Summer is now officially here and the temperature is rising. If you are like me, you probably find yourself reaching for a cold beverage to help cool yourself off. And nothing goes better with with a tall glass of Kool-Aid than a good conversation with neighbors. Everyone is coming out. With all that talking and catching up, one of my newest simple pleasures is the 96oz. Ready-To-Drink Kool-Aid. No stirring required, just ice and a glass. That leaves plenty of time to hear great stories from the neighbors living around us.
Yes, the warm weather gets everyone outside. From the morning walkers to the bike riders and folks out for an afternoon convertible ride, our little area of the country has attracted a wide variety of folks. It is a quiet rural with many older couples and open farm fields. Just living down the street there are two WW2 Veterans with a whole lifetime of experiences to share and unique perspective on current events.
The farm shop is just across the street from our house and seems to be a great meeting place for storytelling and possibly a fair amount of tall tale re-telling as well. Being a 5-generation farm, I am sure My husband shares all the funniest stories with me at the end of day.
With the 4th of July coming up in just over a week, I am feeling patriotic, neighborly and fortunate to be living in an area where being neighborly is normal. Yes, I am feeling very proud to live where I do and also proud to be an American.
Of course, the 4th of July fun requires provisions. I headed to my local Walmart to stock up on a few things. Kool-Aid was at the top of my list.
I found the ready-to-drink bottles in the juice aisle. My favorites are both the Watermelon and Grape.
I also grabbed an assortment of Kool-Aid liquid and Kool-Aid powdered drink mixes. Yes, I might have gotten more than I needed for the holiday, but I have a whole Summer to quench.
I think every good backyard bash needs a fun and simple treat. I decided to use Kool-Aid to create Firecracker Push-Pops. I planned to use the Kool-Aid liquid to color and flavor a simple white cake.
I made my cakes thinner than usual, spreading them out over 3 pans instead of the usual 2. This left me enough room to have both a white and red layer of cake with blue frosting in between. To get the perfectly sized cakes cut, use one of the push-pop molds to cut them out.
To make my push-ups look more like firecrackers, I cut out simple red circles. I traced a wide-mouth canning jar cover. Resourceful, huh?
Cut a slit halfway through the circle, wrap it around itself to form a cone, then tape and secure to the plastic caps.
The last component for my cake was the frosting. The mixed berry makes a bright shade of blue. I mixed it with a few tablespoons of heavy cream and beat that into my traditional buttercream frosting.
Then let the layering begin! Start with cake, then pipe in a little buttercream, top with more cake, more buttercream and then decorate with patriotic sprinkles.
Firecracker Push-Pops How-To:
Using your favorite white cake recipe or mix, divide the better into 3 bowls. You will bake them in 3 9" cake pans. Stir Kool-Aid Liquid drops into 1/3 of your batter until your achieve the desired color. Bake as usual, but begin checking your cake 5 minutes before the minimum time listed.
Cool cake, cut out rounds and set aside.
Mix Kool-Aid powdered drink mix with 3 tablespoons heavy cream. Make your favorite buttercream recipe and thin with the Kool-Aid mixture. Pipe between and on top of the cake in your push-pop mold.
Top with sprinkles, add on your paper cone and enjoy!
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Excited about the 96oz bottles yet? Want to learn more? Well, Jim Dillard, pro fisherman, could be coming to your local Walmart to help promote the new Kool-Aid bottles! There will be product giveaways, t-shirts, games, and more fun activities!
Friday August 8th 5-7pm:
360 Harbison Blvd Columbia, SC WM Supercenter
Saturday August 9th 3-5pm:
1326 Bush River Rd Columbia, SC WM Supercenter
Saturday August 9th 6-8pm:
2401 Augusta Rd West Columbia, SC WM Supercenter
Looking for more Kool-Aid inspiration? Be sure to follow #KoolOff on twitter and check out my previous Kool-Aid fun with, DIY Lip Gloss, Meringue Cookies, and Dyed and Felted Star Wars Coasters.
How will you be spending your 4th of July? Will you #KoolOff with Kool-Aid?
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