Dried Pineapple Flowers for the 4th of July

These colorful dried pineapple flowers are a perfect addition to your 4th of July party. They are fun, gorgeous and easier than you think to make. You can use them as cake or cupcake toppers, to garnish drinks, to decorate your food table or even as edible leis (see below for instructions).

I’ve been eager to make dried pineapple flowers since spotting them on Martha Stewart ages ago. And this smart idea for dying the flowers different colors from Tablespoon allows you to adapt this recipe for just about any holiday party. Use red and blue flowers to garnish vanilla milkshakes or yogurt smoothies at your 4th of July celebration. TIP: Snip a flower with scissors to rest on the rim of a glass.

You can even make breakfast more festive on the 4th by topping your cereal with a couple pineapple flowers.

To make red and blue pineapple flowers:

You will need:

Pineapple
Sharp knife
Melon baller or small spoon
Bowls
Red and blue food coloring
Baking tray
Parchment paper

Slice the top and sides off of a pineapple. Scoop out any remaining eyes or seeds with a melon baller or small spoon.

Then, slice the pineapple as thinly as you can. The thinner the better.

Place ten to 20 drops of blue food coloring in a bowl (I used a glass bowl to avoid staining my kitchenware) and fill the bowl half way with water. Place half of the pineapple slices in the bowl and add more water, if necessary, to cover the pineapple. Repeat with the other half of the slices using red food coloring in separate bowl. Let soak for about 30 to 60 minutes or until desired color is achieved.

Pat the slices with paper towels. Preheat the oven to 225 º F. Line baking trays with parchment paper and place the pineapple in a single layer on the baking tray.

Bake for 30 minutes. Flip the slices over and bake for 30 minutes more. Continue baking and flipping every 30 minutes until the slices are dry. Depending on the thickness of the slices, this can take an extra hour or two, maybe more. Remove from the oven and let cool on a wire rack.

TIP: You can also make garland or leis with dried pineapple flowers. Simply thread an embroidery needle with elastic jewelry cord (found in the craft store) and push the needle through several flowers.

Meaghan Mountford, author of Sugarlicious: 50 Cute and Clever Treats for Every Occasion, has been creating crafty sweets for 15 years. She is especially fond of decorating cookies, marshmallows and putting sweets on sticks. See more on her blog, the decorated cookie.