As summer approaches, I can’t help but get excited for all those summer parties AND the 4th of July. It’s seriously one of my favorite holidays. 

The 4th of July reminds me of family and friends. It’s a time to get together, eat delicious food, let the kids play, enjoy some time in the pool and of course celebrate the freedom of our amazing country. 

Easy 4th of July Cupcakes

To make these cupcakes, you’ll need to have the following:

White Cake Mix
Butter
Milk
Egg whites 
Creamy Homestyle Cream Cheese Frosting
Blue and Red Food Coloring
Holiday Sprinkles 
8oz Mason Jars

While this recipe is for the cupcakes in a jar, you can make them as a traditional cupcake. 

I like making them in a jar as it really adds another element and they look so pretty! 

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Gluten-Free Brownies Donuts

There is nothing wrong with enjoying a healthier dessert. Especially when it tastes as good as this one does. 

Seriously, my kids had no idea this was a “healthy” donut. In fact, they went back for more. 

I know I mentioned that I’m not following a gluten-free diet, which is true.

However, I am currently on Weight Watchers. I love Weight Watchers because you can eat whatever you want but you have to account for the points. 

Weight Watchers is a lifestyle change and not a diet. Weight Watchers teaches you how to make better food choices and helps you learn portion control. 

All the things I desperately need to know!

I love my sweets but I’m not willing to spend 10+ points on a dessert when I get 23 points a day. 

These brownie donuts are only 3 points, which is kind of amazing for a chocolate dessert. 

To get started, you’ll need the following ingredients: 

Gluten free flour

Brown sugar

Unsweetened cocoa powder

Baking soda

Salt

Coffee

Unsweetened applesauce

Apple cider vinegar

Margarine

Vanilla extract

Powdered sugar 

Where can I find gluten-free flour?

Most grocery stores carry gluten-free flour. However, you can also purchase it on Amazon. 

Can you freeze these brownies?

Yes! Keep in mind that freezing them can dry them out, so I suggest wrapping them individually in plastic wrap before placing them in a freezer bag. This will help keep the brownies moist. 

How many can you have for 3 points?

Each brownie is 3 points! 

Gluten Free Brownie Donuts

Yield: 12

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes

Total Time: 25 minutes

Print

Ingredients

• ¾ cup gluten free flour
• ½ cup brown sugar
• 3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• ½ cup coffee
• 1/3 cup unsweetened applesauce
• ½ teaspoon apple cider vinegar
• 1 teaspoon margarine, melted
• ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon powdered sugar for topping, optional

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and prepare donut pans by greasing with nonstick cooking spray.
2. In a large bowl, combine gluten free flour, brown sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt. Whisk to combine.
3. In a separate bowl, mix together coffee, unsweetened applesauce, apple cider vinegar, melted margarine, and vanilla extract. Pour wet ingredients with dry ingredients and mix until just combined.
4. Spoon batter into donut pan and bake for 12 to 15 minutes. Allow to cool in the pan for a few minutes then remove from pan and place on a wire rack to cool completely. Top with powdered sugar before serving (optional).

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I love when any holiday rolls around and people have super cute cookies. The problem is, I can’t decorate cookies to save my life.

Yes, I’ve watched all those awesome Facebook videos where someone decorates amazing cookies in seconds. Not ever going to be a thing for me.

Just keeping it real.

Now, these 4th of July cookies are pretty awesome because they literally take zero decorating skills. As long as you can put some frosting on with a butter knife or spatula, you’re good to go.

My kids love this recipe. I mean who doesn’t love a good patriotic dessert, right?

4th of July Cookies

Keep in mind that in this recipe, I do make my own frosting. However, you can also just use store bought. Totally up to you!

Step 1

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Step 2

Combine butter and cream cheese with an electric mixer.

Step 3

Add sugar and mix well.

Step 4

Mix in the egg and the vanilla.

Step 5

Add in the flour, baking powder, and salt.

Step 6

Mix well until the dough forms.

Step 7

Fold in holiday sprinkles (I used about ½ cup. You could do more or less).

Step 8

Line a 9×13 baking dish with parchment paper and lightly spray with cooking spray.

Step 9

Bake for 30 – 35 minutes (time may depend on how thick your dough is).

Step 10

Remove from oven and let cool completely.

Step 11

While the cookie is cooling, make the frosting (directions below).

Step 12

Once the cookie is cooled, remove from baking dish and frost. Garnish with holiday sprinkles and cut into squares or bars.

Looking for another easy 4th of July Dessert? You HAVE to check out this Patriotic Strawberry Shortcake Kabobs recipe. 

