8 Easy Sunny Summer Treats You Can Make Together

Hip, hip, hooray! The longest day of the year is finally here and with it comes picnics, fireworks, tan lines and the beach vacations we all love and look forward to. If you're a self-proclaimed heliophile, we'll help you worship the warmer weather and sunny skies with your own sweet tribute. Try these eight adorable summertime sweets that will make you smile bright before you take a bite.

Sunshine Cupcakes
We dare you to keep a straight face when you take a look at these cute little cupcakes. With their candy corn rays, bright yellow frosting, chocolate chip eyes and food gel grin, it's hard to not crack a smile! If you're getting ready to celebrate the first day of summer, why not whip up a batch of your favorite cupcakes and up the ante when it comes to how you decorate? These cupcakes will help lighten up the last days of school for your little ones as well as the mood at any event.

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Sunflower Candy Cups
Nothing screams summertime like a field of yellow sunflowers. With their wide blooms and cheerful color, they're a welcome site after months of snow and cooler temperatures. If you'd like them to bloom even earlier, then give these tasty and sweet sunflower cups a try. Gather a few kitchen helpers and follow the recipe to "grow" these pretty little candies.

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A Jar of Sunshine
These little jars of sunshine make perfect party favors for a summertime get-together and they're really easy to make! With some mini mason jars, yellow candies of your choice, twine and custom cards, you can wow your guests and make them feel special as they're walking out the door. They even look great as décor items when set out on a dessert table or as centerpieces before guests take them home to devour at the end of the night.

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Sunshine Cake
This tasty treat will certainly brighten up any day—rain or shine! That's because this sunshine cake is beaming with happiness from every ray. Made with sherbet, frosting, ice cream cones and candy toppings, this is one sweet treat that will beat the heat. Make your next dessert extra special by whipping up one of these beautiful and cute sunshine cakes for friends and family.

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Sunflower brownie pops
Not only does this particular confection have flower power, but loads of scrumptiousness too! If you're a seasoned baker and want to raise the bar when it comes to your culinary repertoire, then try these sunflower pops on for size. They require a skilled hand to craft their pretty petals and a creative eye, but they also make a great DIY snack for kids and beginners too! Stick to the book or go off the rails when it comes to color and flavors. These flower pops will be delicious and cheerful no matter what you do.

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Ray of sunshine pops
Put your little ones to work in the kitchen with this fun spin on a classic candy lollipop! These sunshine pops may look intricate, but they're actually pretty easy to make and don't require too many ingredients. Just pick up some yellow candy melts, small round cookies of your choice (Nilla wafers or Oreos are superb!), a food coloring marker or food gel and you'll almost be ready to go with these little morsels of sunshine. They make great goodies to bring into school on the last few days of class or can be doled out to your little ones as rewards for a great school year once they're officially on summer vacation!

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Sunbather's delight
Get your swim trunks ready because summer is here! Now you can wear them and snack on them too with this fun cookie decorating tutorial for bathing suit and sun cookies. These delightful little cookies are perfect for pool and beach parties and pack well in coolers and individual sized baggies. If you have a long car trip to a beach or lake vacation, you can even prepare these ahead of time and surprise your family once you hit the open road. With endless possibilities of color, cookie flavor and style, you can truly make these your own and love every bite of them!

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Fancy sunflower cake
This particular sweet is remarkable in style and in flavor. If you're up for a challenge this summer, this sunflower cake recipe will push your baking skills to delicious new heights and impress all of the friends and family who are lucky enough to taste the final product. With some citrus fruit slice gummy candies, a cake of your choosing, frosting, chocolate chips or pieces and a few more tantalizing sweets, you'll be ready to make a new summer favorite everyone will insist you bake, year after year.

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