Heat Wave Dessert Bites

As the 4th of July approaches, it is about 1,000 degrees here. OK, maybe only nearing 100 degrees F, but the humidity is killer and a huge storm is coming through. This is Heat Wave Dessert Bites weather. 

This is the perfect answer for when you don’t want to turn on the oven and bake a holiday cake or tart. You may not even want to turn on the stove to heat the custard base for homemade ice cream.

This holiday dessert is made of  bite-sized morsels of fruit charged up with a bit of creamy goodness. The bites are so quick and easy, you’ll be done in no time and all without breaking a sweat, heat wave or not. Although they are best made shortly before dessert, you could make them a few hours early and put them into a covered container, refrigerated, until you serve them. And although I didn’t set out to make a gluten-free dessert, they’re a festive, gluten-free treat for those who can’t eat the cakes, cookies, and pies that typically come out in full force on July 4th. 

I’ve always loved the combination of sour cream and light brown sugar. I use it as a dip for strawberries and I’ve been known to slather it on a graham cracker with a thin square of chocolate for a no-bake not-quite s’more. This dessert uses a variation on that theme as a connector between two fruits. I used watermelon and blueberries to create a red-white-and-blue July 4th dessert, but you can play around with it and come up with your own combinations. 

Watermelon and Blueberry Bites

Servings – 30-40 small bites   Cost – $5

Ingredients

• ½ cup sour cream
• 4 teaspoons tightly packed light brown sugar
• 4 tablespoons (¼ cup) cream cheese
• About half of a medium watermelon, cut into 1-inch thick slices
• 30-40 blueberries

Equipment

• Cutting board
• Knife
• Small biscuit cutter or round cookie cutter (1–1½ inches in diameter. No larger or each piece won’t be bite-sized.)
• Measuring cups
• Measuring spoons
• Spatula
• Small food processor or bowl and whisk or large fork
• Small ramekin or other container
• Paper towels

Preparation

• Mix the sour cream, light brown sugar and cream cheese in the food processor or hadn beat with a whisk or large fork until smooth. Put it in a ramekin or other small container, cover it, and refrigerate the mixture at least 15 minutes.

• Cut the watermelon into the slices. Use the biscuit or cookie cutter to cut circles. Turn each one and cut it in half, so that instead of being about 1-inch thick, you have double the number of circles and each one is now  ½ –inch thick. I’ve found that the ½-inch thickness is about right for a bite-sized piece of watermelon; it’s big enough to grab onto, but no so big that you feel foolish eating it.

• Using doubled paper towels, pat the circles gently to absorb excess moisture on the outsides.
• Take the cream out of the refrigerator, and using a ½ teaspoon measuring spoon, dab a rounded bit of cream on each circle. Top with a blueberry.

You’re done. Time to celebrate!