4th of July Cookies

Yield: 12

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 35 minutes

Total Time: 50 minutes

Print

Ingredients

• 1 cup unsalted butter (softened)
• 4 oz cream cheese (softened)
• 1 3/4 cups sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 egg white
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 1/2 cups unbleached flour
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp salt
• holiday sprinkles
• Frosting
• 3/4 cup unsalted butter (softened)
• 2 cups powdered sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/4 tsp salt

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Combine butter and cream cheese with an electric mixer. 

3. Add sugar and mix well. 

4. Mix in the egg and the vanilla. 

5. Add in the flour, baking powder, and salt. 

6. Mix well until the dough forms.

7. Fold in holiday sprinkles (I used about ½ cup. You could do more or less).

8. Line a 9x13 baking dish with parchment paper and lightly spray with cooking spray. 

9. Bake for 30 - 35 minutes (time may depend on how thick your dough is). 

10. Remove from oven and let cool completely. 

11. While the cookie is cooling, make the frosting (directions below). 

12. Once the cookie is cooled, remove from baking dish and frost.

    Garnish with holiday sprinkles and cut into squares or bars. 

Frosting

1. Cream together softened butter and vanilla. 

2. Add in powdered sugar and salt. 

3. Mix well with a fork or an electric mixer. 

Nutrition Information:

Yield: 12 Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 581 Total Fat: 32g Saturated Fat: 19g Trans Fat: 0g Unsaturated Fat: 11g Cholesterol: 112mg Sodium: 320mg Carbohydrates: 71g Net Carbohydrates: 0g Fiber: 1g Sugar: 50g Sugar Alcohols: 0g Protein: 5g

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However, I do find that this recipe really hits the spot when I have a beignet craving.

Easy Beignets Recipe

You might be surprised to learn that making beignets at home really isn’t all that hard.

In fact, it’s fairly easy and so worth it for the end result!

You can find even more tasty recipe here.

To get started you’ll want to have the following items on hand.

Can you make beignets ahead of time?

How to keep beignets fresh?

Can you reheat beignets?

Easy Beignets Recipe

Yield: 24

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes

Additional Time: 1 hour

Total Time: 1 hour 40 minutes

Print

Ingredients

• 1 1/4 ounce envelope active dry yeast
• 3/4 cup warm water
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 1 tsp finely grated lemon zest
• 1/2 tsp freshly grated cinnamon
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 cup whole milk
• 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, divided
• 2 tbsp unsalted butter, softened
• 2 quarts vegetable oil
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• powdered sugar, for dusting

Instructions

1. Mix the yeast, water, and sugar in a mixer bowl fitted with a dough hook. Let stand until foamy, about 5 minutes. Add the salt, lemon zest, cinnamon, egg, milk, and 1 1/2 cups flour; mix on medium speed until combined. Add the butter; mix until incorporated

2. Add 1 3/4 cups flour, and mix until the dough comes together. Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface. Knead in the remaining 1/4 cup flour by hand until the dough is smooth, about 5 minutes.

3. Place the dough in a lightly olive oiled bowl, cover loosely with plastic wrap, and let stand in a warm, draft-free spot until doubled in size, about one hour. Remove the dough from the bowl. Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface to 1/2-inch thickness. Cut out with a pizza cutter rectangles. Place on parchment lined baking sheet. Let rise in a warm, draft-free spot for 30 minutes.

4. Heat the oil in a medium pot or deep fryer until it registers 350ºF on a deep-fry thermometer between a 2 and a 3 on the dial. Fry the beignets in batches, rolling them around constantly with a slotted spoon, until golden brown all over, 1 to 2 minutes. Transfer the beignets with the slotted spoon to a cooling rack that's set over a baking pan and dust with powdered sugar.

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Weight Watchers is hands down the best diet out there. Mainly because it isn’t a diet, it’s a lifestyle! If you are new to Weight Watchers, make sure to check out my post on Getting Started with Weight Watchers. 

Weight Watchers Cheesecake

Weight Watchers is all about making small changes to your diet. I don’t know about you but I always have a serious sweet tooth after dinner.

By the way, if you need some meal inspiration, make sure to check out my Weight Watchers Meal Plan. 

This strawberry cheesecake is a guilt-free way of curing that sweet tooth.

I like making these cheesecakes in a jar as it lets me prepare my desserts for the week. I’m using 8-ounce mason jars but you can use any size you’d like (or just use a bowl). 

We always think about preparing breakfast, lunch and dinner but often forget about dessert. However, dessert is normally the biggest thing to throw us off our diet.

