The 4th of July is almost always comprised of social gatherings including BBQs and potlucks! When I was younger, I use to live in a cul de sac where the neighborhood was really child-friendly. Every 4th of July, we would block off the entire neighborhood and hold a huge potluck BBQ that would end in lighting off an obscene amount of fireworks into the darkness. Did anyone else ever use sparklers to write their names in the sidewalk as a kid? It’s so entertaining!
Now that I am old enough to have the responsibility of contributing to the potlucks I attend (instead of taking credit for what my parents bring) I am always searching for fun dishes to share with my friends and family! So, what can you make that feeds a large amount of people, doesn’t burn a hole in your wallet, and is easy to make but still nicely presentable?
Chocolate covered strawberries.
Not just chocolate covered strawberries but holiday-themed chocolate covered strawberries :) I mean, come on, it makes it so much better when you make your dishes look festive for the occasion! Of course, homemade salsa, guacamole, marinated meats, and potato salads are so delicious and essential to any picnic or outdoor gathering, but I can’t help but swoon over dishes that relate to the specific holiday.
And the best part: making this dessert is incredibly simple and quick!
Red, White, and Blue Themed Chocolate Dipped Strawberries
1 pound of ripe strawberries
1 bag of white chocolate candy melts (or a bag of white chocolate chips)
1 cup of confectioner’s sugar
1 tablespoon of milk
1 tablespoon of light corn syrup
Blue food coloring
Wax paper
Wash and completely dry the strawberries. In a pot, simmer 1-2 inches of water and place a glass or metal bowl on top of the pot to create a double boiler. Slowly melt half a bag of the candy melts. When the melts are completely melted, remove from heat, add the second half of the candy melts, and incorporate until smooth. If the mixture has cooled down too much to melt everything nicely, simmer the pot of water again and let everything warm up a little bit.
Once the white chocolate is completed melted, dip strawberries about 3/4 of the way and then set on a baking sheet lined with waxed paper for chocolate to harden. After you’ve dipped all the strawberries, in a separate bowl, mix together the confectioner’s sugar, corn syrup and milk. Then add as much blue food coloring (two drops at at time) to get the right shade of blue you want. If you want a thicker icing, use less milk. And if you want a thinner icing, add more milk.
Then spoon icing into a piping bag (I used a ziplock bag). If you are using a ziplock bag, cut a very small hole in the corner. Once the chocolate on the strawberries is completely hardened, drizzle the icing back and forth on the strawberries until about half of the white chocolate area is covered. If it’s easier, hold the strawberry by the stem/top as you drizzle so you can rotate it easily to make smoother lines. Let the icing set, then grab one for yourself, take a big bite, and enjoy!
What is everyone else making for the 4th of July? I’d love to hear!
i always thought strawberries were cute…but these are the ut most cutest ones ive seen yet!!!
Thank you so much! That is seriously so wonderful to hear. I’m so glad you liked them! :)
I agree ….
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These look like the perfect thing to take to a fourth of July party! So adorable.
Yes, definitely so easy and festive for the 4th of July! I hope you get a chance to make them :) Thanks for reading!
These are so pretty! I’m not American, so I could skip the blue for Canada Day (tomorrow!). Hehe, love it!
haha, one step simpler for you! Maybe you could drizzle a little bit of maple flavored icing on it instead of the blue!! That could be really good too! Happy Canada Day!!
What an easy and festive thing to do for the Fourth of July! I am totally using this idea. Thanks!
I’m so glad you like it! Please use it! Happy 4th!!
What a cute patriotic treat!
Thank you!! Working with the red, white, and blue colors was so much fun!
As a writer by passion and profession, I find myself in total AWE at your ability to create something so incredibly — well, incredible! See, even my words fail when dealing with the concept of food art…
:)
Mikalee, I am seriously so honored by your words! Thank you so much! Oh, and I love your blog! :)
You are too kind…thank YOU!
Wishing you a beautiful July 4th weekend. With those strawberries, I think that’s a no-brainer…
What an awesome idea! yumm!
