Hi Everyone!  Happy July! Specifically, Happy 4th of July!  I hope that you all can enjoy some summer fun and perhaps some fireworks but most importantly, some great food!  I know, I know, I always equate holidays with eating. It’s a problem that I have learned to live with. I think that I mentioned to you all before that my family has a picnic at a local park and we watch the fireworks together.  It used to be a pretty big gathering and we would all bring party food such as fried chicken, hot wings, tacos, sliders, popcorn and tons of cookies and desserts. These days the group is much smaller. The nieces and nephews have families of their own and many don’t make it because of other commitments. One of my sisters has moved away and one doesn’t usually make it.  But, those of us that still attend try to make the best of it. Currently, we are only bringing snack foods and desserts because it is tough to make the great nieces and nephews wait so long to eat dinner. But, I’m ok with that. I can eat a little sumpin’ sumpin’ and then really chow down on sweets. That is a sacrifice that I am willing to make to celebrate the sacrifices that our ancestors made for our independence. 

So, for the last several years, I have been taking little mini fruit pies in mason jars.  They are a big hit so I will take them again this year. I am also taking some cookies, like always.  The cookies that I share vary from year to year. It depends on what my favorite is at the time. Now, a couple of weeks ago I made a new cookie and both of my boys looked at them and said that I should make them for the 4th of July.  And so, I decided that I would indeed do just that.

This is one of those oopsie recipes for me.  You know how it is, I start off with a recipe and discover that I don’t have the right ingredients or can’t find the stuff called for at the grocery store.  But I am no quitter when it comes to baking. I find substitutes or make a few little changes and, BAM, I’ve got a brand-new recipe. This one called for a raspberry muffin mix, but I couldn’t find that in my store.  At first, I thought about ditching the recipe but couldn’t let it go. I looked around for a substitute and found one. I think that the finished product is better than just the plain old raspberry.