And my last summer drink for the 4th of July that I made for Celebrations: Polka dot milkshakes in blue and red. Sorry, folks, no alcohol in these, but if you want to find a way to add some, I’m totally cool with that.

Just one or two drops of food coloring turns vanilla milkshakes into blue or red. And the polka dots? Marshmallows.

Find the how-tos to make patriotic polka dot milkshakes HERE at Celebrations.

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The next drink I made for Celebrations to celebrate the 4th of July can be either with or without alcohol. So everyone is covered. All I did was turn lemonade blue. That, and add a watermelon star stirrer (aka watermelon pop).

For the how-tos to make blue lemonade (with or without alcohol), click HERE to visit Celebrations.

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Well, one celebration specifically. The 4th of July of course. I’m not exactly known for mixology (except maybe in college, wink wink), so if I can make these layered drinks, trust me, anyone can. If I was better at it, I’d have done three layers: Red, white and blue. But I sort of cheated and mixed the white and blue together.

These are definitely for the non-shot taking types, as the mix of Pop Rocks fizz and yummy, creamy blend of Schnapps and half and half, goes down pretty smoothly. And I got to buy some grenadine. Sheesh, I haven’t had grenadine since I was a kid, in Shirley Temple form. I used to sit at the bar where my uncle tended and order a Shirley Temple with a zillion cherries. But I digress… on with shooters!

For the instructions to make them, click HERE to visit Celebrations.

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My poor Dad. His birthday falls on or around Father’s Day every year. And yeah, I’ll admit it. I collapse them into one gift giving occasion. But in my defense, my dad is really, really difficult to shop for. I can’t imagine if I had to come up with two great ideas at the same time without months of deliberation between the two events. Come to think of it, I’ve only actually come up with one great gift idea for my dad. Ever. And that was to add him as my second card on my Costco membership. Cost to me: Zero. That’s the ONLY really, truly, honest-to-goodness-wanted gift I’ve managed to come up with. See? That’s why he gets two for one. (Scratch that, reverse it, one for two.) He’s impossible.

Thankfully, I always have the cookie thing going for me. He LOVES to eat. Fortunately, he loves exercise as much as he loves to eat, so one would never know of this passion for edibles. He also loves all the new gadgets, which makes me proud of my senior dad. I made these iPad cookies for him a couple years ago.

These “POP!” cookies may need some explaining. You see, his grandkids call him “Pop Pop,” as I called my grandfather. So get it? Pop. Pop. Pop! But these would also be good for the 4th of July, yes?

To make these, I cut out little ovals of cookie dough, baked and let cool according to the recipe. I used my royal icing, divided and tinted with Americolor Soft Gel Pastes (Bright White, Super Black, Orange, Electric Green and Sky Blue Egg, but use any colors you like), and filled disposable decorating bags that were fitted with couplers and size “3″ decorating tips. I thinned the white first before filling the bag. For Basic Cookie Decorating how-tos, click HERE. For tips on finding supplies, click HERE. I piped a pop art kinda outline with black. I filled each with the thinned white icing. When that had set an hour or so, I piped the words “POP!” on each. Let the cookies dry overnight before handling or wrapping.

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Feel free to share (nicely)! While my blog's photographs and text are protected by copyright, I do allow (and encourage) you to share ONE photograph with credit to "the decorated cookie" and link to this blog post. PLEASE don't reprint any part of the blog post and PLEASE don't post a photo without credit. Thank you!

How do you feel about messes? Do mounds of shoes, balls of cat fur and piles of paper drive you mad? They drive me mad. But my husband, our kid, our baby, our three cats make messes. None of the above mind or notice said mess. I mind and notice said mess. I chase after all of the above tidying. Always tidying. I think if I keep my house in total order, all magazine-home-like, my mind will be at rest. I will be in total control of life’s chaos.  Except I’m messy by nature and lack cleaning skills. I’m impatient and imprecise. I “clean” by quickly wiping down visible surfaces. I vacuum cat fur every day, but only what’s apparent to the eye. I don’t lift stuff. Or scrub. Our toothpaste is abominable. And don’t get me started on the car. I’m pretty sure there are food products petrifying under the seat, but I’m afraid to look.

My cookie decorating reflects this rushed imperfection. I’m in awe of those decorators who are machine-like perfect. (You know who you are, Bridget, Callye, Glory, Marian, Hani… ) I’m not. And never will be. Which is why I’ve been embracing this whole “messy” cookie thing lately. Like these chaos cookies, chaos heart cookies, messy letter cookies and monster cookie sticks. It’s OK to be messy with your decorating when you say it’s on purpose.

In case you can’t tell, these are supposed to be firework cookie pops. I made them messy on purpose.

how to make messy firework cookie pops for the 4th of July

you will need:*

cookie dough

royal icing

circle cutter

cookie sticks

food coloring

disposable decorating bags

couplers

size “3″ decorating tips

rubber bands

*Find the circle cutter (2-inch used here), cookie sticks, decorating bags, couplers and tips at the craft store. For the food coloring, I suggest Americolor Soft Gel Pastes. (Sky Blue, Red Red and Bright White used here).

step one: bake your cookies. Prepare cookie dough according to the recipe. Roll out, cut out circles, insert sticks and bake according to the directions. Let cool completely. For tips on making cookie pops, click HERE.

step two: prepare your icing. Prepare royal icing according to the recipe. Divide and tint red, white and blue. Prepare decorating bags with couplers and tips, fill with the icing and close tightly with rubber bands.

step three: decorate your cookies. Pipe each color on the cookie. Start at the center and pipe out. For tips on basic cookie decorating, click HERE. Let the cookies dry overnight.

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Feel free to share (nicely)! While my blog's photographs and text are protected by copyright, I do allow (and encourage) you to share ONE photograph with credit to "the decorated cookie" and link to this blog post. PLEASE don't reprint any part of the blog post and PLEASE don't post a photo without credit. Thank you!