What a terrific 4th of July idea! I am definitely going to try this. My kids love to dip strawberries, and the stripes are the perfect touch.
i bet they taste great
“Life tastes like food” is a wonderful title for this blog! Wow, your photos are amazing. So amazing I am getting ready to run up to the chocolate store now. Super Job! Thanks for sharing your incredible strawberry creations today. Awesome!
Angelique
I love these! For and after-church potluck, do you think these would hold up well in the fridge over night? I would rather make the night before rather than before going to church.
sorry….for AN after-church potluck
Hi Theresa! I’m so glad you want to make them! I actually never put them in the fridge and they kept for a couple days! If you dry the strawberries very well before dipping them, and then let the chocolate harden back at room temperature, they should be fine. It’s only if the strawberries are a little wet before you dip them that the bottom of the chocolate will have a little strawberry juice on them the next day. Even if that happens, it doesn’t ruin the strawberries or taste though! Let me know if you have any more questions. Thanks for reading!! :)
they look sensational.
wow, very exotic colour scheme used!! The blue against the white choco seems to stir up my choco appetite.
Not making anything on 4th Jul myself. But always rather to taste other’s creation!
Love it! I am planning a wedding right now, a retro little party, and these would be adorable desserts!
How very festive! Thanks for sharing!
Really impactful! And tasty, I guess ;)
Thank you for sharing!! I’d like to open a Recipes section on my blog too, maybe one day.
PS: I just opened my blog, it’s still almost “empty”, but I’d like to make new friends so… It would be a pleasure if you decided to pass by.
Frederica, you should totally open up a recipes section! But I’m in love with food, so I may be biased haha. Just checked out your blog as well and love it! Safe travels!
Absolutely amazing! Such a cute, novel idea! Perfect for weddings too!
Those look awesome! I posted on my blog this week my July 4th treats. I love baking for the holidays! Congrats on being Freshly Pressed!
Oh my gosh! This look so great! And what a fun idea, the possibilities are endless…recolor them for Thanksgiving, Labor Day, Easter, Christmas…anything!
My mouth was just flooded with drool the moment I saw the pics.
And guess what? I tried it out, and they taste… Incredible. Incredibly incredible.
Oh so glad you tried it out!! You are awesome. :)
Those are super adoreable!
I’m doing a Red, White & Blue Fruit Salad. You can see it here: http://donteatdirt.com/2011/07/01/red-white-and-blue-fruit-salad/
Gorgeous, festive, and I bet delicious! : )
mmm….looks good!
Such a lovely idea!!
Omg it looks soo good!!!!thank you for the idea
it looks incredible good!
Love the strawberries, reminds me of the 4th, great post can’t wait for the next.
Mark
So cute! I’ve been racking my brain to think of something to take to 2 cookouts I’m attending on Sunday but both of them have entrees and side dishes covered (but I hate to show up empty handed).
I’d already decided to make jello shots but was waffling on what else. These are perfect! Thanks so much for this posting, now I can’t wait to go to the grocery store tomorrow.
Just solved my “What should I take to the potluck” problem this weekend. These will be a huge hit. Wonderful!
They looks so cute & delicious!
Go America! I love these Patriotic Strawberries! Thank you for the post.
wooooow the strawberries look like me in my nordical t shirt !
this is simply amazing ! thank you so much, I’ll try them during my next Cupcake Party in Ipanema :P
Creative, fun and delicious….thanks for sharing..
Thanks so much for this! It’s perfect for our Big Canoe Fourth of July Celebration. All of us come out onto the green below the dam and watch fireworks light up the sky over the lake. There are dozens of tents filled up with foodstuffs and drinks galor, it’s wonderful! Gratz on the fresh press!
I know you’ve heard this before, but these really are super cute! We are celebrating the 4th in beautiful Yosemite. Wish me luck with 6 days in a tent. Not sure what my curly hair will look like when I return!
These are so cute! I might try them in addition to my Ameri-ca-bobs – strawberries, blueberries, and marshmellows on shish-ka-bob sticks. I like to keep it simple.
These look amazing! and reallly yummy too!!! congrats!
