A universal truth for kids and grown-ups alike is that everything is more fun to eat on a stick! And that’s especially true for these 4th of July treats that look like sparklers and win the award for the most fun addition to your holiday spread. There’s no baking involved in making this tasty snack or healthy dessert and it’s easy enough that the kids can put them together pretty much entirely on their own. Just slice a few apples and strawberries and give the kids some small star-shaped cookie cutters and appetizer toothpicks and they can assemble a platter of fruit kabobs that will get tons of compliments. The tasty yogurt fruit dip is perfect with the patriotic fruit kabobs and makes these extra fun, although you could use my regular fruit dip with marshmallow fluff and cream cheese if you prefer.
How do you keep apples from browning?
The biggest trick I’m sharing with this recipe is my favorite method for preserving apples so they don’t turn brown after being cut, and no, it’s not by soaking them in lemon juice or lemon water. It’s using a salt water brine! To preserve the apple’s white color and prevent browning, soak the cut apples for 10 minutes in a salt water brine made by dissolving 1 teaspoon kosher salt in 2 cups water, then rinse with cool water. You won’t even taste the salt at all and the apples will stay fresh and pure for more than 12 hours on the counter and up to 5-7 days in the fridge if stored in an airtight container! It’s kind of amazing. It’s a great lunchbox hack for kids and we use it all the time.
What You’ll Need
Supplies:
4-inch appetizer toothpicks – These make cute petite kabobs! But more importantly, they don’t split the apples in half when pierced and are more proportional to the small pieces of fruit, unlike regular kabob skewers. Star-shaped cookie cutters – I used these ones here. There are 3 different sizes: 1.6-inch, 1.3-inch, and 1-inch. I used all three for these kabobs because I liked the variety. Metal cutters work best for a clean cut and you can also use them to cut out stars from pie crust to decorate a pie!
Ingredients:
Apples – I used pink lady apples, but any type of apple that you like will do! Honeycrisp or Envy would be my next choice. Blueberries – I recommend fresh blueberries rather than frozen because the frozen ones will stain the other fruit and make a mess as they thaw. Strawberries Lemon juice – This is used to flavor the dip. Plain yogurt – I used Stoneyfield plain whole milk yogurt, and I LOVE it! Stoneyfield has a plain 0% fat Greek yogurt option as well. Pure vanilla extract Honey – For sweetening the yogurt. Kosher salt – This is mixed with water to create a simple salt water solution for brining the apples after they cut to prevent them from browning. It’s my favorite method and works even better than lemon juice!
How to Make Patriotic Fruit Kabobs
Tips for Success
All fruit should be at least ½ inch thick to be able to be pierced for the kabob. Go the extra mile and dip some of your fruit in melted white chocolate for an extra sweet treat! Don’t skip brining the apples unless you plan to serve these kabobs immediately. Untreated, sliced apples can start turning brown within about 15 minutes.
Substitutions
Replace apples with pineapple (my personal favorite alternate), bananas, marshmallows, or even mozzarella cheese! Replace strawberries with watermelon or raspberries (note: raspberries won’t work for star shapes, but they are still good for the red color needed for the patriotic color scheme). Swap blackberries or purple grapes for the blueberries. Use strawberry extract, orange extract (or a little orange zest and juice), or coconut extract in place of the vanilla extract. Swap honey with maple syrup. Replace lemon juice with lime, orange, or grapefruit.
More Fourth of July Desserts
If you are looking for 4th of July recipes or Memorial Day recipes with a patriotic look, be sure to give some of these a try!
Red, White, and Blueberry Bacon Burger with Basil Aioli Patriotic Pretzel Rods Chantilly Cake
Red White and Blue Berry Trifle
Red, White, and Blue Bundt Cake
Red, White, and Blueberry Cream Pie
Let me know what you thought with a comment and rating below. You can also take a picture and tag me on Instagram @houseofnasheats or share it on the Pinterest pin so I can see.
