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Kids love to create. Food is no exception! Here are some fun treats to make this Fourth of July. Help your kids surprise your family and friends with these delicious additions to the dessert table.

Pretzel Sparklers

long rod pretzels
white chocolate, melted
sprinkles (red, white and blue) or star cake decorations

Melt the white chocolate. Dip the pretzel rod halfway into the melted chocolate then sprinkle the sprinkles over the wet chocolate. Lay on waxed paper or place in a cup to dry.

Fruit Sparklers

24 large blueberries
24 strawberries
3 bananas, cut into 8 pieces each
24 cherries
24 large marshmallows

8 wooden skewers
8 each red, white, and blue ribbons, 1-foot lengths

Skewer fruit and marshmallows on wooden skewers in a red, white and blue pattern, using for of each item on a skewer.

Tie red, white, and blue ribbons to the bottom of the skewer.

Safety tip: When finished skewering fruit, break off sharp tips of skewers to prevent injury.

Skyrocket Ice Pops

12 (8 oz) plastic cups
12 craft sticks (looks like popsicle sticks)

Red Layer:
4 cups cran-raspberry juice
red food coloring

White Layer:
2 cups frozen whipped topping
2 cups vanilla yogurt

Blue Layer:
4 cups grape juice
water
blue food coloring

Mix the grape juice and water until a suitable blue color results. Try adding blue food coloring to achieve the desired shade. Pour into the plastic cups filling them 1/3 full. Place into the freezer until the start to freeze. Once they do, stick a craft stick in the center of each cup.

Freeze until solid. Mix the yogurt and whipped topping together. Place a layer on top of the frozen blue layer, and freeze for one hour. Repeat the process given for the blue layer but do it with the cran-raspberry juice and red food coloring. Add a red layer to each cup and freeze until frozen.

Run the outer side of the cups under cold water to release them.

Picnic Pops

2 cups apple juice
4 cups strawberries, fresh or frozen
4 cups blueberries, fresh or frozen

Blender
2 popsicle molds
12 paper cups
12 popsicle sticks

Whirl together 1 cup apple juice with strawberries in blender. Pour liquid into molds or cups, filling half full. Insert sticks and freeze for two hours. Whirl together remaining apple juice with blueberries in blender.

Add liquid to molds or cups that contain the strawberry mixture, filling to the top. Freeze for two more hours. When firm, remove from freezer, remove from molds or peel off cups, and serve.

Variations: Alternate the red and blue layers 4 times instead of 2 times. Add a white layer using lemonade or coconut juice.

Practical Tip: To keep sticks upright before the liquid freezes, cover each paper cup with foil and insert stick through the hole cut in the top.

Patriotic Punch

12 cherries or small strawberries
12 blueberries
2 12-ounce cans frozen lemonade, reconstituted, thawed
1 32-ounce bottle sugar-free lemon-lime soda

Ice cube tray
Large punch bowl
Ladle
12 tall clear glasses

Put a cherry or strawberry and a blueberry into each ice cube compartment. Pour one can lemonade into the ice cube tray over the fruit. Freeze until firm. Combine second can of lemonade with soda in punch bowl. Serve lemonade ice cube with each drink in glasses.

Variation: Instead of putting fruit into ice cubes, tint ice cubes red and blue using food coloring.

Other Fun Ideas

* Vanilla ice cream with red & blue sprinkles
* Sugar cookies with white icing and red & blue sprinkles
* Cherry or Blue Kool-Aid
* Color tint milk with blue food coloring for the boys, and red for the girls
* Vanilla shakes tined blue or red with food coloring

About the Author
Special thanks to Shawn of Recipe Kitchen for some of these recipes. Other recipes reprinted with permission from The Kid's Party Cookbook, written by Penny Warner author of Kid's Party Games and Activities.

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