Looks Yummy! LOL :) I luv how people can be artistic with food! To bad it’s vanilla not chocolate :) I LOVE CHOCOLATE! Either than that i’ll ask my mom 2 make some :)
How Festive – Have a Great 4th of July. Congrats on being FP!
Lovely Photos! bookmarked =)
These strawberries are adorable! Congrats on being Freshly Pressed. I’m so glad to have found your blog. I will return often as I need to check out all those wonderful recipes I’ve missed!
These are the prettiest strawberries!!! I am definitely going to try these for the 4th! I hope mine turn out like these!
Great idea!!! :)
Your pictures are decadent! and absolutely LOVELY…. Yum. I’m hungry. :))
oh my gah! these look amazing. do they taste as great as they look?
Those are adorable…and I have those same (or similar) plates! Yay. Happy 4th of July!
Very impressive! Happy fourth of July to you!
Thanks for posting! How festive…I’m going to try to make these for my family on Monday.
Seaonal and beautiful! Looks delish!
Yikes! Seasonal!
This looks absolutely delicious and I’m picking up the ingredients after I get off work. Thanks for sharing! And congrats on being Freshly Pressed!
Terri
That is so cute, I’m hoping that I’ll be able to be in the USA for 4th of July one year.
These look amazing. How simple and great.
those look amazing. thanks for sharing. i know what im bringing to my BBQ’s this 4th. ;)
they look so delicius
Yummy! These are my favorite and the ONE dessert I will always have!
Wow these look great and I just bought strawberries for a gluten free cheese cake I am making, I will have to save some for this.
Delicious! Awesome post.
I love this idea. Might have to borrow it this weekend…athough, I think I may use blue sprinkles instead of icing. Chocolate dipped strawberries are incredibly easy, I wish I could remember to make them more!
Yes, yes, please use the recipe!! And let me know how it goes! :) Blue sprinkles sound amazing…
So incredibly festive and elegant! I just stumbled upon your blog and look forward to following another bay area foodie! Thanks for sharing.
They look delicious!
Wow – I am inspired. Sounds easy enough, so even I should be able to make them. Will definitely try! Thanks for a great idea!
These are so cool! Definitely want to try them out this weekend!
Ohh those strawberries look delicious! and I LOVE white chocolate….strawberries and girls, girls and strawberries….I see a connection that I like:)
haha don’t forget chocolate as well! Me + chocolate + strawberries = bliss! :)
I love your blog! And those strawberries. :) And I wrote my name with the sparklers.
Those look delish!
My only regret, the strawberry season was far too short this year. These look fantastic.
OMG, I’M IN LOVE–STRAWBERRIES RED WHITE AND BLUE!!! Can’t wait to try the recipe. Thank you so much.
fr Annsliee (still working on my blog)
Those look yummy!!!
Those are so cool looking! Great idea!
Happy 4th of July.
Yum-mee!!!!!
Not only do these look like they would taste good, they also look very pretty!
Very beautiful nicely done strawberries excellent !!
cant wait to have it on my desk :)
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Very creative! Those strawberries look so fresh and tasty, I want to have a go at my screen…
These are OH SO pretty!
LOVE them:)
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bB
http://www.itsybitsybrianna.wordpress.com
Thanks for sharing this recipe! I am going to give it a try. Looks fun, easy and festive!! Happy Fourth of July!!
Super fancy!
I guess a few of us have strawberries on the brain these days. It’s high strawberry season at my house these days.
Love your recipe. I’ll have to try some with the strawberries from my backyard. It’s a bit late for Canada Day, but, hey, the weekend’s not over yet. :)
How luscious and festive. Thanks for the recipe. Seems simple to make! Congrats, too, on being freshly pressed!
I am most certainly going to try this for the holiday! They look so beautiful :)
these strawberries are so nice and cute! would love to have one right now!
I will have to try these strawberries, they look awesome!
Genius…! And they look good.
Wow!!it sounds delicious! i gonna to try it!!!
So cute .. !
Wow, this looks so good!
But I have one question, what do red-white-and-blue colored strawberries have to do with the holidays? I’m from Norway, so it only reminds me of our national-colors :P
Red, white, and blue are our national colors too!! :) The 4th of July is our independence day, so all the red, white and blue really stands out around this time of the year!!
