Looking for easy 4th of July crafts for kids or no bake red, white, and blue desserts for the 4th of July, Memorial Day, or Labor Day? These marshmallow bottle rockets are easy to make, fun for kids, and the perfect 4th of July dessert. The marshmallows can even be roasted and turned into s’mores!
Making these marshmallow bottle rockets is similar to making my red, white, and blue s’mores dip. You’ll dip the marshmallows into water with food coloring, let them dry, and then assemble them. Simple, easy, colorful, and festive!
Marshmallow Bottle Rockets
Marshmallow desserts are always a hit with the kids and if they don’t want to eat straight marshmallows they can roast them for s’mores which is another hit with kids and the perfect summer treat. Dipping the marshmallows into colored water gives them a nice watercolor look.
Marshmallow Bottle Rocket Ingredients
Marshmallows, large size – You can skip dying marshmallows if you have red & blue marshmallows but they are seasonal and hard to find at times.
Strawberries, stems removed
Shoestring Licorice, cut in half
Water
Food Coloring, red & blue – used to dye the marshmallows
Skewers
How to Make Marshmallow Bottle Rockets
Divide the bag of marshmallows into 3 groups. You should have approximately 12-13 marshmallows in each group. Set one group aside for now.
Put 1/4 cup of water into 2 separate mixing bowls. Put 3-4 drops of red food coloring into one bowl of water and 3-4 drops of blue food coloring into the other bowl. Give it a good stir.
Put a marshmallow into the blue food coloring bowl and let sit for 3-4 minutes, use a fork to turn the marshmallow and cover every side. Remove the marshmallow and place it on a cooling rack to dry. Repeat the process until every marshmallow in one group is dyed blue.
Next, you will repeat step 3 using the red food coloring. Once the 2 groups are dyed red and blue, let them dry thoroughly. This will take about an hour.
Tip: Do the red and blue marshmallows at the same time. Drop one into the blue and one into the red to speed up the process. You can even have multiple bowls of water/dye to make it go even quicker.
Once the marshmallow is dry, use one of the skewers and use it to poke a hole in one end of the red marshmallow. Place 2-3 pieces of shoestring licorice in the bottom of the red marshmallow.
Tip: If you run into issues with the licorice sticking into the marshmallow, just dip the tips of the licorice into some water before putting them into the marshmallow. The water will make both the licorice and the marshmallow sticky.
Push the skewer through the hole with the licorice and push the red marshmallow halfway down the skewer. Next, push a white marshmallow (non-dyed) onto the skewer until it meets the red one. Add a blue marshmallow on the skewer and top with a strawberry.
Eat immediately. This recipe does not last longer than a day. Only make them on the day that you need them.
FAQ
Can I Dye Marshmallows in Advance
Yes, but only by a few hours. I do not recommend doing these days in advance since the marshmallows will not hold up.
How to Store Marshmallow Bottle Rockets
These should be served immediately after assembling or within a couple of hours. You can store them in the fridge in an airtight container, but the longer they sit the more they’ll start to break down due to the moisture from the strawberry.
Can the Marshmallows be Roasted?
Yes! I would take the licorice out before roasting, but the marshmallows can be roasted. The strawberry can be too if you want.
Marshmallow Bottle Rockets
Looking for easy 4th of July crafts for kids or no bake red, white, and blue desserts for the 4th of July, Memorial Day, or Labor Day? These marshmallow bottle rockets are easy to make, fun for kids, and the perfect 4th of July dessert. The marshmallows can even be roasted and turned into s’mores!
Ingredients
- 1 - 10 ounce (283 grams) bag of large marshmallows
- 12-13 whole strawberries, hulled
- 1/2 cup of water, divided
- 20-25 pieces of shoestring licorice, cut in half
- 3-4 drops of blue food coloring
- 3-4 drops of red food coloring
- 12 - 8-12 inch skewers
- 2 small mixing bowls
- cooling rack (to dry marshmallows)
Instructions
Divide the bag of marshmallows into 3 groups. You should have approximately 12-13 marshmallows in each group. Set one group aside for now.
Put 1/4 cup of water into 2 separate mixing bowls. Put 3-4 drops of red food coloring into one bowl of water and 3-4 drops of blue food coloring into the other bowl.
Put a marshmallow into the blue food coloring bowl and let sit for 3-4 minutes, use a fork to turn the marshmallow and cover every side. Remove the marshmallow and place it on a cooling rack to dry. Repeat the process until every marshmallow in one group is dyed blue.
Next, you will repeat step 3 using the red food coloring. Once the 2 groups are dyed red and blue, let them dry thoroughly. This will take about an hour.
Tip: Do the red and blue marshmallows at the same time. Drop one into the blue and one into the red to speed up the process. You can even have multiple bowls of water/dye to make it go even quicker.
Once the marshmallow is dry, use one of the skewers and use it to poke a hole in one end of the red marshmallow. Place 2-3 pieces of shoestring licorice in the bottom of the red marshmallow.
Tip: If you run into issues with the licorice sticking into the marshmallow, just dip the tips of the licorice into some water before putting them into the marshmallow. The water will make both the licorice and the marshmallow sticky.
Push the skewer through the hole with the licorice and push the red marshmallow halfway down the skewer. Next, push a white marshmallow (non-dyed) onto the skewer until it meets the red one. Add a blue marshmallow on the skewer and top with a strawberry.
Eat immediately.