4th of July gatherings require easy treats to pass and share! Here are a few of my favorites…

Chocolate Covered Strawberries
Everyone loves chocolate dipped strawberries and these are super easy to make and festive for the 4th of July. Select ripe organic strawberries, wash and pat dry, and allow the berries to dry for an hour or more on a clean dish towel. The strawberries must be completely dry and at room temperature so the chocolate will adhere to the fruit.

You will need:
-1 pound of fresh strawberries
-2 cups of good white chocolate
-Blue sprinkles
-Wax paper
-Baking sheet
-Spatula
-Double broiler

How to melt the chocolate:
Fill the double broiler with about 2 inches of water and simmer. Transfer chocolate to the top of the double broiler and set this over the simmering water. The chocolate will melt slowly and be sure to stir occasionally to remove the lumps.

Line your baking sheet with wax paper and place dry strawberries to one side. Remove the melted chocolate and set in front of baking sheet. Dip one strawberry at a time in chocolate – shake slightly to remove excess. Dip chocolate coated strawberry into blue sprinkles. Lay carefully on wax paper and let chocolate set. Once chocolate is dried, place berries on a lovely serving platter and put in refrigerator until it’s time to serve.

Tomato and Mozzarella Caprese Skewers
Here’s a healthy treat to serve at your next picnic, my family and friends love this “slice of summer deliciousness!” Best of all it takes only a few minutes to prepare!

You will need:
-Short wood skewers
-Mini mozzarella balls
-Small ripe cherry tomatoes
-Fresh basil
-A good Italian reduced Balsamic Vinegar
*All items above are easy to find in your local grocery store.

Wash tomatoes and dry, thread tomato, a basil leaf, then a mozzarella ball on a skewer, and repeat. You can also chop fresh basil and sprinkle on top before serving. Place on a large platter, drizzle reduced Balsamic Vinegar before serving. These appetizers are so easy to make and your guests will love them!

Classic Deviled Eggs

You will need:
-A dozen eggs
-1/2 cup of mayonnaise
-1 teaspoon of white vinegar
-1 tablespoon of honey mustard
-1 tablespoon of minced green onions
-Dash of salt and pepper
-Paprika for garnish

Place eggs in a single pan with enough cold water to cover eggs. Bring water to boil for 14 minutes, remove eggs from hot water and place under cold running water for 1 minute. Place eggs in a bowl of cold water and refrigerate for a couple hours until completely cool to the touch.

Peel eggs under running water and pat dry. Slice eggs in half and place yolks in a large bowl. Mash yolks with a fork then add mayonnaise, honey mustard, minced onions, and salt and pepper then mix well until creamy. Spoon a tablespoon of mixture onto each egg and sprinkle paprika on top. Arrange on a platter and cover. Place in refrigerator until you are ready to serve. You may make deviled eggs one day in advance and this recipe will take about a half hour to make.

Helpful tip- remember you do not want to set your deviled eggs for an extended amount of time in hot weather because of the mayonnaise. This tends not to be a problem in our family because the deviled eggs go very quickly!

Heart Shaped Brownies with Cream Cheese Frosting

You will need:
Frosting
-2 cups confectioner’s sugar sifted
-2 8 oz packages of cream cheese softened to room temperature
-1/2 cup butter
-1 teaspoon vanilla extract
-Red and blue sprinkles

In a large bowl mix cream cheese and butter until well mixed. Stir in vanilla and gradually add the confectioner’s sugar. Store and refrigerate until ready to frost brownies.

Brownies
-Betty Crocker brownie mix (no judging) I work full time and I do not feel bad about using a box mix when it’s this good!

Mix brownies according to back of box and pour into a heart shaped muffin pan. Bake accordingly to directions and let cool thoroughly. Ice brownies and sprinkle one half with red sprinkles and one half with blue sprinkles.

There are always a lot of neighborhood kids at our 4th of July celebrations and they loved the heart shaped treats, and who doesn’t love chocolate?