Happy Belated St. Paddy's Day

St. Paddy's Day has come and gone yet again.......one of my favorite baking times of the year.  No one looks at you weird for throwing in booze into delicious baked goods.....in fact, people request it!  So as I was figuring out what recipes I was going to try this year our whole house started getting sick.

It started with pink eye....something I still find absolutely disgusting, and had never experienced until having kids.  Mom and both monkeys got it.....eye drops all around.  Then a mysterious virus for Mom that felt like strep throat but wasn't testing as it.  Then a 6 day flu for our oldest monkey with fevers spiking around 104.5 the first few days.  Finally a strep diagnosis and antibiotics for Mom after struggling with it for about 10 days.  And now another round of pink eye.  Ick!  I'm surrounded by germs!!

All of that to say that I really didn't get around to trying any other fun St. Paddy's Day recipes.  Boo.  Guess it's time to move onto Easter.

But before we do, I did manage to squeeze one super simple St. Paddy's Day recipe in after dinner yesterday.  It's Irish Coffee Pudding from Sprinkles Bakes, and it was a huge hit with the hubby!!  This one couldn't be simpler......just throw it together on the stovetop and chill for a couple of hours, then top with whipped cream.  A little coffee, a little whiskey......what could be wrong?

Check out Sprinkles Bakes for the recipe.....and Enjoy!

My little monkeys!

Irish Car Bomb Cupcakes

There's something about boozy desserts.  I gotta admit, I have a blast baking with booze.....so in some ways this is the most wonderful time of the year!  What a better excuse to do some boozy baking than St. Paddy's Day!  Luckily I've got quite a few friends who share in my love of boozy desserts, so these were pretty darn easy to pass around.

This year I've got a couple of new St. Paddy's Day recipes that I want to try, so first up.....Irish Car Bomb Cupcakes from Bakers Royale.  These bad boys are a chocolate cupcake with Guinness and coffee in it.....it makes for an incredibly chocolate-y cupcake.  Fill those bad boys with some Bailey's buttercream frosting, and top off all of that with a whiskey buttercream.  And not just any buttercream, but a Swiss meringue buttercream.  If you have not tried making Swiss meringue buttercream, you don't know what you're missing!  It makes for an amazingly smooth and light frosting.  I prefer this to pretty much every other kind of frosting.  It takes a little bit more work, cooking egg whites and sugar in a double boiler till you hit 150 degrees.....then whipping up in a stand mixer until cooled off and forming stiff peaks (basically marshmallow fluff), then you add all your butter and flavorings.  But seriously.....so.....worth......it.

There's quite of bit of booze in these cupcakes (unless you ask the hubby, who says there's still not enough).  I've always been a fan of Bailey's in frosting.....but the whiskey buttercream was surprisingly delicious!  And powerful enough to make you happy :)

The only note I'll make to this recipe is to watch the bake time of your cupcakes.  The recipe states 35-40 minutes, but in my oven it was closer to 30.

So check out Bakers Royale for the recipe....and Enjoy!

Irish Car Bomb Brownies

So it's almost St. Paddy's Day.  I had a long list of recipes that I wanted to try this week, most of them featuring some kind of boozy combination.  Well.....things didn't really work out this week.  First our oldest came down with the flu, then our youngest caught a cold.......and now I've got a little combination of the two.  Awesome.  Oh, and did I mention my parents were here visiting?  Not the best time for a visit.......and now they're probably taking all our germies with them to Texas.

All of that to say that I didn't get around to pretty much anything in the kitchen this week.  The only thing I did make are these Irish Car Bomb Brownies from Bakers Royale (via Endless Simmer), that were such a hit, I had to make them twice!

A chocolate brownie layer spiked with Guinness......topped with a Bailey's cheesecake layer......topped with a Jameson whisky spiked brownie layer.  Oh yeah......you gotta try this!  It's amazing how well these flavors all go together, and the hubby's only complaint was that I could have actually added even more booze! I think it's fine as is.......you definitely can taste it all.

So if you're looking for a yummy grown-ups only dessert for St. Paddy's Day, give this one a try!

Check out the recipe by Bakers Royale (on Endless Simmer)......and Enjoy!

