July 4th dessert recipes?? Help!

My daughter loves to cook and every year we try to come up with some kind of recipe/dessert for her to make for her family gatherings on her dads side. Her father has a rather large family and events are big. The biggest is July 4th. The whole family gathers for an all day picnic/party and she's always looking for a way to impress (she's 12 by the way).
This year we are in a slump. We are looking for unusual desserts to make and are coming up empty handed. She trys to look for desserts that "look" unusual. It's more in the presentation. Like one year we made a red/white/blue castle cake, another year we made cupcakes in tiny terricotta pots and decorated them with red/white/blue stars.
Does anyone know of any websites or places we can find unusual shaped desserts? Does anyone have any unusual recipes? I've been trying to think of flag things, flower shapes, anything. There are recipes for flag cakes, but they are all over the place (including the grocery stores) and she wants to be different.
I figured you guys would be the best to reach out too!
Thanks!

This is probably too tame, but what the heck. For a "looks great and tastes good too" dessert,

I used to take this to family get-togethers:

I'd buy a premade chocolate graham cracker crust
Buy a superior brand (like Brown Cow - full fat, not a diet version) raspberry yoghurt
Mix with one small container of cool-whip, chill until set and firm
before serving garnish with shaved curls of semi-sweet chocolate and fresh raspberries.

This basic recipe can be adjusted any way you wish - use a plain graham cracker crust, vary the kind of fruit in the yoghurt and what fresh fruit is used for the presentation.

I just love looking for recipes, even though I can't eat a lot of them because of my diet (Celiac desease).

So here are some recipes that I've found that I think your daughter might like to do.

Dipped Ice Cream Sandwiches

6 squares (1 oz each) semisweet chocolate, chopped
1 tablespoon shortening
4 ice cream sandwiches
Red, white and blue sprinkles

Line a baking sheet with waxed paper; set aside.

In a microwave or heavy saucepan, melt chocolate and shortening; stir until smooth.

Quickly dip ice cream sandwiches partway in melted chocolate; coat chocolate with sprinkles.

Place on prepared baking sheet and freeze.

Makes 4 servings.


Fourth of July Ice Cream Cake

1 prepared angel food cake (10 inches)
2 quarts strawberry ice cream, softened
1 quart vanilla ice cream, softened
2-1/2 cups whipping cream
2 tablespoons confectioners' sugar
Decorative mini paper flags, optional

Cut cake horizontally into four equal layers. Place bottom layer on a serving plate; spread with half of the strawberry ice cream. Immediately place in freezer. Spread second cake layer with vanilla ice cream; place over strawberry layer in freezer. Spread third cake layer with remaining strawberry ice cream; place over vanilla layer in freezer. Top with remaining cake layer.

In a mixing bowl, beat cream until soft peaks form. Add sugar; beat until stiff peaks form. Frost top and sides of cake. Freeze until serving. Decorate with mini flags if desired.

Makes 12-14 servings.

Old Glory Dessert

1 tube (18 oz) refrigerated sugar cookie dough
2 packages (one 8 oz, one 3 oz) cream cheese, softened
3/4 cup confectioners' sugar
4-1/2 teaspoons lemon juice
1/2 cup fresh blueberries
2 cups quartered fresh strawberries

Press cookie dough into a greased 15-in. x 10-in. x 1-in. baking pan. Bake at 350°F for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on a wire rack.

In a mixing bowl, beat cream cheese, sugar and lemon juice until smooth. Set aside 1/4 cup. Spread remaining cream cheese mixture over crust. Decorate with blueberries and strawberries to resemble a flag. Cut a small hole in a corner of a pastry or plastic bag. Insert star tip #16. Fill with reserved cream cheese mixture. Beginning in one corner, pipe stars in the spaces between the blueberries.

** 2 cups of any sugar cookie dough can be substituted for the refrigerated dough

Makes 12-15 servings.

Patriotic Cupcakes

1 package (18-1/4 oz) white cake mix
1/2 teaspoon blue food coloring
1/2 teaspoon red food coloring
1 can (16 oz) vanilla frosting
Red, white and blue sprinkles

Prepare cake batter according to package directions. In a small bowl, combine 1-1/3 cups batter and blue food coloring. In another bowl, combine 1-1/3 cups batter and red food coloring. Leave remaining batter plain.

Fill paper-lined muffin cups with 2 tablespoons red batter, 2 tablespoons plain batter and 2 tablespoons blue batter. Bake at 350° for 20-24 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks to cool completely. Frost with vanilla frosting; decorate with sprinkles.

Makes 1-1/2 dozen.

Red, White and Blue Dessert

2 packages (8 oz each) cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
2 cups heavy cream, whipped
2 quarts strawberries, halved, divided
2 quarts blueberries, divided

In a large mixing bowl, beat cream cheese, sugar and extracts until fluffy. fold in whipped cream. Place a third of the mixture in a 4-qt. bowl. Reserve 20 strawberry halves and 1/2 cup blueberries for garnish. Layer half of the remaining strawberries and blueberries over cream mixture. Top with another third of the cream mixture and the remaining berries. Spread the remaining cream mixture on top. Use the reserved strawberries and blueberries to make a "flag" on top.

Makes 18 servings.

Cream Filled Cupcakes

3 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups white sugar
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 cup milk
1 cup water
1 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup shortening
2 cups confectioners' sugar
1 pinch salt
3 tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 375 F. Line 36 muffin cups with paper liners.

In a large bowl, mix together the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda and 1 teaspoon salt. Make a well in the center and pour in the eggs, 1 cup milk, water, oil and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Mix well. Fill each muffin cup half-full of batter.

Bake in the preheated oven for 15 to 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Allow to cool.

Make filling: In a large bowl, beat butter and shortening together until smooth. Blend in confectioners' sugar and pinch of salt. Gradually beat in 3 tablespoons milk and 1 teaspoon vanilla. beat until light and fluffy. Fill a pastry bag with a small tip. Push tip through bottom of paper liner to fill each cupcake.

**You can cheat and use a box cake mix for the cupcakes.

I'm a cool whip freak, love it, and its yummy for the summer time - light and fluffy!

I found these on the www.coolwhip.com website

Berry Patriotic Cupcakes

Wave Your Flag Cake

Patriotic Parfaits

These are just a few, but they are my favorites!

Thanks so much guys! I knew if anyone had any ideas - it would be you guys!
Keep em coming (and I'll have to let the "boss" decide )