Easy Patriotic Treats (cookies, cakes, and more)

If you're looking for sweet treats to serve at your family's next patriotic picnic or event, you've come to the right spot! In this post I'm going to give you ideas for cookies, cakes, cupcakes, chocolate-covered Oreos, and much more!

Whether you're gathering on Memorial Day to commemorate those who gave the ultimate sacrifice or waving your flag on the 4th of July, we've got some great sweet treats for your gathering!

These delicious treats are also great options for welcome home parties after someone you love comes home from basic training or deployment.

They're even fun at political gatherings, Girl Scout or Boy Scout meetings, Labor Day, Veterans Day, or corporate events.

The possibilities are endless!

Patriotic Gatherings

We Americans are a flag-waving bunch, and who can blame us? We love this country!

If you're reading this post from anywhere other than the U.S. of A . . .welcome! Excuse us for a moment while we pause to honor those who made this country great and those who gave the ultimate sacrifice so that we could enjoy the blessing of freedom!

We don't take this blessing for granted.

We honor our veterans on Veterans Day, and pay our tributes on Memorial Day, honoring the fallen. We also celebrate with great joy on the 4th of July, our "Independence Day."

America won her freedom on this very special day back in 1776 and we can't help but lift up a patriotic song or two in great celebration.

On July 2nd of that year the Continental Congress voted "Yes!" for Independence. Two days later (on the 4th) delegates from all thirteen colonies adopted the Declaration of Independence. We have Thomas Jefferson to thank for this historic document.

We love our patriotic holidays!

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These days, families, friends, and loved ones gather on patriotic days to remember the sacrifice our forefathers made. We celebrate with picnics, a backyard barbecue, fireworks, and a host of parties, parades, and concerts, filled with patriotic music.

And food, of course. Always and forever food.

Sweet Patriotic Treats

And that's where I came up with the idea for this post. I decided to fill it with patriotic recipes!

I've put together a gallery of photos and accompanying tutorials to give you some ideas for sweet treats you can serve at your next patriotic celebration. Your guests will never forget your colorful offerings.

You'll notice there are many links in this post, taking you to various tutorials and recipes. I hope you will take advantage of those because I've covered a lot of information and I don't want you to miss a thing!

Let's start with a simple one. . .

Patriotic Chocolate Covered Oreos

Pull out the Red, White, and Blue Sprinkles, Y'all!

I did a full post about how Chocolate Covered Oreos with a Mold are made. I use an Oreo mold, which makes the process so much easier. (I purchase mine on Amazon.)

As far as what I use to cover the Oreos, I always start with almond bark, along with a splash of vegetable or coconut oil to thin it down. I find almond bark so easy to work with (and less expensive than many of the melting chocolates out there).

I love making these with my grandkids. In fact, we recently had a "cover everything in chocolate" day where we dipped Oreos, graham crackers, pretzels, and much, much more.

How to Make Patriotic Chocolate Covered Oreos

Melt the chocolate and oil, then color it using an oil-based color, meant to be used with chocolate. (I made the mistake of using gel coloring the first time and my chocolate seized up!)

Place melted chocolate into a piping bag and pipe into mold. (You can buy Oreo molds on Amazon or at your local hobby store.)

Fill mold about halfway up, add your Oreo, then cover with chocolate.

For my Patriotic Oreos I used white melting chocolate but added some zig-zags of color in red and blue, then threw on a few patriotic sprinkles. Voila! Perfect patriotic treats!

You can turn these into patriotic Oreo pops by adding a lollypop stick to each one.

Chocolate Covered Strawberries

These are easily made with the same materials you used for the chocolate covered Oreos. Just dip your clean dry berries in white chocolate, allow to set up, and then drizzle on red and blue (adding sprinkles right away)

Red, White, and Blue Cakes

I've done a lot of red, white, and blue cakes over the years (including a recent Eagle Scout cake for my nephew). Most of these were made using my Most Delicious White Cake from a Box but I've been known to add tiers in different flavors, like my Ultimate Chocolate Cake Recipe.

If you're new to stacking cakes you'll want to start with my How to Tier a Cake post. You'll find everything you need there to build a multi-tiered cake. And if you run into any problems along the way, check out my Cake Baking Tips post.

Wondering how I decorated these? My Easy DIY Wedding Cake tutorial will be a big help to you. Like so many of my cakes, the one pictured above started with a white cake mix.

