Sweets O’ The Irish

Hello all! How is the week rolling along for you? Mine is no longer filled with days of sleeping in, leisurely paces, etc—spring break is unfortunately over and it’s back to waking up and cramming for school. At least there is only 7 weeks of the semester left!! So onto the next holiday/celebration of the year—St.Patrick’s Day! I don’t have one smidgen of Irish in me, but as a person who relishes in making any themed foods, I still participate in all things green! Are you Irish? How do you celebrate St. Pattie’s Day?Of course I had to dig up some interesting facts about the holiday before I could bake up a sweet treat…**Try this little quiz and see how you score!**

What is colcannon?

• Corned beef and cabbage
• Mashed potatoes and spinach
• Mashed potatoes with onions and greens
• Corned beef with onions and greens

A bar in which city recently made the world's largest Irish coffee?

• Dublin
• Boston
• Milwaukee
• San Francisco
• New York

True or false: Irish soda bread is made with club soda.

• True
• False

What is boxty?

• A traditional Irish stew
• A mix of raw and cooked potatoes
• An Irish-style omelet
• An Irish liquor made from potatoes

True or false: Bailey's Irish Cream actually hails from Ireland.

• True
• False

One: Colcannon is a traditional Irish dish consisting of mashed potatoes mixed with onions and greens.

Two: It was the Buena Vista Cafe in San Francisco.

Three: False. Though it contains baking soda, Irish soda bread contains no club soda.

Four: Boxty is a mix of raw and cooked potatoes that's often made into bread, pancakes, and dumplings.

Five: True. Launched in the 1970s, Baileys is indeed Irish in origin.

I got 3 out of 5 right. Number 2 and 4 got me! I have actually never heard of boxty—what was your score?

For each petal on the shamrock
This brings a wish your way-
Good health, good luck, and happiness
For today and every day.

St.Pattie’s Peppermint Chocolate Cupcakes

Makes: 24

Ingredients-

Cupcakes:

• 1 box Pillsbury Devil’s Food Cake
• 1/2 c vegetable oil
• 3 eggs
• 1/2 c mini semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 1/2 c Andes mint chips
• 24 cupcake liners

Buttercream Frosting:

• 1 tsp mint extract
• few drops green food coloring
• 1 stick butter
• 3 3-4 c powdered sugar
• 3-4 tbsp milk

Directions:

• Preheat oven to degree called for on cake mix box. Mix cake mix, oil and eggs together thoroughly. Add mini chocolate chips.
• Line cupcake pan with liners and pour until each is about 2/3 full.
• Bake as directed.
• Meanwhile, for the frosting, combine all ingredients in mixing bowl and mix until combined. Add more milk if necessary for spreading consistency.
• Let cupcakes cool completely—45 minutes.
• Place frosting in a star fitted pastry bag and pipe frosting on cupcakes. Immediately top with Andes mint chips.

 

Biscotti from a Box

Biscotti- very dry, hard cookie or cracker. Biscotti originates from the Latin word biscoctus, meaning “twice-cooked/baked”. It can be stored for a good amount of time. It was used during wars due to the non-perishable characteristic.

Most people will stop at the word “twice-baked” because they think it sounds too intimidating. I know when reading recipes of biscotti from scratch, it can seem as if it requires a lot more work than just a simple slice and bake cookie. Plus you can buy biscotti in stores, especially this time of year. Even I didn’t know if I wanted to attempt biscotti for the first time, but I really wanted to tie some up in small bags and give to coffee and cookie lovers!

After much contemplating, and eventually coming upon a recipe that seemed perfect—I decided everything deserves at least one try, right?

This biscotti is made from a cake-mix, which by the way you will see used in at least half of my holiday recipes because I had a huge stockpile of cake mixes I wanted to use up. I decided on using a Betty Crocker Butter Recipe cake mix and added 1 cup of Chocolate Mint chips. You could really customize this recipe to your heart’s content—vanilla cake mix with peppermint chips, yellow cake mix with cinnamon chips, dip em’ in melted chocolate and roll in some holiday sprinkles—definitely get creative with these. So did I manage to make a half-decent biscotti?

Betty Crocker Box Biscotti

Ingredients:

• 1 box Betty Crocker SuperMoist Butter Recipe cake mix
• 1 Tbsp vegetable oil
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 c chopped walnuts
• 1 cup Andes Creme De Menthe baking chips

Directions:

• Heat oven to 350°F (or 325°F for dark or nonstick cookie sheet). In large bowl, mix cake mix, oil and eggs with spoon until dough forms (some dry mix will remain). Stir in walnuts and chips, using hands if necessary.
• On ungreased cookie sheet, shape dough into 15x4-inch rectangle, using greased hands. Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on cookie sheet on cooling rack 15 minutes.

• Cut rectangle crosswise into 1/2-inch slices. Place slices, cut sides down, on cookie sheet. Bake 10 to 12 minutes longer or until edges are deep golden brown. Cool 5 minutes; remove from cookie sheet to cooling rack. Cool completely, about 30 minutes.

What combo would use create for biscotti from a box?