East Meadow Shopping Center
With the 4th of July Holiday weekend quickly approaching, it is easy to assume you will be either hosting or
attending some type of patriotic themed party! You may choose to make
everything yourself, or you may be asked to bring something along with you to
the party.
Fourth of July Cupcakes
2 large eggs
1/2 cup milk (low fat is fine)
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup butter, melted and cooled
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/3 cups all purpose flour
3/4 cup sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 tbsp raspberry or strawberry jam (optional)
1 tbsp blueberry preserves (optional)
red food coloring
blue food coloring
Preheat oven to
350F. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners.
In a medium bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, vegetable oil, melted butter and
vanilla extract until smooth.
In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Pour wet
ingredients into the dry ingredients and whisk just until batter is smooth.
Take out two small bowls and place 3/4 cup batter into each one. Add 1 tbsp jam
and red food coloring to first bowl and whisk to incorporate. Add 1 tbsp
blueberry preserves and blue food coloring to second bowl and whisk to combine.
Add additional food coloring (batter should be very brightly colored, use at
least 15 drops of each color minimum) as needed until desired color is reached.
Divide red batter evenly into prepared muffin cups. Divide blue batter evenly
into muffin cups, centering it on top of the red batter (do not attempt to
smooth it out!). Divide remaining white batter evenly (again, do not attempt to
smooth it out!).
Bake for about 15 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center of each
cupcake comes out clean and the top springs back when lightly pressed
Blueberry Pie
Ingredients:
2 rolled-out rounds of basic pie dough (recipe follows)
4 cups (2 pints) blueberries
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice, strained
¾ cup sugar
3 tablespoons cornstarch
½ teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
1 egg, whisked with 1 teaspoon water, for the egg wash (optional)
Directions:
Fold 1 dough round in half and carefully transfer to a 9-inch pie dish. Unfold
and ease the round into the pan, without stretching it, and pat it firmly into
the bottom and up the sides of the pan. Using kitchen scissors, trim the edge
of the dough, leaving ¾ inch of overhang. Set the dough-lined pan, along with
the other dough round, in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes.
Place
the blueberries in a large bowl, sprinkle with the lemon juice and toss to coat
evenly. In a small bowl, stir together the sugar, cornstarch, lemon zest, salt
and cinnamon. Sprinkle the sugar mixture over the berries and toss to
distribute evenly. Immediately transfer to the dough-lined pan. Dot with the
butter.
Fold
the reserved dough round in half and carefully position it over half of the
filled pie. Unfold and trim the edge neatly, leaving 1 inch of overhang, then
fold the edge of the top round under the edge of the bottom round and crimp the
edges to seal. Using a small, sharp knife, cut an asterisk 4 to 5 inches across
in the center of the top to allow steam to escape during baking. (I did a
lattice top because I have been dying to make one!)
Refrigerate
the pie (I
actually put mine in the freezer) until the dough is firm, 20 to 30
minutes. Meanwhile, position a rack in the lower third of an oven and preheat
to 375°F.
Bake
the pie until the crust is golden and the filling is thick and bubbling, 50 to
60 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool completely to set, 1 to 2
hours. Serve at room temperature or rewarm in a 350°F oven for 10 to 15 minutes
just before serving. Makes one 9-inch pie; serves 8.
Note: If fresh blueberries are unavailable, use frozen blueberries
(without thawing them first) and increase the baking time by 10 to 15 minutes
Do
you have any other 4th of July dessert recipes? If you do, let us
know about them on our Facebook page linked HERE!
