Food & Cooking Recipes Dessert & Treats Recipes 22 Red, White, and Blue Desserts for a Patriotic Celebration Bursting with beautiful summer berries, any of these cakes, cookies, pies, and popsicles will make for a sweet ending at your next patriotic cookout. By Kelly Vaughan Kelly Vaughan Kelly is a former associate digital food editor for MarthaStewart.com. Editorial Guidelines Published on May 9, 2024 Close Every party needs a sweet ending, and these red, white, and, blue desserts are perfect for Memorial Day and Fourth of July festivities. While there's nothing more American than an old-fashioned apple pie, we encourage you to lead with festive, patriotic desserts for your summer party menu. If the pomp of parades and picnics isn't enough, the variety of make-ahead tarts, cookies, cupcakes, trifles, and pops in our collection will give you another reason to celebrate this Memorial Day or Fourth of July. 30 Memorial Day Recipes for Your Holiday Cookout 01 of 22 Fireworks Cookies The patriotic icing on these buttery sugar cookies will garner oohs and ahhs from your entire family. View Recipe 02 of 22 Red, White, and Blue Berry Trifle Light up your cookout with this make-ahead showstopper! Raspberry-soaked ladyfingers, mascarpone whipped cream, and fresh blueberries form the red, white, and blue layers. View Recipe 03 of 22 Star-Spangled Ice Cream Sandwiches Kate Sears A delicious hybrid of three classic desserts—cake, ice cream, and ice-cream sandwiches—these patriotic treats will go fast. They're made with two layers of an easy sheet cake plus store-bought vanilla ice cream and raspberry sorbet. View Recipe 04 of 22 No-Cook Red, White, and Blue Cheesecake Andrew Purcell Make-ahead and oven-free? Sign us up! The buttery graham cracker crust with a heavenly cream cheese and Greek yogurt filling only needs a night to firm up in the fridge. Scatter with lightly sugared berries before serving. View Recipe 05 of 22 Filled Fourth of July Strawberries Julia Gartland Here's a berry fun dessert that the whole family can help with! Your patriotic spirit will be as bright as these bite-sized beauties. View Recipe 06 of 22 Fourth of July Summer Berry Pies Raymond Hom Pie makes every party better, and a Fourth of July barbecue is no exception. Make these individual star-and-stripe-studded beauties so your guests can each have their very own pie. View Recipe 07 of 22 Classic Strawberry Shortcake Yossy Arefi Take a classic strawberry shortcake to the next level by mixing and matching berries, macerated to perfection, and topped with a generous dollop of whipped cream. Nothing says Memorial Day dessert (and summertime!) than this. View Recipe 08 of 22 Panna Cotta and Berries Start with a basic recipe of vanilla white panna cotta, which you would be alternating with red currant gelatin or fruit compote, then top with fresh blueberries for an elegant Independence Day dessert. View Recipe 09 of 22 Firecracker Ice Pops Strawberries, yogurt, and blueberries make simply dynamite popsicles that are equally popular with kids and adults. View Recipe 10 of 22 Fruited-Cheesecake Flag Make this berry-spangled cheesecake banner the night before the party, and it will cement your reputation as the ultimate Independence Day host. View Recipe 11 of 22 Coconut Cake With Berries and Cream Johnny Miller Our version of tres leches soaks coconut-studded cake in condensed milk, heavy cream, and coconut milk. Serve with whipped cream and mixed berries to get the red, white, and blue effect. View Recipe 12 of 22 Perfect Sugar Cookies Lennart Weinbull Your guests will be thanking their lucky stars once they taste these buttery basic sugar cookies, perfectly on their own or sandwiched between sweet-tart raspberry jam and blueberry preserves for a patriotic flair. View Recipe 13 of 22 Blueberry Tart Transform a basic blueberry tart into a Memorial Day masterpiece by topping it with macerated blueberries and lemon peels. If you want to go the extra mile, add some raspberries or strawberries to truly capture the red, white, and blue sentiment. View Recipe 14 of 22 Pretzel Sparklers Put on a show with a display of these pretzels dipped in chocolate and red, white, and blue sprinkles. Sweet, salty, and festive! Get the Pretzel Sparklers Recipe 15 of 22 Macerated Berry Topping Marcus Nilsson Combine mixed berries and sugar to create a vibrant, juicy sauce that's perfect over ice cream. It also makes a great topping for pancakes if you're hosting a Fourth of July brunch. View Recipe 16 of 22 Cornmeal-Berry Sheet Cake Marcus Nilsson Want an easy, delicious way to feed a distanced group? Cue the sheet cake! Cornmeal gives this one great texture, and a hefty dose of colorful summer berries makes it Fourth of July-appropriate. Serve with plenty of whipped cream. View Recipe 17 of 22 Raspberry Sorbet Behold: functional spoons made out of cookies! They're an ingenious way to eat these creamy, fruity sundaes. Use store-bought vanilla ice cream and raspberry sorbet if you're pressed for time. View Recipe 18 of 22 Pavlova Crisp on the outside and ethereally fluffy on the inside, this meringue-based dessert is a delectable way to end your Fourth of July meal. Serve with whipped cream, mixed berries, and a pool of homemade raspberry curd. View Recipe 19 of 22 Classic Cheesecake Brie Goldman The deliciousness is in the details of this classic cheesecake: traditional graham-cracker crust, tangy sour cream swirled into the cream cheese filling, and a red compote and fresh blueberry topping. As an added bonus, this dessert can be made up to a day in advance. View Recipe 20 of 22 Red, White, and Blue Berry Trifle Store-bought pound cake will be unrecognizable after you brush it with lemon syrup and layer it with whipped cream cheese and seasonal berries. View Recipe 21 of 22 Berry Tartlets Gentl and Hyers Everyone will love these adorable individual fruit tarts for Memorial Day. Brush the fresh berries with warm apricot jam to give them that glossy, bakery-worthy look. View Recipe 22 of 22 Bourbon-and-Brown-Sugar Cake With Berries Kate Mathis Adults will love the smoky sweet flavor of bourbon in this cake (though the alcohol cooks off while cooking so it's totally kid-friendly). A scatter of fresh raspberries and blueberries is a sweet way to show off your American pride. View Recipe Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Tell us why! Other Submit