Festive 4th of July Dessert Recipes

How to improve on a childhood classic? First, use real fruit. Second, spike those stripes. In her Boozy Bomb Pops, Hildie Haviland of the Detroit Pop Shop (a fixture at metro-area farmers markets) layers tangy yogurt with vanilla vodka-laced strawberry and blueberry purees.

Win over guests of all ages with this quick and easy patriotic cookie pizza at your July 4th gathering.

With just four ingredients, this light and easy summer dessert recipe is goof-proof for gatherings. Portion into short drinking glasses up to two hours ahead.

A crisp shortbread crust holds orange pastry cream in this recipe. Scatter the berries casually on top, or arrange as stripes for an extra-festive look.

Our flaky hand pies taste just like their big sibs, but they're tidier to serve and eat, making them perfect for picnics and potlucks. Best of all, you get to choose the fruit filling: cherry, blueberry peach or plum!

Prebaking both berries and pastry have big-time pay off: The filling is potent, and the bottom crust cracker-crisp. Serve warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream for the ultimate July 4th treat.

Tossing the cherries and blueberries with a little sugar draws out the juices in this shortcake recipe. The sweet syrup is a perfect complement to the flaky, sconelike shortcakes. The dough will be sticky. To easily cut out the star shapes, dip the cutter in flour between each cut.

Use refrigerated sugar cookie dough for the crust of this luscious fruit-and-cream tart to save time and add extra sweetness. Dust with powdered sugar just before digging in.

Transform a pound of strawberries into a cool patriotic treat with this jam-swirled recipe. 

Choose your favorite berries for this cream and chocolate treat. A trifecta of strawberries, raspberries and blueberries will look especially eye-catching on the dessert table this holiday.

When Kristin Rosenau (thepastryaffair.com) discovered her lactose intolerance, she had to get creative in her Bismarck kitchen. The result: Desserts like Blueberry-Coconut Pavlova, a crispy-chewy pillow of meringue topped with whipped coconut milk and blueberry sauce.

Pour a syrup of honey, sugar and crystallized ginger over blueberries, watermelon, and strawberries, then top with a swirl of sweetened whipped cream and a fruit star for a pretty-and patriotic-finish.

Mildly nutty meringue cradles fresh berries in this classic dessert named for a ballerina. Use your favorite nut to flavor the meringue. Our Test Kitchen recommends pistachios, almonds or pecans. Any fruit works: blueberries, kiwi, bananas.

Erin Mahoney's Cherry Almond Cake is the kind of towering, old-fashioned layer cake you expect to see wearing a blue ribbon at the state fair. The KC blogger (lemon-sugar.com) relies on a boxed mix for fluffy texture but adds scads of sour cream, maraschinos and almond extract to make it her own.

If you're the kid who requested the corner slice of birthday cake (with roses!), these ultrasweet Double-Berry Sammies are for you. Crispy sugar cookies sandwich strawberry buttercream and blueberry jam. The recipe comes from Christy Augustin of St. Louis Pint Size Bakery and Coffee. (Yes, it's as tiny and cute as the name would indicate.)

The sweet coating complements salty, crunchy pretzel rods. Stand your edible sparklers in a container filled with coarse brown sugar or candy-coated milk chocolate candies (M&Ms). Change the color of the sprinkles and candies to suit the occasion!

These sundaes are more than just another excuse to ride the Mason jar wave. There's genius under that screw-top, thanks to inspiration from Silver Lining Creamery in Rapid City. Bake the cake batter in the jars; pile ice cream, fudge and nuts on top; then stash them in the freezer to serve later. They're perfect for serving at outdoor parties in large silver tubs filled with ice.

Frosting for a cause? Sold. Chicago's Cupcakes for Courage food truck donates 10 percent of proceeds to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society and other nonprofits. Their 50-plus flavors include this stunner, a White Chocolate Raspberry Cupcake topped with a voluptuous swirl of worth-the-effort Swiss meringue buttercream.

Use fresh blueberries when in season to make this rich dessert, a cross between a pie and a cheesecake. 

Create this pretty summer dessert with raspberry sorbet, vanilla ice cream and a flavored syrup.

This scrumptious Jam 'n' Graham Buttermilk Ice Cream features strawberry jam and graham cracker piecrust crumbles.

The idea for these mosaiclike Yogurt-Berry Jelly squares (aka wiggly, jiggly bites of happiness) came from Faith Durand's cookbook Bakeless Sweets. The Columbus writer is executive editor of the massively popular website thekitchn.com (and co-author of The Kitchn Cookbook).

A humble pie if you ever saw one, this unassuming potluck star has an almondy crust and a yogurt-based filling that mimics the acidic tang of a phosphate. Amaretti (Italian almond cookies) are available at large supermarkets. You can substitute graham cracker crumbs.

Vanilla cake bakes over fresh blueberries and strawberries for a light, lower-calorie summer dessert. 

A red, white and blue dessert stars at any patriotic potluck. Red velvet cake mix makes our moist and gooey Firecracker-Red Cupcakes extra easy to prepare.

Combine fresh blueberries, vanilla ice cream and homemade blueberry sauce in an almond-brown sugar crust for this showstopping dessert.

Floral notes from lemon zest, thyme and honey round out the sweet-tart punch of ripe berries in this creation from Shelly Cross and Jill Long of Madison's Humble Sweet and Savory Pies bake shop. Shelly and Jill have some mad pastry skills; amateurs can get creative, too, with the extra dough.  

Fireworks-inspired zigzags and sprinkles dress up cupcakes.

Combine fresh cherries and raspberries with cranberry juice blend, sugar and tapioca for a delightfully sweet-tart filling to this summer pie.

An airy Pavlova cradles fresh raspberries and a simple raspberry sauce.

Combine sweetened Brie and cream cheese with fresh blueberries for this no-bake dessert designed for single-serving cups.

Serve warm shortcake with a rich filling of sweetened blueberries and whipped cream.

Mix buttery pound cake, creamy vanilla pudding, soft cream cheese, and fresh strawberries or blueberries for a rich comfort-food dessert. To trim calories, try making it with angel food cake, fat-free pudding, and low-fat or fat-free cream cheese.