How to Make Red, White and Blue Patriotic Cupcakes DIY

If you're in charge of bringing the dessert to a Memorial Day picnic or a 4th of July bash, then check out these patriotic cupcakes, which are actually super easy to make!

This recipe is so much easier than it looks and can be made as cupcakes or a cake. It's very easy to get creative!

Planning for a patriotic event like 4th of July or Memorial Day can be so much fun. Just look at these
red, white and blue Hershey's Kisses I found at Hershey's Chocolate World! The little white papers inside the Kisses actually say 'thank you' in honor of our service men and women. So cute, right? I plan on serving them along with my cupcakes!

Okay, so in celebration of the holidays, here's a quick and fun dessert you can make to bring to the barbecue. Patriotic cupcakes!

Red, white and blue cupcakes are so easy to make, you won't believe it. Here's what you need:

Ingredients:

-a box of white cake mix (yellow won't work- you'll wind up with red, yellow and blue instead)
-cupcake liners
-food coloring
-frosting

That's it!  Follow the box instructions to mix up the batter for your cupcakes.

Then divide the batter into three equal bowls.

Keep one bowl white, but dye one bowl red (use 18 drops to make the perfect shade, trust me on this one).  Dye the other batter bowl blue (use exactly 12 drops, I assure you!!). Now you'll have three different colors of batter.

Put your cupcake liners in a cupcake pan.  Start by putting blue batter at the bottom of each cupcake liner (I used a cookie scoop to make it go faster), then add white on top of each blue, then red on top of white.

VERY IMPORTANT:  try to spread each area of white out with a spoon so it covers the blue entirely (or as best you can). If you leave too much blue showing, it will eventually leak up the sides of the cupcake when baking. It will still look cool, but the end effect looks much better if it's just layered red, white and blue. Then add your red on top of the white (make sure the red covers the white the same way you did with the blue).

Now bake according to the box instructions. Frost with whatever vanilla frosting you have.  Ta da!

If you feel like getting crafty, add some patriotic sprinkles. I used a frosting gun to decorate (one of my favorite baking tools). So easy! I included an Amazon affiliate link at the bottom of this post if you are interested in getting one for yourself.

Have a great holiday, everyone! Eat, swim and be merry, and remember that our country is an awesome place to live. We should be thankful every day for those who fought (and are still fighting) to keep us free.