How to turn a plain dip into a patriotic appetizer for the 4th of July

Last week I discovered just how easy it is to add color to crumbs. After I created a blue cookie crust for my Red, White and Blue Cheesecakes, I decided to try coloring other crumbs and creating festive ways to use them. My first experiment included Town House Crackers which are very pale in color and were easy to color.

With 4th of July coming up next week, I decided to create something patriotic, so I colored my crumbs red and blue and sprinkled them into star shaped cookie cutters over a cream colored dip. I made my favorite chicken dip to use as the background for my stars, but thought these colorful stars would look great on top of homemade macaroni and cheese or even potato salad if you want to decorate some picnic food. 

This project took me about 15 minutes from start to finish. If you are in need of a last minute dish to take to a party, this is perfect for you.

Decorated Dip with Red and Blue Cracker Crumb Stars

Ingredients:

Chicken Dip-

8 ounces cream cheese, softened
1 cup Miracle Whip (or mayonnaise, if you have to)
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 (12 oz.) can chunk chicken breast

Cracker Crumb Stars-

8 crackers (Town House or something pale in color), plus more for serving

red and blue food coloring

Supplies:

electric mixer

mixing bowl

round serving dish or pie plate

food processor or use a rolling pan or pan

Assorted star shaped cookie cutters

zip top bags

Instructions:

Beat cream cheese, Miracle Whip, lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce and chicken together using an electric mixer. Spread into a round serving dish.

Crush crackers into small crumbs using a food processor or place crackers in a zip top bag and crush with a rolling pin or pan. Divide crackers into two small zip top bags. Add drops of food coloring, seal bag, and shake to blend the color with the crumbs. Add more coloring if needed until you get the desired color. 

Set assorted star shaped cookie cutters over the dip. Snip a small opening in the end of the zip top bag that is filled with the red crumbs. Shake crumbs into the center of the star cutter. Use something like the handle of a spoon to spread the crumbs in a very thin and even layer in the star. If you over fill your cutter, once you remove it your stars will lose their shape. Fill some stars with red and others with blue colored crumbs.


Refrigerate until needed. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Bake for about 15 minutes, just until the dip is hot. You can also heat in the microwave for a few minutes. Remove and serve immediately with crackers.


What other food do you think you could decorate using this technique?

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Products used to make this recipe that are available on Amazon.com.