Colored Sugar and Patriotic Strawberries

The 4th of July is coming up and if you're looking for some festive food ideas, here's one you can try!  It involves colored sugar, which you can buy, but you'd be paying a lot for it.  The good news: it's easy to make at home and pretty much costs the same as sugar.  You can use food coloring or food dye, although the food dye does give the sugar a more vibrant shade than the food coloring. Colored sugar can be used to decorate cookies or other confections.

Colored Sugar
Sugar
Food coloring or food dye

In a bowl, place desired amount of sugar (I used 1/4 cup of sugar in each bowl).  Add food coloring a couple drops at a time until desired shade is reached.  After each addition, mix the sugar with a spoon, pressing the sugar against the sides of the bowl using the back of the spoon to get out clumps and to evenly spread the coloring.  Alternatively, use desired amount of food dye instead of the food coloring.

Colored sugar using food coloring.

Food dye.

The sugar will clump up, but will go away if you press the sugar against the sides of the bowl using the back of the spoon.

Colored sugar using the dye.

Patriotic Strawberries
Strawberries
White chocolate chips
Shortening
Blue colored sugar (see recipe above)
Blue food coloring

Wash strawberries; dry completely.  Line a platter or cookie sheet with wax or parchment paper.

Place desired amount of white chocolate chips in a microwave-safe dish, with approximately 1 teaspoon of shortening per 1/2 cup of white chocolate chips.  Adjust shortening amounts to reach desired consistency of chocolate.  Microwave for 30 seconds; stir and continue to microwave in 30-second increments until it is completely melted.  Dip the bottom two-thirds of the strawberries in white chocolate, leaving the top third red.  Spoon blue colored sugar over the bottom part of the white chocolate, leaving a strip of white between the blue and red.

Instead of using colored sugar, you can dip the strawberries in white chocolate, and refrigerate until the chocolate has hardened.  Once hardened, melt white chocolate with enough shortening for it to reach a drizzling consistency; add blue food coloring.  Drizzle blue chocolate over white chocolate.  Alternatively, you can leave strawberries undipped and drizzle with blue and/or white chocolate.  Be creative and have fun!!!  Also, check your local grocery ads to see if strawberries are on sale.  I know there's a store near me that has them for 99 cents/lb this week!