What do ya know? Another challenge! I'm the queen of cooking challenges.
This one holds a special place in my heart though. Why?
Because. There's alcohol involved. Every month.
Cooking and/or baking with alcohol, that is. It's called Spiked! Recipe Challenge. Can a challenge get any better than this?
This month our theme was Irish Cream liqueur. When I think of Irish Cream liqueur, I immediately think of Bailey's. I found a pack of mini Bailey's at Target and had to buy them awhile back, so this was the perfect recipe to use them on. Besides sipping on the rest of course.
Frosted Irish Cream Brownies slightly adapted from Betty Crocker
Brownies
1 package (1 lb 3.5 oz) fudge brownie mix
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup Irish Cream liqueur (Bailey's)
2 eggs
Frosting
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened
2 cups powdered sugar
2 tablespoons Irish Cream liqueur (Bailey's)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
2-3 teaspoons milk
Glaze
1 oz semisweet chocolate chips
1 teaspoon butter
1/2 teaspoon Irish Cream liqueur (Bailey's)
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease bottom only of a 13x9-inch pan. In a large bowl, combine all brownie ingredients; beat 50-60 strokes with spoon. Spread in greased pan.
Bake at 350 degrees for 25 to 30 minutes or until brownies are set and begin to pull away from sides of pan (bake for minimum time and then check on them). DO NOT OVERBAKE. Cool 45 minutes or until completely cooled.
For frosting, beat butter in small bowl until light and fluffy. Beat in all remaining frosting ingredients, adding enough milk for desired spreading consistency. Spread over cooled brownies.
Place glaze ingredients in a small microwave-safe bowl. Microwave on HIGH for 30 seconds; stir until melted and smooth. Drizzle over frosted brownies. Refrigerate 30 minutes or until firm. Cut into bars.
I know, I know. St. Patty's Day is over and I'm still posting green stuff!
It's all good. You can make this for next year's St. Patty's Day... go ahead, pin it for later :)
Or you can make this anytime of the year. Because a fruit salad is good, and good for you, no matter if it's a special holiday, or even just for breakfast, lunch, or a healthy snack.
You can serve this topped with whipped cream like we did. Or of course you can get your dip on with this Creamy Fruit Dip, and some Cinnamon Sugar Crisps.
One more St. Patty's Day goodie for your festivities tomorrow.
These are simple, buttery crisp shortbreads. They practically melt in your mouth. They aren't your most flavorful cookie, but I liked em! I've always been a shortbread kinda girl. What can I say, I love butter.
And it only takes 3 ingredients to make: Irish butter (I used Kerrygold), sugar, and flour. I found some Irish butter at my local grocery story in the fancy cheese section, but you may have to go to a specialty store... I hope not though! The 3 ingredients kinda tricked me into thinking these would be so easy to make. They weren't, for me at least. I busted out my Kitchenaid mixer for the first time ever to make the dough! Then used my new rolling pin to flatten out the dough. I think next time I'll try chilling the dough before rolling it because it kept sticking to the rolling pin, even with some flour dusting. With time, I'll learn to perfect making and rolling dough. Someone said these should be the same color going in as coming out of the oven. Mine were definitely more golden brown, so maybe try cooking them for less than the 30 minutes and check on their doneness. I just cooked mine the whole 30 minutes, but still thought they turned out good even with their golden brown crispness.
1/2 cup (1 stick) Irish unsalted butter, softened (you can sit it out at room temp for 15 minutes)
1/4 cup + 1/2 tablespoon sugar, divided
1 and 1/4 cup all-purpose flour, plus more for work surface
Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Line baking sheet with parchment paper; set aside.
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.
Transfer dough to a lightly floured work surface; roll out dough to about 1/8 or 1/4-inch thickness, dusting rolling pin with flour as necessary to prevent sticking. Using a 2 1/2-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.
Transfer baking sheet to oven and bake until shortbread just begins to turn golden, about 30 minutes but you may want to check on it after 20 minutes or so. Transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool. Shortbread may be stored in an airtight container for up to 3 days. Printable Recipe
Oh, and if you're looking for a fluted cutter, I bought a biscuit cutter at Sur La Table, my favorite store in the world. Mine was more like 2.5 inches wide, and I made half the recipe. The original recipe yields about 3 dozen, so half the recipe is about 18 cookies but I got more like 15 or 16 cookies. The recipe below reflects the amount I made, but double the ingredient amounts to yield about 3 dozen if you want more.
What you guys doing for St. Patty's Day? Getting your drink on? I'm actually happy it's on a Sunday, it really concerned me to see people at the bars at 7 AM on weekdays the past couple years. Did they seriously take off work? And who drinks at 7 AM? That should only be allowed on weekends :)
Happy St. Patty's Day, peeps! I'll be watching my man GEORGES ST. PIERRE whoop up on Nick Diaz tonight. That's the highlight of my weekend. OBSESSED!!!!
Preheat oven to 200 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Place pretzels down and top with a Hershey Kiss. Bake at 200 Degrees for about 7 minutes or until soft, you don't want it to be completely melted.
Remove from oven and immediately press three green M&M candies onto each pretzel. Allow to cool, then draw on a shamrock stem with green frosting and icing tip.
PJ's birthday was March 7th, mine is March 24th, Easter is March 31st, spring arrives this month, AND March 17th is St. Patty's Day. What an awesome month, if I may say so myself. This week I'm celebrating the upcoming holiday by bringing you someSt. Patty's Day treats. All week long! Well, Thursday I'm participating in a challenge so that won't be St. Patty's Day-related. But my other posts will. So if you're looking for some last minute green/mint/Irish goodies, this is the spot to be.
I'm weird for many reasons, I'll admit. I pick at my food. It takes me like an hour to eat dinner. I cry on reality shows, but love to watch UFC fighting and gory scary movies. I don't like to drink after people, even my mom and PJ!
But the weird thing about me that is relevant for today is that I dislike mint for the most part, except when it comes to York Peppermint Patties, and Thin Mint Girl Scout Cookies. So I dislike mint, but I like mint. Whatever kinda sense that makes.
So yeah, I like Thin Mints. And I like this Thin Mints Milkshake. I think yall will too!