Take a look at these cakes and come up with some patriotic ideas of your own, then build them using my recipes and tutorials. (Have fun!)

Patriotic Cupcakes!

Cupcakes! Make cupcakes and decorate them with my Dreamy Buttercream Frosting. I did a full post on Cupcake Tips and Tricks. You'll find so many helpful hints there!

I've done thousands of cupcakes over the years and have so much fun decorating them! I enjoy it so much that I even did a post highlighting 7 Popular Cupcake Decorating Techniques.

You can put red, white, and blue frosting in the bag simultaneously. Here's a tutorial from Wilton on how to add multiple colors to your piping bag.

Patriotic Cookies

I can't tell you how many patriotic cookies I've painted with my Easy Royal Icing over the years. Hundreds! You'll need my Cut-Out Sugar Cookie recipe if you want to make red, white, and blue cookies. It's self-explanatory!

Next, you'll want to understand the decorating techniques. For that, see my Easy Royal Icing post. There are so many fun and exciting techniques. To learn more you'll want to read my Cookie Decorating with Royal Icing post.

Here are some of my favorite red, white, and blue cookies! Use your imagination to do these and many more!

Other Great Patriotic Desserts

I think my No Bake Cherry Cheesecake Pie would be a terrific addition to your patriotic picnic. Add some blueberries to give it a red, white, and blue look! Or, mix it up by adding blueberry pie filling and then placing fresh strawberries around the edges or in the center. I love this festive dessert! And fresh fruit makes everything even better.)

Make my DIY cupcake trifles, but turn theme them to the 4th of July. Use my white cake recipe, along with my Cheesecake Mousse, fresh berries (like strawberries or blueberries). Layer it all in for a colorful treat! (No bake desserts are always a good choice. Add a dollop of Cool Whip!) Turn it into an American flag pie!

Chocolate Covered Graham Crackers: I think these would be fabulous in red, white, and blue. Best of all, they're easy to make, so the kids can help!

Other Fun Patriotic Ideas

Make a patriotic flag cake! Color it with fresh berries. (This will be a great addition to your dessert table.)

Strawberry shortcake is an amazing idea! Use my Old-Fashioned Pound Cake recipe and serve with fresh strawberries and whipped cream.

Serve a big bowl of red, white, and blue M&Ms at your gathering. Talk about the perfect sweet treat!

Don't have time to bake? No worries! Buy store bought cookies and a tube of white cookie icing. Drizzle the cookies and add patriotic sprinkles while the icing is still wet.

Make a cookie cake! Use my Ultimate Chocolate Chip Cookies with Brown Butter recipe. Spread it out in a pizza pan and bake to form a giant cookie. Decorate with patriotic sprinkles, icing, or red, white, and blue M&Ms. (It will be the star of the party!)

Trying to keep it red, white, and blue? Make a red velvet cake and add blueberries! (Aren't Fourth of July desserts fun?)

Make Patriotic Cake Mix cookies! Use my Cake Mix Chocolate Chip Cookies recipe but add red, white, and blue M&Ms or chips! (So many of my ideas start with a boxed cake mix!)

Sugar cookies are always fun! If you don't want to paint them with royal icing, just mix sprinkles into the batter before baking.

Want an easy dessert idea? Make Rice Krispie treats and drizzle royal icing on them, then sprinkle with red white & blue M&Ms.

Enjoy lighter desserts? Need something to counter-balance those hot dogs or that BBQ? Make a "cake" out of watermelon! Or, (if you want a real cake) check out this Watermelon Cake Tutorial from CakesbyLynz.

There are so many patriotic dessert ideas out there, perfect for the summer holidays. Use your imagination!

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Patriotic Treats on Display

Isn't this a fun way to show off your treats! I loved getting to do this for my nephew's Eagle Scout event!

I hope this post has inspired you to think of fun Patriotic treats you can make for your family and friends. It's been fun going down memory lane as I searched for my red, white, and blue photos.

Be blessed, everyone! And to those who have offered their lives in service to our country, we are forever grateful!

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About the Author

Janice Thompson is an author, baker, and all-around mischief maker! She has overcome a host of baking catastrophes, including a toppled wedding cake, to learn more about the baking process. Janice has published over 150 books for the Christian market but particularly enjoys writing recipes and baking devotions. To learn more about Janice or to drop her a note, visit her About the Author page.