Haha, I forgot! Of course it is! Looks delicious :)
One word: LOVE. You just chocolate-covered strawberries even more delectable in a way I’ve never known. Who knew you can make something delicious more delicious? You’re a genius! Thank you Stephanie! :)
These are adorable! I am just planning on making a fresh salsa for my picnics this weekend, but now I may have to try to make these for at least one of them!
Thanks!
Wow. Those look delicious! And what a wonderful fit for Fourth of July Celebrations. Thank you.
Just looking at them my mouth waters :D
Looks so yummy :) and perfect for a 4th July feast
What a fun blog! and a great idea for strawberries. I was going to just throw them on a platter with oreo cookies and a tub of cool whip but this will deftinately “dress” them up. I have some patriotic sprinkles I think I may use instead of the blue icing…or maybe a bit of both! Oh and maybe dip the oreos too?
Meg B.
Ooo, patriotic sprinkles sound lovely!! And dipped oreos sound SO delicious :) How about crushing up some of the oreos and dipping the chocolate strawberries in crushed oreos instead of the blue icing??? That sounds like it could be dangerously good :) Let me know! Thanks for reading!
We love Holland and Australia. Thank you for this nice red white blue.
Thank you for this very nice red white blue.
A dutchmen
You know, I can hardly understand it, it is so strange… those strawberries seem to make my mouth water! :)
Bom BOm bOM !!
I saw this idea last year somewhere & used blue sanding sugar from William Sonoma. While I love cooking my patience for dessert-making is pretty minimal so that was perfect for me. That’s said, the swirly piped icing looks even prettier!
Thank you SO MUCH everyone for checking out my post!!! It has seriously made me so happy to see the lovely comments. I will be sure to check out each and every one of your blogs. Thanks again for reading!! Happy Holidays!
I like chocolate separately and strawberries separately, but these look unbelievable! The photos are good enough to hang as posters in the kitchen! :)
OH, that is ADORABLE! So very easy too. :)
beautiful pictures of the strawberries, i “shared” it on Facebook. ;)
Thank you!! :)
Mmmmm yummmy!
Strawberries look wonderful?I tried to do the same with dark chocolate, but for some reasons it didn’t want to stick to strawberries?Is there any trick?
Were the strawberries a little wet? You have to dry them off completely after you wash them or the chocolate has a hard time sticking sometimes. Also, if the chocolate is too thick or doesn’t seem to melt nicely, add the smallest bit of shortening to it–that should make the chocolate smoother. Good luck! :)
wow. those chocolate covered strawberries are so patriotic! i love them! although im not American, i may steal this recipe for Canada’s birthday next year.
creative and cute.. :) very different!! not food but art :)
After working in a place that sold chocolate covered strawberries, I must say I LOVE THIS IDEA and would have been a huge it there.
Thank you! That makes me SO happy to hear. I have a smile from ear-to-ear right now :)
How adorable are these? What a perfect treat for the 4th. :D
I love how these look! So festive and pretty. What a great idea.
i very like strawberry, nice recipe. thank for share.
Chocolate covered strawberries are my absolute favorite dessert – far above all else! And these look absolutely amazing! LOVE!
impressive!! it look very nice in term of visual effect. Better than strawberry dip into chocolate.
this looks so goood!!! aaaaaahh :D
Isn’t it strange that the U.S. celebrates its independance from Britain with the same colours as the British flag! LOL!
yummmy!
It is indeed very cute! But I mostly just dip them in chocolate or put them in the blender. But I will remember this for Christmas and birthdays!
i love the Red, White, and Blue Themed Chocolate Dipped Strawberries performance
it makes me hungry and i’ll buy some strawberries later <3 it :)
Such a gorgeous idea. Although the 4th July is not a huge celebration here in South Africa I have been asked to make 4th July cupcakes so would love to use these strawberries to decorate my cupcakes. Thanks for a wonderful blog. Will post mine on Wed so look out for them on cupcakes2delite.wordpress.com. Lisa
Oh strawberries on cupcakes?! Can’t go wrong with that ;) Can’t wait to read about them, Lisa!
