The 4th of July is almost here, and it's a wonderful time to get together with family and friends to celebrate our nation's birthday! Our family loves to show our patriotism and I have been known to get into the spirit of the 4th of July. Over the years, I have tried to come up with some fun patriotic snacks or desserts to share at our family gatherings. This year, I had my handy helper (my son, B) to help me prepare a yummy, ooey, gooey dessert for our upcoming July 4th family gathering. Of course, we tested this recipe at home first, and we'll be making a fresh batch the day of our celebration.

14 Jumbo Marshmallows

Butter or Crisco

3 Hershey's Chocolate Bars (or 1 Cup of Chocolate Chips)

Red and Blue Sprinkles

Graham Crackers

Bowl of water

You will also need-

Toothpick or wooden skewer

Paper towel

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Lightly grease an 8x8 baking dish with butter or Crisco. Add Hershey's chocolate or chocolate chips to the bottom of the baking dish.

Use kitchen scissors to cut the jumbo marshmallows in half.

Using a toothpick or wooden skewer, dip a marshmallow into the water, and then quickly pat dry with a paper towel. Sprinkle six marshmallows with blue sprinkles, and press into the top left corner of the baking dish, 3x3, making a square.

Repeat the sprinkling process with twelve marshmallows, using the red sprinkles. Add red and white marshmallows to create red and white stripes.

A quick note- be sure that the marshmallows aren't too wet and aren't too dry. If they're too wet, the sprinkles will get too wet, and they will start to dissolve in the bowl. If the marshmallows are too dry, the sprinkles won't coat them evenly. Sprinkle the marshmallows over a bowl. Dip the marshmallows into the excess sprinkles for an even coating. Try to avoid getting the sprinkles all over your fingers- the color will transfer to the other marshmallows.

Bake at 450 degrees for 9-10 minutes, or until chocolate is melted and the marshmallows have turned a golden brown color.

The dip will be very hot, but it's best to serve it when it's still pretty warm... otherwise, the marshmallows will begin to harden again. This dip is so delicious and tastes just like s'mores that were made by the campfire.

Serve warm with graham crackers or pretzels!

My little family loved taste testing this recipe. We dipped our graham crackers right into the baking dish, and scooped up that gooey melted chocolate with the creamy marshmallow. The sprinkles gave the marshmallows a nice coating and a sweet little crunch, too. This recipe was a hit in our home, and we're looking forward to sharing it with our family and friends on the 4th of July. It's also a great treat to serve for Memorial Day, Flag Day, or anytime you are feeling a bit patriotic.

We hope you'll give this yummy recipe a try & be sure to let us know what you thought of it!