Naturally colored red, white and blue flag fudge

Bring some vanilla fudge shaped like little U.S. flags to your next 4th of July party or BBQ. The fudge recipe is simple, and it takes only a little mixing and slicing to give you the flag look. Or just layer the colors to keep it really simple. Bonus: The red and blue colors come from all-natural fruit colors.

Well hello, warm weather! You’re finally here! And that means one of my favorite holidays is right around the corner: the Fourth of July. Not only do we celebrate our country’s independence, but all kinds of foods show up in red, white and blue colors. Super fun!

Every year, I try to make some new treat to bring to the many 4th of July parties. This year I’m going with fudge because 1) it’s so simple to make, 2) most everyone likes it and a little goes a long way, and 3) it’s so versatile and can take so many flavors and colors.

And although I use my fair share of food gels and dyes to tint foods, I always like to see what kind of colors I can get from natural colorants. In this fudge, the red and blue colors come from freeze-dried cranberries and blueberries. They are becoming more and more commonly found in food stores these days, and they give the fudge a subtle berry flavor.

Although the flag and stripe colors aren’t very dark, they are a great contrast to the white fudge. To keep it really simple, you can always just layer the colors instead of making flag shapes, so make a batch for your next summer get-together!

Red, white and blue flag fudge recipe

Yields 20-25 pieces (depending on how you slice your fudge)

Ingredients:

• 1 (16 ounce) can vanilla frosting
• 1 (12 ounce) bag white chocolate chips
• 3 tablespoons ground freeze-dried cranberries
• 3 tablespoons ground freeze-dried blueberries

Directions:

1. Place the white chocolate chips in a microwave-safe bowl, and melt them in the microwave in 30-second intervals, stirring each time.
2. Add the frosting to the melted chips, and mix well.
3. Separate the mixture evenly into 3 bowls.
4. Crush or grind the whole freeze-dried berries with a mortar and pestle, or use the back of a spoon to crush or grind the berries to a fine powder.
5. Add the ground cranberries to 1 bowl and the blueberries to another.
6. Line a 9 x 9-inch pan with foil or parchment paper. Add the fudge mixtures to the pan, placing the colors next to one another at the same height (if you are making flag shapes). If you are not making flag shapes, then just layer the mixtures on top of one another.
7. Refrigerate the mixtures for approximately 1 hour.
8. Remove the fudge from the pan, and cut the white and red into thinner layers. Layer the flag stripes. Start with a red layer, then a white, a red, a white and then red on top. Cut this layered section into strips (the length you want your flags to be). In each section, cut out a smaller section where the blue part of the flag will go. Cut a similar shape from the blue fudge, and add this to your red and white strips. It will stick on its own if you use some pressure. Cut this into your fudge pieces. Each piece should now be shaped like a little flag. Refer to the pictures above for reference. If you are not making flag shapes, then simply cut the red-white-and-blue-layered fudge into fudge squares.

More red, white and blue treats

Firecracker Jell-O parfaits
Candy poppin’ bottle rockets
Star spangled banner bars