Red, White and Blue Inauguration Day Treats

Today is Inauguration Day, and I know of quite a few people who are celebrating the occasion with parties and (naturally!) with snacks. My all-American favorites are chocolate chip cookies and double crust apple pie, and I certainly think they’re good choices if you want to bake something. I tend to save my red-white-and-blue creations for 4th of July celebrations, but this seems like a good time to make an exception and to bring out some of my more patriotic looking recipes.

• Mixed Berry and Ricotta Babycakes are like miniature cheesecakes studded with red and blue berries. They can be made with fresh or frozen berries.
• Red Velvet Cake Sandwich Cookies are a takeoff on classic whoopie pies, with a cream cheese filling in the center and a tender red velvet cake serving as each end of the sandwich.
• For something really overtly patriotic, a cupcake flag is a good choice. All you need to have on hand before arranging your favorite flavor of cupcakes into a large rectangle is red, white and blue frosting (or sprinkles). The frosting can be added on to the cakes to mimic the colors and pattern of the flag.
• Finally, a little touch of red and blue will go a long way on any frosting. I made star shaped cake stencils out of a stiff piece of paper used colored sanding sugars on white frosting to create the bold stars on the cake pictured above.