Those strawberries look beautiful! I will have to make them at some point this summer, definitely.
And yes to the sparkler part! I used to write my name in the air as a kid – the most amusing thing to do as a child haha
Humm, q delicia!
YUM! We made this yesterday too. I love Strawberries and chocolate, or basically anything sweet on them :)
what a lovely recipe, thank you for that! i will try it on monday when we have our 4th of july party here in germany with friends from boston, ma. i bet the´ll be an eyecandy!
wow, it’s amazing!
have to try it once..
How perfect for Independence Day!
I’m totally inspired to make these!! :D Thanks for presenting something so simple and beautiful. Definitely “eye candy!”
Oh man! Those are the coolest strawberries I have ever seen! Great post… Thanks…
These are the prettiest strawberries
lovely! ;)
Lovely colorful Strawberries, nice recipe.
Thanks for sharing it.
Vanimator
http://www.vanimator.com
I love an when food can be this decorative and easy to make! Congrats on FP!
great post , love it, i really learned a lot from your article
Awesome! Very creative :-)
aawweee… strawberries….. they are just wonderful!!! I love strawberries but your special dish has forced me to fall in love with them. The chocolate and strawberry combo is something which i could have never imagined… thanks for sch a wonderful n tasty post. :)
These look AMAZING! Strawberries are my all-time favorite, and I just love this idea. I might have to try these this weekend.. thanks so much for sharing! :)
Oh they look so yummie, you got me hungry again!
I’m so excited to try this out! They are gorgeous! Thanks for sharing recipe and putting the pics up! Very creative!
those look so good! They wont last long this year, thats for sure!
I am totally going to do this! It’s so simple, thanks for sharing :D
Thank you is post , Nice to meet you.
That is cool…
These look absolutely delicious!
What a creative way to be patriotic, not to mention…tasty :)
That looks amazing!
These look absolutely delicious, i love strawberries
Those look soooo good. Might have to add them to my list of easy, festive summer treats, if it’s cool: http://wp.me/pDTwq-nx
I just made these and took them to a pool party/bbq… they were a HIT!!! The entire platter was GONE!
So, thanks for the super cute post! :)
So glad, Whitney! Thank YOU for taking the time to read it and trying out the recipe! Happy 4th! :)
These look so lovely!
those are so cute!
They’re very pretty and festive. I would love for the blue to be darker, as it’s more of a navy blue on the flag. But still, these are recognizable for the red-white-and-blue theme. I wonder if adding a little black to the blue food dye would make the blue darker?
I would try adding more blue food coloring first to see how dark of a blue you can get it. If that doesn’t work then yes, you can add the SMALLEST amount of black–a little goes a long way with black, so be careful! I hope that helps :)
These look so cool. I might try them in Aussi colours on Australia Day…Thanks for the inspiration, and look out for my blog for mine…
<3 Bex
I just made this for tomorrow’s celebrations! Mine are not as pretty as yours but I’m sure they’ll taste delicious! I think next time I’ll just dip the tip in the blue icing or dye some of the white chocolate blue so they don’t look like a 5 year-old made them. ;)
haha I’m sure they look great! And dipping the tip in blue actually sounds like a fabulous idea! You should try the icing lines again another time because I promise you will get the hang of it :) Thanks for making the recipe and checking out this post!
beautiful and looks delicious! happy 4th!
Wow fantastic image, great photography. I also love strawberries and chocolate, but this twist is fantastic. I think that we are all familiar with this idea done with all chocolate, so what really stands out is your color choices. Starting with beautifully ripened strawberries, the red just jumps up at you and its the first color mentioned in our American flag. The red is handipped into a ivory white pool of sugary lovelyness. This white sets us up with a clean field to lay our final color on. Stripes of blue. But this no ordinary blue. This is like a cornflower blue. Its a a little bit of sky mixed with a rich creamy white. Its actually my favorite part. :-) thank you for including a pic. This color combo is definately worth duplicating.
Thank you so much! Your words are so beautiful…
Awesome..
Good
Those strawberries look delicious! Definitely going to try these – thanks for the recipe :)
Wow! Yum yum! I LOVE cute holiday-themed food! Thanks for sharing!
