Easy Gluten-Free 4th of July Snacks!

In my life, I have come to realize that most of our life events revolve around eating. Eating good food with people you love just has a way of making the world seem right again, and there's no better way to celebrate our great nation's birthday than by eating. I'm home at my family's house for part of the weekend and I decided to contribute to the family barbecue with some quick and easy desserts! My family has some gluten allergies so these are all GF! Here's my take on the 4th...

Mickey Caramel Apples:

Me being me, I obviously had to add a little Disney charm to my family 4th party.

Ingredients:

6 Apples (I used macintosh)

14oz bag of wrapped GF caramels

4 tablespoons milk

1 Pack of GF Oreo type cookies

1 container of white GF cake frosting

Red, white and blue sprinkles

Wooden or cardboard candy apple sticks (I used wooden shish kabob sticks)

Step One:

Wash apples, insert sticks. Unwrap caramels. Cut 6 sandwich cookies in half.

Step Two:

Place unwrapped caramels into small sauce pan with milk. Turn heat on medium low and stir often until caramel sauce is fully melted and smooth.

Step Three:

Pick up apples by the sticks and dip them into the sauce, coating completely. Place coated apple on a buttered baking sheet.

Step Four:

Place one half of the cookie on either side of the sticky apple, making Mickey ears. The wet caramel will act as glue. Continue this process with the rest of the apples.

Step Five:

Wait until caramel is smooth and dry to the touch to move on. Remove cap and tin cover on frosting tub. Microwave for 15 seconds, stir, then another 15, stir, and another. You want the frosting to be liquidy.

Step Six:

Spoon frosting over cookie Mickey ears to coat, then spoon over top of the apples and let the icing drip down the sides of the apple for a cool effect. Cover with sprinkles. Let sit out or in fridge until hardened.

Rice Krispy Pops:

Like cake pops but 300x easier.

Ingredients:

6 cups of GF Rice Krispies

10oz bag of marshmallows

3 tablespoons butter

1 tub of blue or red GF cake frosting

Red, white and blue sprinkles

Woods or cardboard candy sticks

Step One:

In a large pot, melt 3 tablespoons of butter on low heat. Add marshmallows and cook on medium, low until melted and smooth, stirring constantly.

Step Two:

Add Rice Krispies to the marshmallow mixture and stir to combine, coating all of the cereal in the marshmallow mixture. Remove from heat and let cool for 5 minutes.

Step Three:

Using gloves or butter covered hands, grab a small handful of the Rice Krispie treat mixture and mold into a ball. Place on a baking sheet covered in parchment paper. Continue until all mixture is used.

Step Four:

Insert candy sticks in the center of the balls. Let dry for 10 minutes.

Step Five:

Take lid and tin cover off of cake frosting and microwave for 15 seconds. Take out, stir, microwave for another 15, stir and microwave once more.

Step Six:

Grab krispie pops by sticks and dip into frosting tubs, coating completely. Dip the pops into a bowl of sprinkles, coating the bottoms. Then place on the parchment paper again. Let sit until dry to the touch.

White Chocolate Covered Pretzels:

By far the easiest recipe of them all, but maybe the most addictive..

Ingredients:

GF Pretzels

1 bag white chocolate chips

Sprinkles

Step One:

In a small sauce pan, pour in a bag of white chocolate chips. Cook on medium low heat, stirring constantly until melted and smooth.

Step Two:

Dip pretzels into white chocolate mixture, then place onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.

Step Three:

Coat pretzels with sprinkles and let sit until pretzels are dry to the touch.

Ice Cream Sandwich Cookies:

Easy and perfect for a hot July day!

Ingredients:

Pre-made GF cookies (I use Enjoy Life brand cookies)

Vanilla ice cream (or whatever flavor you want)

Sprinkles

Step One:

Grab two cookies from the case of cookies.

Step Two:

Using a scooper, scoop ice cream onto one cookie. Top with second cookie and push down gently.

Step Three:

Roll sides of cookie sandwich in sprinkles, coating the ice cream.

Extra:

I used icing as glue and stuck three GF cocoa puff type cereal pieces on top in the shape of Mickey, but you can leave them plain and they will look just as impressive.

I hope you enjoyed these recipes and use them at your 4th of July party this weekend! Now relax, soak up the sun and watch some fireworks!

God bless America!

xoxo,

Emily

#food #america #fourth