Red, White & Blueberry
Happy Fourth of July!
In our home, Fourth of July is not only America's birthday, but it is almost my brother's birthday. We normally celebrate with a big backyard BBQ with our friends and family. However, this year my brother decided to celebrate his 18th birthday with his friends instead (very fitting for this birthday if you ask me). So instead of celebrating with family, I'm celebrating today with friends at a BBQ potluck.
Naturally when I was thinking of what dish to contribute, I knew it had to be a dessert item - my signature. When I think of summer desserts, I think of fresh fruit in a wide array of colors - strawberries, oranges, mangoes, etc. In keeping with the Independence day theme, I chose to make a patriotic dessert with raspberries and blueberries.
I adapted the recipe from Annie's Eats Strawberry Cream Cheese Tart
Ingredients:
Crust:
9-10 graham cracker cookies, finely crushed
1/3 cup white sugar6 tsp butter, melted
Filling:
16 oz. cream cheese, softened
1 cup confectioners’ sugar, sifted
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 tbsp milk or cream
Topping:
Fresh raspberries & blueberries
Directions:
Preheat oven to 375°F
Finely crush graham crackers. (I find it is easiest to do this with a Ziploc bag and a rolling pin or with your hands.)
Mix graham cracker crumbs, sugar, and melted butter until well blended. Press mixture into an 8 or 9 inch pie plate.
Bake for 7 minutes and allow the crust to chill for 1 hour.
Beat the cream cheese and confectioners’ sugar on medium speed until smooth. Add the vanilla and milk.
Spread the cream cheese mixture over the cooled pie shell.
To decorate, start from the outside and make a ring with raspberries, then blueberries. Repeat until you reach the center.
Refrigerate until ready to serve. Enjoy!
Everyone at the BBQ loved it and it was devoured immediately! One suggestion I would recommend is to bring extra berries as toppings so people don't feel like they're just eating mouthfuls of cream cheese.