July Recipes
What can be more patriotic than some 4th of July Cupcake Kabobs or more American that some Double Crusted Apple Pie?
4th of July Cupcake Kabobs
Cupcake kabobs are easy, fun and inexpensive to make. Using your favorite cake recipes or buying box cake mix, these kabobs come together with minimal effort. They are a fun project to keep your kids busy at your 4th of July BBQ. And they look great and are delicious! There are instructions on how to win a dozen just in time for the Fourth at the bottom of my post, but if you feel up to making them yourself, here are the directions.
What Youll Need
White cake batter (your recipe or box mix make sure its white, not yellow)
Red Velvet cake batter (your recipe or box mix)
Blue food coloring
12 or 24 cup Mini cupcake pan
Cooking spray
Large marshmallows
cup of water
White frosting (your recipe or container of 4th of July frosting)
Bamboo skewers
Assorted sprinkles and colored sugars in patriotic colors
Fruit - strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, bananas whichever you prefer
Begin by making your white cake batter as directed by your recipe or the directions on the box. Split the batter into two bowls and tint one of the bowls with 3 drops (or 1/8 tsp) of blue food coloring. Keep the other bowl white.Note: If you cant find or dont want to make red velvet, you could split the white batter into thirds and tint one of the other bowls with red food coloring.
Fill your cupcake wells up of the way. Spray your pan with cooking spray (liners are not needed since youll be taking them off anyway so save yourself a step). Bake a few batches of mini white and blue cupcakes. Let them cool in the pans for 10 mins then transfer them to a cooling rack.
Repeat the same process for your red velvet cake.
These mini cupcakes can be made at least 2 days in advance. Once theyve cooled completely, put them in a plastic storage container with a sealed lid and leave at room temperature or in the fridge.
Prepare for assembly
Put the white frosting in a bowl and microwave until soft and smooth, about 15 seconds. Pour the sprinkles in separate bowls. For these kabobs, I used 3 bowls 1 for red sugar, 1 for blue sugar, and 1 for a mix of red, white and blue sprinkles and nonpareils. Get cup of water. You can leave this in the measuring cup. Put the large marshmallows in a bowl. Cut up your fruit into bite size pieces. Put your cooled cupcakes on a plate.
Assembly
Take a mini cupcake and dip the top into the warmed frosting. Then dip into the sprinkles. Do this with all the mini cupcakes. You may need to reheat the frosting if the cupcakes start to get stuck in the bowl. Just reheat in 10-second increments until its smooth again. Keep dipping until all the cupcakes are done.
Grab a large marshmallow and dip one end into the water. Let any excess water drip off then dip one end into the red colored sugar. Turn it over and dip the other end into the water. Let excess water drop off then dip into the blue colored sugar. Set aside to dry.
Take one bamboo skewer in your hand and slide a red cupcake down leaving at least 1 of skewer in your hand. Next, slide a marshmallow down, then a piece of fruit (for this skewer I used strawberries). Take a white cupcake and slide that down on top of the piece of fruit, followed with a marshmallow and another piece of fruit. Top the skewer off with the blue cupcake. Continue this until youve made as many skewers as youd like.
Kids will love assembling these! Just be careful of the points on the bamboo sticks. And keep plenty of paper towels handy as the frosting tends to get onto little fingers. Or if need be, these can be made a day in advance as long as you use non-browning fruit. Store in a plastic container with a tight lid until ready to display.
Double Crusted Apple Pie
Ingredients
PASTRY:
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup vegetable shortening
1/2 cup ice water
Cooking spray
FILLING:
10 cup thinly sliced peeled Granny Smith apple (about 3 pounds)
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 tablespoon chilled butter, cut into small pieces
TOPPING:
1 tablespoon fat-free milk
1 teaspoon turbinado sugar
Preparation
To prepare pastry, lightly spoon 2 1/2 cups flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine 2 1/2 cups flour and 1/2 teaspoon salt in a large bowl, stirring well with a whisk; cut in shortening with a pastry blender or two knives until mixture resembles coarse meal. Gradually add ice water; toss with a fork until flour mixture is moist. Divide the dough into 2 equal portions. Gently press each portion into a 4-inch circle on heavy-duty plastic wrap; cover and chill 30 minutes.
Preheat oven to 425.
Slightly overlap 2 sheets of plastic wrap on a slightly damp surface. Unwrap and place 1 portion of chilled dough on plastic wrap. Cover dough with 2 additional sheets of overlapping plastic wrap. Roll dough, still covered, into a 12-inch circle. Place dough in freezer 5 minutes or until plastic wrap can be easily removed. Remove top sheets of plastic wrap; fit dough, plastic wrap side up, into a 9-inch deep-dish pie plate coated with cooking spray. Remove remaining plastic wrap.
To prepare filling, combine apple and next 5 ingredients (through nutmeg); toss gently to coat. Spoon apple mixture into prepared pie plate; top with butter.
Slightly overlap 2 sheets of plastic wrap on a slightly damp surface. Unwrap and place remaining portion of chilled dough on plastic wrap. Cover dough with 2 additional sheets of overlapping plastic wrap. Roll dough, still covered, into an 11-inch circle. Place dough in freezer 5 minutes or until plastic wrap can be easily removed. Remove top sheets of plastic wrap; fit dough, plastic wrap side up, over apple mixture. Remove remaining plastic wrap. Press edges of dough together. Fold edges under, and flute. Cut several slits in top of dough to allow steam to escape.
To prepare topping, brush top of dough with milk; sprinkle turbinado sugar evenly over dough. Place pie plate on a foil-lined baking sheet; bake at 425 for 10 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 350 (do not remove pie from oven); bake an additional 40 minutes or until browned. Cool on a wire rack.