Easy Dessert Recipes: 4th of July Trifle

I think everyone I’ve ever met enjoys dessert from time to time, and cooks especially appreciate easy dessert recipes. I’m no exception – to either. I don’t have a big sweet tooth, but I do enjoy the occasional dessert, and I like to make easy desserts sometimes for special occasions. Quick and easy desserts might include store-bought cakes, pies, or pastries. You can also make quick and easy dessert recipes with boxed pudding mixes, Jell-o, whipped topping, canned pie filling, and graham cracker pie crusts. I often like to combine ready-made bakery items with other ingredients in order to “dress up” the bakery goods and make them seem more “homemade.” This combination makes for easy dessert recipes that have your own personal touch. Today, I’m sharing with you an easy dessert recipe that I call 4^th of July trifle.

Why not extend your 4^th of July decorations into some of the foods you’re serving? This is especially easy to do with desserts. Use red, white, and blue sprinkles on cupcakes and cookies, or stick some small flags in cupcakes. Make red and blue ice cubes with fruit punch in the same colors and serve them in ginger ale. Use cherries or strawberries to make stripes on cakes. Make Jell-o cubes in red and blue and place them in tall glasses, topped with whipped cream. Make ice cream parfaits in patriotic colors. Mix up batches of red, white, and blue icing and pipe it on pastries. Have a big bowl of red, white, and blue candies for the kids. Buy a sponge cake or angel food cake and turn it into a cherry-berry cake with cherry and blueberry pie filling.

I often use patriotic-themed foods as part of our Labor Day, Memorial Day, and 4^th of July decorations, and you can, too. Some of my favorites are trifle recipes. Attractive foods will get all your guests in a festive spirit!

Trifle recipes have basically no limits when it comes to ingredients. They’re super easy desserts because you can make them without having to do any actual cooking, and in many cases, the preparation takes just a few minutes. Consider using Jell-o, pudding, cubes of pound cake or angel food cake, jam, ice cream topping, white chocolate, cheesecake filling, whipped topping, and/or fruits in patriotic colors. You can get really creative with trifle recipes, and you might very well have the ingredients on hand that you’ll need to create a beautiful, delicious trifle. All you need now is a trifle bowl!

4^th of July dessert recipes can be fun and easy to make. If you have kids or grandkids, let them in on the action. Independence Day celebrations are often held outside and are casual and laid-back. Your 4^th of July dessert recipes don’t need to be fancy – just make sure they’re tasty and fun. Because the weather is usually hot on the Fourth, you might want to include some cold desserts, especially if your event is held outside. Think frozen slushes, ice cream cakes, sorbets, or ice-cold fresh fruits. Of course, you might prefer or want to add more traditional 4^th of July dessert recipes, like all-American cherry pie, blueberry pie, cranberry pie, or blackberry cobbler. Even with these warm baked desserts, you can make them more in keeping with your party theme by adding vanilla ice cream or whipped cream and a cherry.

If you’re thinking about an ice cream cake as one of your 4^th of July dessert recipes, make it easy on yourself. Just spray a large metal baking pan with some butter-flavored cooking spray and cover the bottom of the pan with cookie crumbs. Spread on a layer of soft ice cream, and cover that with fudge sauce, jam, sliced fruit, or fruit pie filling. Add another layer of crumbs and another layer of ice cream. Sprinkle the top with chocolate shavings, nuts, chopped candies, or fruit. Freeze until firm. Yum – a super easy dessert recipe!