I’m a late night snacker, so if I don’t have my desserts pre-planned, I’m headed straight for the bad stuff.

I love that you can get creative with this recipe and add in any of your favorite fruits.

If you want, you can even create a graham cracker crust but that will increase the Weight Watcher Points, so keep that in mind.

To make this yummy Weight Watchers dessert, you’ll need the following.

• Plain nonfat Greek Yogurt
• Fat-free sugar-free cheesecake pudding mix
• Strawberries, diced

Note: Some of my readers have mentioned that this recipe is a bit bitter for their taste. I have found this to be true if you DO NOT like Greek Yogurt. I personally do not mind Greek Yogurt, so I think this recipe is super tasty. 

If you want to sweeten it up a bit, I suggest adding in a little sugar-free vanilla or cheesecake pudding mix. Make sure you account for the points if you make any substitutions. 

More Recipes!!

Weight Watchers Breakfast Pizza – Ya’ll this is Soooooo Good! You have to try it! 

Want another Weight Watcher Friendly dessert idea? You have to try these Weight Watcher Banana Muffins! 

Don’t forget to try these Instant Pot Tamales – Weight Watcher Friendly!!

Low Carb Strawberry Cheesecake Cookies!

Only 3 ingredients. How can you beat that! Not only is it healthy but it’s simple.

Weight Watchers Cheesecake

Yield: 4

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Chill Time: 1 hour

Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes

Print

Ingredients

• 32 oz Plain Non-Fat Green Yogurt
• 1 box Small package of fat-free cheesecake pudding mix
• 2 lbs strawberries, diced

Instructions

1. Pour yogurt in a large bowl.

2. Slowly add pudding mix a bit at a time, stirring between each addition until all the pudding mix has been added.

3. Layer 1/3 cup yogurt mixture and strawberries in each jar until the jar is filled and one cup of yogurt has been used.

4. Place jars in the refrigerator to chill for at least an hour before serving.

5. Top with lite whipped topping (optional and may increase Weight Watchers Points value).

Notes

Each jar is 1 Weight Watchers SP

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The best part is these Keto cookies are so dang easy to make! I whipped them up in no time at all.

Not a strawberry fan? Not a problem, just switch out the fruit. You can use blueberries, cranberries, or anything else you want.

Low Carb Cookies

To make these yummy Keto cookies, you’ll need the following ingredients.

• Chopped fresh strawberries
• Fresh lemon juice
• Softened butter
• Keto friendly sugar substitute
• Cream cheese, softened
• Egg white
• Pure vanilla extract
• Coconut or almond flour

Can you freeze these cookies?

I suggest doubling the dough and freezing the dough. You can even scoop out the cookies into balls, flash freeze them and then put them into a baggie. Doing this makes it easy to only bake a couple at a time.

What’s a Keto friendly sugar substitute?

I personally suggest Stevia but you can use any sugar substitute you’d like. You can use regular sugar if you’d like but then they wouldn’t be low carb cookies.

Would banana’s work in this recipe?

I haven’t tried it, so I’m going to say no. However, any kind of berries would be amazing!

Recommended Post:

Avocado Brownies – Amazingly Yummy!

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For your next summer party, make sure to give these boozy popsicles a try. You won’t regret it!

Alcoholic Popsicles – Jack and Coke Popsicles

Ingredients

– 8 ounces of Coca-Cola
– 2 ounces of Jack Daniel’s
– 2 ounces of Cherry Schnapps
– Popsicle Mold

Directions

– In a large cup, pour all of the ingredients and mix together.

– Pour the mixture into the Popsicle mold. Be careful not to fill all the way o the top as it will expand a little.

– If using the sticks that come with your Popsicle mold, place those on top. If using Popsicle sticks freeze for 30 minutes and then put the sticks in.

– Freeze for 4-6 hours or overnight.

– Enjoy this adult frozen treat!

Get your Alcoholic Popsicles – Jack and Coke Popsicles printable recipe card here:

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For this paleo brownies version, you can use either fresh or frozen cherries. If you use frozen cherries, be sure to let them thaw completely at room temperature. Once they are fully dethawed, you can chop and add to the batter.

You can also collect the cherry juice while they are thawing and addit to the batter as well.  You will need to increase the cooking time by several minutes to account for the extra moisture.

