Happy (Belated) 4th of July!

What a fun time the 4th of July is at our house!  Since the fireworks are visible from right behind our house, it is natural that we have a celebration in our backyard each year.  This was the second year that we've hosted a 4th of July party in this home.  All of our kids and grandkids were here as well as our daughter Kelly's in-laws who are also our dear friends.  They were all staying in our house for several days and then on the 4th, we had many friends joining us to celebrate.

So, I thought it would be fun to try a couple of holiday recipes from Pinterest.  Here is the inspiration for one of them...

These are called Firecracker Cookies and here is a link to the page where you can find the recipe and process for making them.  Cookin' Cowgirl - Firecracker Cookies

The recipe called for a 1/2 cup of red sprinkles and a 1/2 cup of blue sprinkles.  I just couldn't bring myself to use that many sprinkles.  In fact, I couldn't find the red and blue "jimmies" that they used in the recipe.  I had found a jar of red, white and blue sprinkles and used the entire thing (about a 1/4 cup total.)  Or should I say that my two-year-old granddaughter, Ellie, used the entire jar.  She was my cooking assistant and put all of the ingredients into the bowl for mixing!

So, our cookies didn't turn out nearly as colorful as the inspiration but I'm sure they were just as yummy!

Our YUMMY Firecracker Cookies!

And here is my assistant baker, Ellie, as she watched the Solvang 4th of July Parade.

My second attempt at a 4th of July treat was a Colorful Bundt Cake.  I actually used two recipes and combined them for the effect I wanted to achieve.  Here are the two "pinspiration" cakes...

I made the cake and frosting according to this first cake recipe.  You can find it here:

easybaked - Colorful Bundt Cake

And this site just inspired me to add sprinkles.  Wish I had read it a little better - it would have been fun to add Pop Rocks at the last minute!

weenii - 4th of July BundtCake

Here is my cake...

While I think that the layers on the inside of my cake are much cooler looking, I was disappointed that the red turned out to be pink!  It looks more like a baby shower cake when you don't yet know the sex of the baby.  Oh well, it was very tasty!

And here is a fun photo of my 5 sweet grandchildren and their big second (I think - I can never remember how that 1st, 2nd cousin, once, twice removed thing goes!) 

Owen (2 1/2), Ellie (2), Cousin Johnathan (14), Wesley (2 1/2), Andrew (4 1/2), Alexa (5)

What shall I try next, you ask?  Well, I already attempted another pin and will add it to this blog this very day.  I need to catch up since I have missed so many weeks.  Enjoy!