueberry Pie
This is the easiest pie I know how to make and possibly the most delicious one too! Blueberries are in season right now, so go to the store or the farmer's market and buy some!
1 pint fresh blueberries
3/4 cup sugar
2 Tbs. corn starch
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1Tbs. fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup water
2 Tbs. butter
1 9 inch pie crust, thawed
Preheat oven to 350. Reserve 1 cup berries. Place remaining berries in saucepan and add next 3 ingredients. Crush berries in pan to make juice. Add lemon juice and water and allow to stand for 10 minutes. Bring to a boil over medium high heat, stirring continuously. Boil 3 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and add butter.
Allow to cool. Stir in 1 cup of reserved blueberries. Transfer to bowl, cover and refrigerate.
Bake crust for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from oven. Allow to cool slightly, then pour blueberry filling into pie crust. Refrigerate pie for 2 hours to set filling.
Cheers to planning the menu out in advance! It means more time to enjoy my friends, family and the gorgeous view!
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