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4th of July Cupcakes

Happy Independence Day! 

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I hope you are doing something fun to celebrate the Fourth of July!
We are spending a few days with friends on beautiful Lake Winnipesaukee. As you read this I am most likely taking 534 pictures of my kiddos laughing hysterically and hanging on for dear life to a tube that is getting whipped around the lake!
What’s better on the 4th of July than having fun and eating lots of yummy food with family and friends? If you’re looking for a last minute dessert to make today, try these easy peasy cupcakes that show your true colors – red, white and blue!!
Hannah and I tried our hands at patriotic cupcakes, inspired by the tie-dye cupcakes the ever-talented Kristin of Delightfully Dowling featured a while back on our weekly blog hop Mangia Mondays!

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We mixed up a white cake mix according to the directions on the package, then divided the batter evenly into three bowls. We then tinted two of the bowls red and blue and filled cupcake liners with a heaping tablespoon of each color, starting with blue, then white, and finished with red (about 2/3 full).
The cupcakes were baked according the box directions and allowed to cool.
{To achieve that bright red, I had to use a ton of food coloring. I have read that gel food coloring is concentrated and requires much less than liquid food coloring to achieve the same results.}
Then we divided store-bought white frosting into three bowls and again tinted two red and blue.
Using Kristin’s tie-dye technique, we scooped a little of each frosting into a bag fitted with a decorating tip and went to work swirling the multi-colored frosting onto the cupcakes. This was a little tricky for us  tie-dye frosting novices.
TIP:  fold the edges of the bag down halfway then smear red frosting onto one side of the bag, blue onto the other, and then fill with white in the middle. This seems to give the best results in getting all three colors to squeeze out together. This part was a bit of trial and error –
they are not exactly stunning but were lots of fun to decorate!
We will definitely try Kristin’s tie-dye effect again!

Eventually we opted for simple white frosting.
Remember the golden rule:  sprinkles make everything fabulous!!
{If you are looking for a grown-up dessert for the 4th, try my Sour Cream Fruit Tart!}

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Since I’m unplugged for the holiday, jump on over to Delightfully Dowling to check out other Mangia Monday links and join the fun by entering your own food-related blog post!

Hope you have a happy day celebrating the USA!!

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O beautiful for spacious skies,
For amber waves of grain,
For purple mountain majesties
Above the fruited plain!
America! America! God shed His grace on thee,
And crown thy good with brotherhood
From sea to shining sea!

O beautiful for pilgrim feet,
Whose stern impassion’d stress
A thoroughfare for freedom beat
Across the wilderness!
America! America! God mend thine ev’ry flaw,
Confirm thy soul in self-control,
Thy liberty in law!

O beautiful for heroes proved 
In liberating strife,
Who more than self their country loved,
And mercy more than life!
America! America! May God thy gold refine
Till all success be nobleness,
And ev’ry gain divine!

O Beautiful for patriot dream
That sees beyond the years
Thine alabaster cities gleam,
Undimmed by human tears!
America! America! God shed His grace on thee,
And crown thy good with brotherhood
From sea to shining sea!

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Comments

  1. Kristin says

    these are beautiful, lisa! & sprinkles do make everything fabulous!!! 😀

    happy 4th to you & your family! stay safe & eat a lot of cupcakes.

    Reply

  5. Privet and Holly says

    DAYS at the
    lake? How
    very, very blessed
    you are! We
    had A DAY; the
    Fourth and like
    you, I enjoyed
    seeing the kids
    go tubing and
    have a blast….and
    the fireworks from
    the boat were just
    amazing. Love your
    sweet cupcakes and
    of course, I always
    get teary-eyed at
    the song "America!"
    xx Suzanne

    Reply