Paleo Brownies | Chocolate Cherry Brownies

Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 25-30 minutes
Serves: 9

Ingredients:

4 large eggs
2 T. + ¼ c. coconut oil, melted
½ c. honey, preferably local
¼ c. almond milk, unsweetened
1 t. pure vanilla extract
½ c. coconut flour
¼ c. cocoa powder
½ t. baking soda
½ t. salt
1 c. chopped, pitted cherries

Directions:

1. Place top oven rack in center position and preheat oven to 350°F. Grease an 8×8-inch brownie pan with 2 tablespoons melted coconut oil and set aside.

2. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the eggs, ¼ cup melted coconut oil, honey, almond milk, and vanilla until completely smooth. Set aside.

3. In a smaller bowl, combine the coconut flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt. Gently fold the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients.

4. Add the chopped, pitted cherries and any juices (if using frozen cherries) and fold until combined. Transfer the batter to the prepared pan and place in the pre-heated oven to bake until the brownies are set and a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean, approximately 25-30 minutes. (Cooking time will vary by oven. Check after 20 minutes and adjust cooking time accordingly).

5. Remove from oven and cool to room temperature before slicing into squares and serving. Enjoy!

Get Your Printable Recipe Here:

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Make this southern peach cobbler for any backyard BBQ party – everyone will be begging you for the recipe.

Southern Peach Cobbler

Ingredients

Filling:

8 large, ripe peaches, pitted and cut into small chunks
1/3 cup white sugar
2 T fresh lemon juice
2 t. all-purpose flour
1 t. kosher salt
1 t. nutmeg
1 t. cinnamon
1 t. vanilla extract
¼ cup packed brown sugar

Topping:

1 cup all-purpose flour
¼ cup sugar
1 t. kosher salt
1 t. baking powder
¼ cup heavy cream
¼ cup water
8 T. unsalted butter, very well chilled

1 egg white, beaten with water added
¼ cup sugar

SEE ALSO:

• Peach Spinach Smoothie
• Grilled Peach Salad

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees with the rack positioned in the center.

Add peaches, sugar, lemon juice, flour, salt, nutmeg, cinnamon and vanilla extract to a large glass bowl. Thoroughly combine ingredient before transferring to a greased 8×8” baking pan. Top peach mixture with an even layer of brown sugar before placing pan in oven. Bake for 10 minutes.

While baking, add flour, sugar, salt, and baking powder to a different bowl and stir to combine thoroughly. Remove chilled butter from refrigerator and chop into very small pieces with a sharp knife. Add butter to the bowl and combine with dry ingredients with your fingers. You should have small pebble-sized pieces of butter when finished.

Add heavy cream and water to the flour mixture and stir with a fork until all the dry ingredients are moist and somewhat sticky. Do not overwork dough.

Remove peach mixture from oven and carefully spoon dough over the top. Make sure the dough is the same thickness throughout so it cooks evenly. You can cover the entire surface, or do like I did and leave deliberate spaces in between. It looks more rustic that way.

Return pan to oven and bake for another 10-15 minutes, or until the topping begins to brown. Remove from oven and brush the top with the egg white wash and sprinkle remaining sugar on top. Return to oven to finish baking, another 10-15 minutes. Remove from oven when the top is evenly browned.

Remove from oven and allow pan to cool slightly. Serve alone or topped with your favorite ice cream or whipped cream.

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The kids love helping me bake these AND eat them! They are always a hit with friends and family as well.

Easy Pumpkin Muffin Recipe

Tip: Make sure you choose 100% pure pumpkin vs. pumpkin pie filling for this recipe because you are already adding sugar and spices to this recipe.

Ingredients:

2 1/2 c. sugar
1 c. canola oil
2/3 c. water
4 eggs
15 oz. can pure pumpkin
3½ c. all-purpose flour
2 t. baking soda
1 t. salt
1½ t. cinnamon
1 t. nutmeg
½ t. cloves
½ t. ginger
½ c. coarse decorating sugar

SEE ALSO:

• Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Muffins
• Cinnamon Roasted Pumpkin Seeds

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Line muffin pan with 12 regular-sized cupcake liners.

Combine sugar, oil, water, eggs, and pumpkin in a large mixing bowl and beat on low for 1 minute. Do not over mix.

Add flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and ginger to a small bowl and stir to combine. Add dry mixture to pumpkin batter and beat on low just until all ingredients are moist.

Fill cupcake liners with batter until they are ¾ full. Bake for 12-15 minutes, then remove from oven and sprinkle each muffin with coarse decorating sugar and return to oven to finish baking another 13-15 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. (Total cooking time should be 25-30 minutes).

Remove from oven and cool 5-10 minutes before moving muffins to wire baking rack to cool completely.

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