Here’s a very quick, yet very high-impact, trio of drinks for July 4th weekend. One has no alcohol, one is lightly alcoholic and one is full-cocktail.

Call them Lady Liberty Lemonade or Lady Liberty Sangria; or add gin, tequila or vodka for a Lady Liberty Cocktail.

Even if you have time for nothing else, you can make this!

The amounts needed will vary depending on the size of your pitcher.
 
 
RECIPE #1: LADY LIBERTY LEMONADE

Ingredients

 
Preparation

To serve with ice cubes, prepare a can of lemonade and freeze it in ice cube trays, five hours in advance or overnight. This keeps the drink ice-cold without diluting it.

1. PREPARE the lemonade according to package instructions.

2. WASH the fruit. Slice the apples, cut the slices into stars, and add all the fruit to the pitcher of lemonade. Chill in the fridge until ready to use.
 
 
RECIPE #2: LADY LIBERTY SANGRIA

Club soda added to this recipe serves two purposes: to add fizz to a still wine sangria, or to dilute the drink to a lower-alcohol, lower-calorie spritzer.

Ingredients

 
Preparation

[2] For sparkling sangria, use Prosecco, an Italian bubbly.

1. SLICE the apples, cut the slices into stars, and add all the fruit to a pitcher. Top with the wine, liqueur and juice, and stir gently to combine. Refrigerate until ready to use.

2. FILL glasses and top off with club soda.
 
 
RECIPE 3: LADY LIBERTY COCKTAIL

Substitute gin, tequila or vodka for the wine in recipe #2.
 
 
LIGHT WHITE WINES

These wines are light enough for the hottest days of summer. Consider picking up varieties that you haven’t had before. Even if they won’t unseat your current favorite to drink as is, they will blend beautifully into the sangria.

Why stick a hot dog in a roll?

These Hot Dog Firecrackers are an easy recipe to serve over 4th of July weekend, fun for all age.

You don’t need a roll to hold the ketchup or mustard. You can neatly add them to the “firecracker” via a squeeze bottle or a knife.

This recipe came to us from USA Pan, makers of fine bakeware.

Prep time is 15 minutes, cook time is 15 minutes.

You don’t need a grill: These firecrackers are baked in the oven.
 
 
RECIPE: FIRECRACKER HOT DOGS FOR JULY 4TH

Ingredients For 16 Hot Dogs

 
Preparation

1. PREHEAT the oven to 350°F. Stick the skewers through the center of the hot dogs until there is an inch and a half of the skewer coming out from the top of each dog.

2. PLACE the crescent dough on flat surface. With a knife, cut ¾ inch thick strips.

3. WRAP each hot dog with a strip of dough, leaving a gap between each spiral. Place the hot dogs on a half sheet pan (see below), leaving a small amount of space between each hot dog. Bake for 15 minutes or until golden brown. While the hot dogs are cooking…

4. CUT stars from the cheese. Assemble on top of the finished hot dogs and serve.

THE HISTORY OF SHEET PANS

A sheet pan, baking tray or baking sheet is a flat, rectangular metal pan used in an oven. It is typically used for baking bread rolls, pastries and flat products such as cookies, sheet cakes, swiss rolls and pizzas.

The most basic sheet pan is literally a sheet of metal, hence the name. If you have a cookie sheet with no continuous lip around the edges, you have a sheet pan.

One or two edges are rolled to enable easy handling in and out of the oven. The open sides allow you to remove the warm cookies without disturbing their shape.

Modern sheet pans used in commercial kitchens typically are made of aluminum, with a 1 inch lip around the edge.

The Sheet Pan Evolves

The next step in the development of the sheet pan was to include a lip on one or more edges, to prevent food from sliding off. Some pans add handles to aid in placing the pan in, and removing it from, the oven.

A sheet pan that has a continuous lip around all four sides is also called a jelly roll pan. It can be used to make the flat cake layer used for jelly rolls and roulades with other fillings.

Today, there are specialty sheet pans that include a layer of insulation or air (an “air bake pan”), designed to protect delicate food like macarons from burning.

Sheet Pan Sizes

In the U.S.:

 
Sheet Pans Vs. Cookie Sheets

Cookie sheets are different from baking pans. Baking pans have rolled edges, and cookie sheets do not.

Cookie sheets offer the advantage of a large surface area with no edges to impede removing the baked cookies. But their lack of edges limits their uses:

You can bake cookies in a baking pan, but you can’t cook a roast (or anything else that expels juice) on a cookie sheet.

Baking pans for roasts, called roasting pans, are deeper, to accommodate the size of the roast plus the juices it emits.
 
  

This recipe from McCormick makes chocolate chip cookie dough stars.

Since there’s no oven and no knives, you can delegate the task to a fledgling cook. Prep time is 20 minutes.

RECIPE: CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIE DOUGH STARS

Ingredients For 24 Cookies

 
Preparation

1. PREPARE a 15 x 10 x 1-inch shallow baking pan by lining with foil. With an electric mixer…

2. BEAT the cream cheese and butter in a large bowl at medium speed, until light and fluffy. Add the sugars, vanilla and salt; mix until blended and smooth. Stir in the vanilla wafer crumbs and chocolate chips.

3. PRESS the cookie dough firmly into the pan, in an even layer. Freeze for 1 to 2 hours or until firm.

4. FLIP the cookie dough onto a cutting board and remove the foil. Cut into star shapes with 2-inch star-shaped cookie cutter.

5. PRESS the cookie dough scraps back into pan, refreezing it if too soft, to cut out more stars. (If you eat them, we won’t blame you: We’ll join you. You can eat them with impunity since there is no raw egg).
 
 
IF YOU WANT SOMETHING SWEET IN RED, WHITE & BLUE…

HERE ARE MORE DESSERT RECIPES

Cakes & Cupcakes

 
Cookies & Bars

 
Ice Cream

 
Pies & Tarts

 
More

 
 
MORE PATRIOTIC FOOD

For some red, white and blue recipes for other meals, head here.

[2] A frozen patriotic pie from QVC (recipe).

[3] Make a custard or cream pie with a berry top (photo courtesy American Pie Council).

[4] A flag layer cake from Good Eggs, in the trendy naked cake style (no icing on the sides).

[5] The easiest red, white and blue dessert: pound cake, whipped cream and berries (photo courtesy Knudsen Dairy).