4th of July | SWEET SIMPLE STUFF

Sliders … teeny weenie hamburgers … on cupcakes? My sliders aren’t hamburgers at all … but I’m sure you knew that. They are made with Nilla Wafers, York peppermint patties and candy coating. The cupcakes … well, it is summer … I’m lazy … I used a mix … but I did make my favorite decorator icing (recipe above – all butter version).

This is what you will need to make the sliders … Nilla Wafers, small York peppermint patties and candy coating (frosting could also be used) – red/ketchup, orange/cheese and green/lettuce … I happened to have some candy in tubes (which is very handy, but not necessary) …

This is just like building a real burger … get your buns (Nilla wafers) and hamburger (York) patties ready … put some ketchup (red candy) on the bottom bun …

Then put the hamburger patty on the melted candy … add some melted cheddar cheese (orange candy) on top of the patty …

Don’t forget the lettuce (green candy) … and the top bun … your sliders are cooked!

Now, for the cupcakes … bake your favorite recipe or mix … make your icing … I used a bag and a plain round tip (#12) …

This is the voice of experience … do not make your icing and put it in the fridge … then try to pipe it out of a bag while it is still cold (like I did) … or this will happen … a hard skinny line of icing comes out of the tip … it breaks … it has some pretty big air bubbles … it is pretty ugly … let your icing come up to room temperature (or at least close) …

But help is on the way … sprinkles will save the day! Sprinkles are a wonderful invention and cover a multitude of boo boos …

Place the sliders on top of the cupcakes …

I believe that if some sprinkles are good … more must be better!

Today’s 4th of July marshmallows are so simple …

I did use a different brand of marshmallows this time. The brand name is “de la Rosa” and they are flavored vanilla and strawberry! They are available in two sizes, large and extra giant. Here is a photo …

You will need marshmallows, candy melts or chocolate, sprinkles and lollipop sticks. To make the glittery star you will need Starburst (or any other candy that will work for you), “Disco Dust” (non-toxic glitter available at cake supply stores) and a star cookie cutter …

First melt your chocolate … put a stick almost all the way in a marshmallow (or 2 or 3 marshmallows) … dip it in the chocolate to coat …

Tap off the excess chocolate …

Add sprinkles …

Put it in a stand or styrofoam … pop it in the fridge or freezer for a few minutes to set the chocolate …

To make the glittery stars … flatten the Starburst candy … I used my fingers … cut out the star using the cookie cutter …

Now sprinkle the Disco Dust on the star … do this on a piece of parchment or wax paper so that you can reuse any excess dust … try to keep you fingers out of the dust … it flies everywhere! The Disco Dust will stick to the candy automatically …

I dipped some marshmallows and did not add sprinkles before putting them in the fridge … use some melted chocolate to attach the star to the marshmallow …