Strawberries and blueberries are abundant this time of year, and made it easy to create the stars and stripes of our grand flag.

Ingredients:

4 cups fresh strawberries

1 pkg.  (12 oz.) frozen prepared pound cake, thawed, cut into 14 slices

1-1/3 cups blueberries, divided

1 tub  (12 oz.) Cool Whip Whipped Topping, thawed

Directions:

1. Slice 1 cup strawberries; halve remaining strawberries.

2. Cover bottom of 13×9-inch dish with cake slices; top with sliced strawberries and 1 cup blueberries. Spread Cool Whip over berries.

3. Arrange strawberry halves and remaining blueberries on COOL WHIP to resemble a US flag. Keep refrigerated.

• 1 cup warm milk (105 to 115 degrees)

• 2 packages active dry yeast

• 1 cup butter, softened

• 1/2 cup granulated sugar

• 2 eggs, slightly beaten

• 1 tsp. salt

• 1 tsp. ground cardamom

• 5 to 5 1/2 cups all purpose flour

• 1 cup prepared apricot filling

• 1/2 cup chopped dates

• 2 cups sifted powdered sugar

• 3 tbsp. light cream or half and half

• 1/2 tsp. vanilla

• 1/4 tsp. almond extract

In a large bowl, combine the milk and yeast; stir to dissolve yeast. Stir in butter, granulated sugar, eggs, salt, cardamom and 2 cups of the flour; beat until smooth. Stir in enough of the remaining flour to make the dough easy to handle. Turn out onto lightly floured surface. Knead for 10 minutes or until the dough is smooth and elastic, adding as much remaining flour as needed to prevent sticking. Shape dough into a ball. Place in a large, buttered bowl; turn dough once to butter surface. Cover with waxed paper; let rise in a warm place (85 degrees) until doubled, about 1 ½ hours. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, combine apricot filling and dates; set aside.

Pinch dough down; divide into 3 equal pieces. Roll out one third dough on lightly floured surface into 12 x 10 inch rectangle. Spoon one third of apricot mixture down the center third of dough. Fold all 4 sides over so that they meet at the center of filling; pinch to seal. Place dough seam side down on a buttered baking sheet. With scissors, snip 1 inch wide strips on its side to expose filling. Cover; let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 30 minutes. Bake in a preheated 375 degree oven for about 18 minutes or until golden brown. Remove to wire racks to cool completely. In a small bowl, combine powdered sugar, cream, vanilla and almond extract; mix well. Drizzle over the coffee cakes.

• 2 cups any kind of pancake and waffle mix

• 1/2 cup sugar

• 1 8-oz. sour cream

• 3/4 cup milk

• 1 egg, beaten

• 3/4 cup chopped cranberries

• 3/4 cup peeled, coarsely chopped apple

Streusel:

• 1/2 cup chopped nuts

• 1/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar

• 1/2 tsp. cinnamon

• 2 tbsp. butter, softened

Glaze:

• 3/4 cup powdered sugar

• 1 tbsp. milk

• 1/2 tsp. vanilla

Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease 13 x 9 inch baking pan. Combine pancake mix and sugar. Add sour cream, milk, and egg; mix just until dry ingredients are moistened. Spread into; top with cranberries and apple. Sprinkle over fruit. Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Combine glaze ingredients; drizzle over warm cake. Serve warm. (To reheat cooled cake, microwave each serving at high for about 20 seconds.)

• 1/2 cup butter

• 1/2 cup sour cream

• 1 cup all purpose flour

• 1 cup canned cherry pie filling

• 1/4 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

• 1/2 cup sifted powdered sugar

• 2 tsp. milk

In a large mixer bowl, beat butter on high speed of electric mixer for 30 seconds. Add sour cream; beat until fluffy. Add flour and mix well. Cover and chill dough about 1 hour or until firm enough to handle.

Divide the dough in half. Working with half of the dough at a time, roll to a 10 x 8 inch rectangle. Place rectangle on a greased baking sheet. Spread half of the pie filling lengthwise down the center third of the rectangle. If desired, sprinkle half of the chopped walnuts over the pie filling. Make cuts 2 ½ inches deep at 1 inch intervals along both long sides. Fold strips over filling, pinching into narrow points at the center. Repeat with remaining dough. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 30 minutes or until golden. Remove to a wire rack. Sprinkle with additional chopped nuts. In a small mixing bowl, stir together the powdered sugar and the milk. Drizzle over the baked pastries. Cut into slices and serve.

• 1/2 cup coconut cream
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 2 cups sifted flour
• 1/8 tsp. salt
• 1 cup fresh coconut, grated or 1 cup flaked coconut

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.Combine the coconut cream and sugar; cook over low heat until sugar melts. Cool and stir into the eggs.

Sift the flour and salt into a bowl; stir in the egg mixture until dough is formed. Roll out 1/4 inch thick on a lightly floured surface. Cut into desired shapes. Arrange on a greased cookie sheet and sprinkle with the coconut. Bake 8 minutes, or until delicately browned. Cool on a cake rack.

The cherry fruit filling in these bars make them an excellent choice for the holidays.  The festive red color and delicious taste will seal their fate making them a treat your family and friends will love for years to come!

• 1 cup margarine

• 1 3/4 cup sugar

• 4 eggs

• 1 1/2 tsp. baking powder

• 1/2 tsp. salt

• 3 cups flour

• 1 tsp. vanilla

• 1 or 2 – 21 oz. cans of cherry pie filling

Cream together the sugar and margarine. Add eggs one at a time beating well after each addition. Then add baking powder, flour, salt and vanilla. Press 2/3 of the batter in a greased 10×15” pan with sides.  Spread the cherry pie filling (one or two cans depending on your tastes) on the batter and then drop remaining dough by teaspoon over top of mix. Bake at 350 degrees for 35 to 40 minutes (until toothpick comes out clean).  Remove from oven and cool.  Usually, we drizzle our bars with a glaze made from 3/4 cups powdered sugar and 1 Tbsp. milk.  Cut into bars and store in an airtight container.  NOTE – blueberry or apple pie filling would work as well.