Here are some delicious ideas for this Fourth of July's bash. We've included a diabetic recipe as well as the infamous Flag Cake.

American Flag Giant Cookie
This is more of a fruit tart than a cookie.

1 (15 oz) pkg. sugar cookie mix
2 tbs. vanilla yogurt
2 tbs. powdered sugar
1 tbs. lemon juice
1 tsp. grated lemon rind
1 (8 oz) pkg. cream cheese, softened
blueberries, raspberries and strawberries

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Follow the package instructions for the sugar cookie mix. Lightly grease a cookie sheet and then press the cookie dough into a rectangular shape that is about 1/8" thick. Press your thumbs into the edges to create a scalloped look. Bake for 8-10 minutes or until the edges begin to brown. Remove from the oven
and cool. While the crust is cooling, mix the cream cheese, yogurt, sugar, lemon juice and lemon rind. Spread over the cooled cookie. Arrange the fruit in an American flag design. Blueberries will form the blue field in the upper left hand corner. Raspberries and/or strawberries will be the horizontal stripes.

Fourth of July Cheesecake - for Diabetics

3 cups vanilla wafer crumbs
4 Tablespoons margarine, melted
3 Tablespoons NutraSweet® Spoonful
1 envelope (1/4 ounce) unflavored gelatin
1 cup skim milk
2 packages (8 ounces each) reduced fat cream cheese, softened
1 package (3 ounces) reduced fat cream cheese, softened
2 Tablespoons lemon juice
1 Tablespoon grated lemon rind
2 teaspoons vanilla
1/3 to 1/2 cup NutraSweet® Spoonful
1 pint blueberries
2 pints raspberries

Mix crumbs, margarine and 3 Tablespoons NutraSweet® Spoonful in medium bowl; pat evenly on bottom of jelly roll pan, 15 by 10 inches.

Sprinkle gelatin over milk in small saucepan; let stand 2 to 3 minutes. Heat over medium low heat, stirring constantly, until gelatin is dissolved. Cool to room temperature.

Beat cream cheese until fluffy in large bowl; gradually beat in milk mixture. Beat in lemon juice and rind, vanilla and 1/3 to 1/2 cup NutraSweet® Spoonful. Pour mixture over crust; refrigerate until set, 3 to 4 hours.

Before serving, decorate to look like an American flag, using blueberries for the stars and the raspberries for the stripes.

Serving size: 1 slice
Yield: 16 slices
Exchanges: 1 starch, 2 fat
170 Calories, 5 g Protein, 16 g Carbo, 10 g Fat

July 4th Cheesecake

Crust:
1-1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs (I use low-fat)
1 tbsp oil or butter, melted
3 tbsp sugar

Filling:
1 envelope unflavored gelatin
1 cup milk (I use skim milk)
2 (8 oz) and 1 (3 oz) pkg. cream cheese, softened (I use the no-fat)
2 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp lemon peel, grated
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 cup sugar
2 c frozen blueberries
4 c frozen raspberries

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare a jelly roll pan with cooking spray; set aside.

To prepare crust, combine graham cracker crumbs, oil, and 3 tablespoons sugar. Place crumb mixture evenly on bottom of prepared pan. Bake for 10 minutes; cool. In a saucepan, combine gelatin and milk. Let stand 2 minutes. Then, heat over medium heat, stirring constantly, until gelatin is dissolved. Cool to room temperature; set aside. In a mixing bowl, combine cream cheese, lemon juice, lemon peel, vanilla extract, and remaining sugar. Add milk mixture. Pour entire mixture over baked crust. Refrigerate until set, 4 hours.

Notes: To serve, decorate to look like a flag, using the blueberries for the stars, and the raspberries for the stripes.

Flag Cake

2 pints strawberries
1 pkg. (10.75 oz.) frozen pound cake, thawed, cut into 10 slices
1-1/3 cups blueberries
1 tub (12 oz.) frozen whipped topping, thawed

Slice 1 cup of the strawberries; set aside. Halve remaining strawberries; set aside. Line the bottom of 12x8-inch baking dish with cake slices. Top with 1 cup sliced strawberries, 1 cup of the blueberries and all of the whipped topping. Place the strawberry halves and remaining 1/3 cup blueberries on whipped topping to create a flag design. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

See more Fourth of July crafts and activities in our Holiday section.

About the Author
Recipes courtesy of our friend Shawn, of Recipe Kitchen at http://www.recipekitchen.com

Did you enjoy this article? Rate It! | Tell A Friend