Are you ready for the 4th? Need some quick ideas for desserts?
Use your favorite cupcake and buttercream frosting to make cupcakes, then add stars or blue and red decorations. Placed on stars and stripes plates makes them look extra festive. You can also use our Chocolate Party Cupcake recipes:
Chocolate Party Cupcakes
Delicious chocolate cupcakes with cream cheese and chocolate chip filling.
Servings: 24
Ingredients
Cupcake
- 1 Chocolate Cake Mix
Cream Cheese Fillings
- 8 oz cream cheese, softened
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 1 egg
- 1/4 cup chocolate chips (plus a few more to add to filling layer, if desired)
Frosting
- 1 1/3 cup butter, softened
- 2 pounds powdered sugar
- 1/2 cup milk
- 1 tablespoon vanillla
- 1/4 cup sprinkles, optional
Instructions
Filling
- Beat cream cheese, sugar, salt and egg together in a bowl. Stir in chocolate chips. Set aside.
Cupcakes
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Place 24 cupcake liners in cupcake pan.
- Prepare cake mix according to directions.
- Fill each cupcake liner approximately 1/4 full of chocolate cake batter. Using a small pitcher to fill the cupcake liners makes it easier – and is less messy than using a spoon.
- Put about 1 tablespoon of filling on top of chocolate layer in the center of each cupcake. Can add a 2-3 chocolate chips to center, if desired.
- Add layer of chocolate over filling, so liner is filled about 2/3 full.
- Bake according to cake mix directions, about 12-15 minutes, or until cupcake top bounces back to touch.
- Let cool in cupcake pan for a few minutes, then cool on a cooling rack.
Frosting
- After cupcakes are completely cool, can frost with your favorite frosting or use the Buttercream Frosting above.
- Cream butter with mixer. Add powdered sugar, milk and vanilla. Beat until smooth and creamy, scraping sides of bowl often, about 2 minutes. Add a few drops of milk at a time, if too stiff and add a little bit of powdered sugar at a time if you want a stiffer frosting.
- Pipe or frost with a knife. Add sprinkles and other decorations, if desired.
Notes
This is a version of a recipe Cathy Oesterling shared when we worked together for University Extension.
Another quick idea is to make Rice Krispies cookies and melt white chocolate chips (instead of chocolate and butterscotch chips) for the frosting and then add stars.
Grandma Davitt’s Rice Krispies Cookies
Love these cookies! Always a favorite at scouting and team meetings! Plus easy to make, store and transport.
Servings: 25 people
Ingredients
Cookies
- 1 cup light corn syrup
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 cup creamy peanut butter
- 1 teaspoon vanillla
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 7 cups Rice Krispies cereal
Frosting
- 6-8 oz chocolate chips
- 6-8 oz butterscotch chips
- Optional – Chocolate Drizzle, Sea Salt Flakes
Instructions
Cookies
- To make clean-up easier, lightly spray 12 x 17 jelly roll pan, mixing bowl and spatula with no-stick cooking spray. Set aside.
- Measure Rice Krispie cereal and place in mixing bowl.
- Place sugar and corn syrup in 3-quart saucepan, cook on medium high, stirring constantly, until the sugar dissolves and the mixture begins to boil. Take off heat, stir in peanut butter until all ingredients are blended together.
- Pour peanut butter mixture over Rice Krispies and stir together and put in a jelly roll pan (or 9x 13 pan if you want a thicker cookie).
- Press the cookie firmly and evenly into the pan with the spatula sprayed with no-stick cooking spray.
Frosting
- Mix the chocolate and butterscotch chips together in small glass bowl and melt in microwave, about 1 minute on half power. Time and level with vary with microwaves. Stir until all chips are melted and mixture is smooth.
- Spread an even layer of the melted chips over the cookies. Let the bars firm up for a few hours before cutting (unless you are really hungry). Can add drizzle of white or dark chocolate to decorate and some sea salt flakes, if desired.
- If there are leftovers, you can store these cookies in an airtight container at room temperature. If room temperature is warm, you can also store in the refrigerator.
- Note: The original recipe called for 6 ounces (1 cup) of each of the chips, but I like a bit more frosting, so I use about 8 ounces (1 1/4 cups) of each.
I added some Toll House chocolate chips to the mix – they are my husband’s favorite. I just used the recipe on the package.
Have a Happy and Safe July 4th!!!!
