Written by Leigh Buchholz. Media by Kelsey Neier.
St. Patrick’s Day is coming up, and that means… It’s time to make some dessert! I mean, who celebrates a holiday without a dessert of some kind? So here is a list of five desserts that I found that did NOT contain alcohol of any kind. So, that’s a plus!
Irish Potato Candy – allrecipes.com
1/4 cup butter, softened
1/2 (8 ounce) package cream cheese
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 cups confectioners’ sugar
2 1/2 cups flaked coconut
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
In a medium bowl, beat the butter and cream cheese together until smooth. Add the vanilla and confectioners' sugar; beat until smooth. Using your hands if necessary, mix in the coconut. Roll into balls or potato shapes, and roll in the cinnamon. Place onto a cookie sheet and chill to set. If desired, roll potatoes in cinnamon again for darker color.
Makes 5 dozen.
[caption id="attachment_26450" align="aligncenter" width="250"]
http://allrecipes.com[/caption]
Wearing O’ Green Cake – tasteofhome.com
1 package white cake mix (regular size)
2 packages (3 ounces each) lime gelatin
1 cup boiling water
1/2 cup cold water
Topping:
1 cup cold milk
1 package (3.4 ounces) instant vanilla pudding mix
1 carton (8 ounces) frozen whipped topping, thawed
Green sprinkles
1. Prepare and bake cake according to package directions, using a greased 13x9-in. baking dish. Cool on a wire rack 1 hour. In a small bowl, dissolve gelatin in boiling water; stir in cold water and set aside.
2. With a meat fork or wooden skewer, poke holes about 2 in. apart into cooled cake. Slowly pour gelatin over cake. Cover and refrigerate.
3. In a large bowl, whisk milk and pudding mix 2 minutes (mixture will be thick). Fold in whipped topping. Spread over cake. Decorate with sprinkles. Cover and refrigerate until serving.
Makes 12-15 servings.
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Source: http://www.tasteofhome.com[/caption]
Irish Shamrock Cookies – allrecipes.com
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 (3 ounce) package instant pistachio pudding mix
1 1/3 cups baking mix
1 egg
1 tablespoon white sugar
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease baking sheet.
2. Cream together the butter or margarine and the pudding mix. Blend in the baking mix, egg, and sugar; mix well.
3. On a lightly floured surface roll out the dough to 3/8 inch thickness, and cut into cookies with a shamrock cookie cutter.
4. Place cookies on the prepared baking sheet and bake at 350 degrees F for 9 to 10 minutes or until lightly browned on the edges. Let cookies cool on rack. Frost with green colored icing if desired.
Makes 1 1/2 dozen.
[caption id="attachment_26453" align="aligncenter" width="250"] Source: allrecipes.com[/caption]
Irish Butter Shortbread – marthastewart.com
1 cup (2 sticks) Irish unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for work surface
1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper; set aside.
2. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together butter and sugar. With the mixer on low, slowly add flour. Continue mixing until dough comes together to form a ball.
3. Transfer dough to a lightly floured work surface; roll out dough to about 1/4-inch thickness, dusting rolling pin with flour as necessary to prevent sticking. Using a 2 1/4-inch round, fluted cutter, cut out dough. Transfer to prepared baking sheet, spacing about 1 inch apart. Gather up any scraps, gently re-roll, and repeat cutting process. Take care not to overwork dough.
4. Transfer baking sheet to oven and bake until shortbread just begins to turn golden, about 30 minutes. Transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool. Shortbread may be stored in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
Makes about 3 dozen.
[caption id="attachment_26455" align="aligncenter" width="240"] Source:http://www.marthastewart.com[/caption]
Luck o’ the Irish Brownie – allrecipes.com
4 (1 ounce) squares unsweetened chocolate
1 cup margarine, softened
2 cups white sugar
3 eggs
2 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup butter, softened
4 cups confectioners’ sugar
2 tablespoons milk, or as needed
1 1/2 teaspoons peppermint extract
6 drops green food coloring
1 1/3 cups semisweet chocolate chips
6 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9x13 inch baking dish.
2. Melt the unsweetened chocolate in a cup or small bowl in the microwave. Stir at 15 second intervals until chocolate is smooth. Allow to cool slightly. Transfer to a large bowl, and stir in the margarine and sugar until smooth. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then stir in the vanilla. Stir in the flour just until blended. Pour the batter into the prepared dish and spread evenly.
3. Bake in the preheated oven until the surface appears dry and the sides are beginning to pull away from the edges of the pan, 20 to 25 minutes. The brownies may look more like cake and may jiggle slightly in the center, but this is normal. Remove from the oven and cool in the pan set over a wire rack.
4. To make the middle layer, beat 1/2 cup of butter with confectioners’ sugar in a large bowl using an electric mixer. Add milk as needed to get a spreadable consistency. Stir in the peppermint extract and green food coloring. Spread this over the cooled pan of brownies. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.
5. In a microwave-safe bowl, microwave chocolate chips with the butter until melted. Stir every 20 seconds until chocolate is smooth. Stir in vanilla and then pour over the chilled brownies and quickly spread to cover the surface. Cool again until firm, about 10 minutes, then cut into squares and serve.
[caption id="attachment_26454" align="aligncenter" width="250"] Source:http://allrecipes.com/recipe/luck-o-the-irish-brownie/[/caption]