Also, I did a double take when I clicked on your blog because not only have we both chosen to use the same WordPress theme, but we both also chose the same shade of green for the background! Are we blogging twins or what?? :-)
Twins for sure! So awesome! And love your blog–living in Italy = I’m so jealous!! ;)
This is delicious…. so yummy
Very nice idea and it looks so pretty. With the double broiler instead of double boiler you made as cute mistake. Do you know what Broiler means?
OH NO!! haha Thank you for catching that, I just fixed it! Oh gosh…
You always seems to amazed me. This recipe is uuummm good.
I love the way that they look! Thanks for sharing!
This is a perfect delicacy for Fourth of July which is today. Lavish and yummy taste. I would sure get this recipe.
I think these pics look just great, as an artist I have to say that I think your work is beautiful and has far reaching appeal!
You would never be able to exhibit something as good looking as these as they would be eaten within seconds, In fact I can taste them already…brilliant, simple, wow!
Thank you so much! That is truly flattering to read :)
it’s really very cute and look very delitious !
I can’t help want to eat them , hehe:)
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cutie straws
cutie strawbs
raining cats and dogs here on the fourth . . . . but I have a big bowl of strawberries. My granddaughter and I are going to attempt your yummy recipe . . . thanks for such a beautiful blog . . .
raining cats and dogs here on the fourth . . . . but I have a big bowl of strawberries. My granddaughter and I are going to attempt your yummy recipe . . . thanks for such a beautiful blog . . . see post at
Good looking strawberries! And deservedly freshly pressed! Congrats!
Looks delicious! Thanks for sharing!
What a nice idea… (:
I’m not American,so I don’t really celebrate, but no matter what I’ll have to try these sometime. They look cute, fun, easy to make and yummy…
Would be great for a party buffet, don’t you think? I might try several different colours…
Wow! It looks beautiful and if I adjust it a litlle bit, my strawberries will look very Dutch! A very good idea for my next party. Happy 4th of july!
These look delicious!
What a great treat idea for the holiday!!!! Very inspirational!
These are so pretty and look very yummy! The photography looks fantastic, too. I’m actually getting ready to post about some of the foods I made for the 4th.
This popped up again and made me hungry!
VERY FASHIONABLE looking strawberries love it!
Looks delicious! Thanks for sharing :)
love this reset, is easy, fast and delicious
It’s so cute strawberry.(>w<)
Wow — so creative and simple! Thanks for sharing and congrats on being freshly pressed!
This red, white, and blue themed chocolate dipped strawberries look so yummy. I like them very much. I have a little confusion about color blue. I think if mix grey or red color chocolate line maybe has another good effect. Anyway, these strawberries are cute. I think they are very delicious.
hummmmmm!!!
:)
Dang, those look yummy!
sweet! looks really tasty. mind if i use this in my blog?
Not at all, go for it! :) But please link it back to my blog somewhere. Thanks!
so tempting!
Increible….
Very Good
fantastic :D
it looks so tasty. it’ll be a perfect dishes for 4th of July.
What a sweet, tasty idea…an edible work of art with thoughts of patriotism.
really like these pics, and also thanks for the cooking tips. I bought strawberry, gonna to try it!
Oh my! They look so heavenly! I love it!
Adorable! Here is a tip on drying delicate berries. They should be completely dry when dipping. Rinse them quickly and gently in cold water and then spread them out on a towel. Use a hair dryer set on “no heat” to dry them. Also, strawberries with stems are easier to handle.
Fantastic photoes and a really great idea!
How cool are these??? Yummy! Hope everyone had a happy 4th!
two words: American YUM.
Those are absolutely beautiful. My chocolate dipped experiments never come out that tasty looking.
those look amazing!
This is such a fun festive treat! I’m always looking for fun and healthy holiday recipes and this great!
Thanx alot, I love it ^.*
I love strawbery with blue and white chocolate!!
???
Hello! I actually did something like this for fourth of july except used blue sprinkles. and found out that you can burn white chocoalte lol. Looks beautiful though, keep blogging!