There's nothing I love more than easy, delicious desserts...especially when they look fabulously festive!

Check out my 4th of July Cheesecake Dip!

4th of July cheesecake dip
Laurie Cataldo
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It's dangerously good, but enjoy in moderation...it's not exactly a dieter's dream.

Ingredients:

  • 1 8 oz. package of cream cheese (if your fridge is super cold, let it soften a bit)
  • 1 cup powdered sugar
  • 1 tsp. vanilla extract
  • Strawberries, washed, dried, and quartered
  • Blueberries, washed and dried
  • graham crackers

Dump the cream cheese into a big mixing bowl, and use an electric mixer to whip it up slightly. Add the vanilla extract, and slowly mix in the powdered sugar until you reach your desired sweetness. (I used less than the full cup.) It should be smooth and creamy, no lumps of any kind.

You can them assemble it in a few different ways: For the martini glass look, I did a layer of cut strawberries in the bottom of the glass, topped it with the dip, placed blueberries around the edge, and crumbled a few graham crackers on top. (Do that right before serving, or they get soggy.)

If you have an insanely fast metabolism, you can eat it right out of the glass, otherwise, grab a spoon, and scoop a little of the dip onto graham crackers.

You can also try lightly hollowing out strawberries, piping in the dip, and topping with a blueberry and graham cracker crumbs, like this:

red white and blue cheesecake strawberry
Laurie Cataldo
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For a big party, I'd recommend spreading the dip in a rectangular glass serving dish, and decoratively topping it with blueberries and cut strawberries so it looks like the flag. Serve with extra fruit and graham crackers.

flag cake
iStock
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If you want a fluffier dip, you could try folding some fresh whipped cream in.
For a *slightly* healthier version, try reduced fat cream cheese and a low/no-cal sugar substitute, or mix some of the cream cheese with low/non-fat greek yogurt.

Enjoy, and Happy Birthday America!

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