Favorite 4th of July Dessert Ideas
Be the star of your summer holiday gathering! Today I’m sharing 4th of July dessert inspiration—berry-laden pies, s’mores-inspired cookies, ice cream treats, and more—in one spot. However you choose to celebrate, any of these dessert recipes are sure to dazzle brighter than the fireworks and sparklers. Lucky for us, the holiday falls in the middle of peak berry season. Blueberries, strawberries, and raspberries make for simple, yet tasty options for decorating desserts in blue and red. I use a combination of blueberries and strawberries to decorate this fresh fruit tart, plus some blackberries when assembling fresh berry cream cake. Or skip the decorating completely and make a berry cobbler! 😉 If you’re up for a baking project, try your hand at an American flag pie using my homemade pie crust. I have a detailed recipe, video tutorial, and lots of helpful photos for you in that post. Complete the celebration with homemade whipped cream and/or a scoop of vanilla ice cream. If you’re craving something handheld for ease of serving, I have you covered there, too. Everyone adores these rice krispie treats (or festive s’mores rice krispie treats!) and M&M cookie bars (use red, white, and blue M&Ms if you have them available to you). And party-goers will love these fireworks cookies or watermelon sugar cookies.
Success Tip: Traveling With Your 4th of July Desserts
If you’re bringing along sheet cakes or bars, bake and transport them in a 9×13-inch pan with a lid. Transport layer cakes in a cake carrier; and a cupcake carrier works great for transporting not only cupcakes, but also cookies and pies.
25+ 4th of July Desserts
How to Decorate an American Flag Cake (Vanilla Sheet Cake)
Before I finish up, let me show you how to turn a 9×13-inch quarter sheet cake into a Fourth of July cake. Have you tried my vanilla sheet cake recipe before? That’s the cake you see pictured here. It uses the reverse creaming method for a pristinely soft and springy crumb, and the whipped frosting is out of this world. (Truly, taste testers go crazy for it! So much so that I decided to use it in my cream-filled chocolate cupcakes recipe, too.) Make the cake: Follow my vanilla sheet cake recipe for the cake, or use your favorite 9×13-inch sheet cake recipe. Make the frosting & decorate: Using the directions in the recipe card below, make the whipped frosting. Spread 2/3 of the frosting all over the cake, saving the remaining 1/3 for piping detail. Grab some fresh blueberries and halved strawberries and line them up to (mostly) mimic the stars and stripes on an American flag. I used Ateco 32 piping tip for the piping between the “stars” and Ateco 844 piping tip for the piping between the “stripes.” This American flag cake would also make a lovely addition to your menu of Memorial Day recipes.
1/2 cup (70g) fresh blueberries 2–3 cups (380–560g) halved fresh strawberries