This post is linked to:
Mrs. Fox's Sweet Party - Link It Up Wednesday - Bake with Bizzy - Sweet Treats Thursday - Show Off Your Stuff - Show Me What You Got Linky Party - Kitchen Fun and Crafty Friday - Friday Favorites - Anything Goes Linky - Fusion Friday - Feature Friday Free-for-All - Fun Stuff Friday - I'm Lovin' It - Sweets for a Saturday - Sweet Indulgences Sunday - Scrumptious Sunday Link Party - Mix It Up Monday - What Makes You Say Mmmmmm? - Tea Party Tuesday - Creative Corner Hop - Show Me What You Got - Tasty Tuesday - Tuesday Talent Show - Crazy Sweet Tuesday

Double Fudge Irish Cream Cookies

Ahhhh......St. Paddy's Day......one of those times where it's totally acceptable to cook and bake with booze.  I love it!

I tried these cookies out a few weeks ago, and they were a huge hit.  Jessica, over at How Sweet It Is has another hit on her hands with these Double Fudge Irish Cream Cookies.

These cookies come out chocolatey, chewy, and you can absolutely taste the irish cream.  With 8 tablespoons of it in the recipe, these are definitely not for the kiddos, but man, oh man, are they delicious!  Give them a try....but if you plan on eating the whole batch, you may want a designated driver!

Check out How Sweet It Is for the recipe....and Enjoy!

This post is linked to:
Sweets for a Saturday - Seasonal Inspiration - Strut Your Stuff Saturday Link Party - Sweet Indulgences Sunday - Scrumptious Sunday Link Party - Mix It Up Monday - What Makes You Say Mmmmm? - A Themed Baker's Sunday - Tasty Tuesday - Crazy Sweet Tuesday - Tuesday Talent Show - Tea Party Tuesday - Mrs. Fox's Sweet Party - Link It Up Wednesday - Bake with Bizzy - Sweet Treats Thursday - Show Off Your Stuff - Show Me What You Got Linky Party - Kitchen Fun and Crafty Friday - Friday Favorites - Anything Goes Linky - Fusion Friday - Feature Friday Free-for-All - Fun Stuff Friday - I'm Lovin' It

Rainbow Oreo Pops

Since I've been making Oreo pops for each of the holidays lately, I thought I'd come up with one to do for St. Patrick's Day (before I move on to making what I really love about St. Paddy's Day.....boozy desserts!).  Instead of doing the pot of gold or a leprechaun, I thought I'd stick with the rainbow theme that I've seen a ton of in blogland these days (and who doesn't love a cute rainbow).  So, may I present my rainbow Oreo pops?!

To put these together you'll need:

Oreos

lollipop sticks

white candy melts

candy melts for each of the colors of the rainbow you want to include, I used:

red candy melts

orange candy melts

yellow candy melts

green candy melts

blue candy melts

plastic squeeze bottles or plastic bags

First you're going to start with a basic Oreo pop dipped in white candy melts (or white chocolate).  If you need a refresher course on how to put the Oreo pops together, go to How Does She.....they've got a great step-by-step tutorial on how to make them.  Once the white coating has started drying you can move on to the rainbow.

I melted each of the different colored candy melts separately, then placed them each into plastic squeeze bottles.  If you don't have plastic squeeze bottles to use, you could place the melted candy melts into separate plastic bags and snip of the corner to squeeze it out of.

Starting with the red, make a semi-circle shape to start your rainbow.  Continue with the red for all of your Oreo pops, to give the red a chance to firm up a bit before starting on your next color.   Moving on to orange (or whatever the next color in your rainbow is), simply make another semi-circle right next to the red.  Continue doing this with all of the colors of the rainbow that you are using.

Once the rainbows are complete, you're going to put your remaining melted white candy melts into a squeeze bottle to make the clouds.  To get the definition on the clouds you'll want your white candy melts to be melted but close to room temperature (not hot).  The hotter the candy melts are, the more you'll just end up with a glop of white, rather than a cute, billowy cloud.  You'll just make some big dots with the white, while covering up the ends of the rainbow.  And you're done!

Note: I think that for this job, the little plastic squeeze bottles work much better than using a plastic ziploc bag, but you will want some kind of bottle brush to help you washing them out afterwards.  Not the funnest job in the world, but with some hot soapy water, you will get all of the remaining candy melts out of there.

Enjoy!

This post is linked to:

Sweet Indulgences Sunday - What Makes You Say Mmmmm? - Tea Party Tuesday - Tasty Tuesday - T' Time - Tuesday Talent Show - Crazy Sweet Tuesday - Tip Me Tuesday - Mix It Up Monday - Link Party - Link It Up Wednesday - Cast Party Wednesday - Mrs. Fox's Sweet Party - Full Plate Thursday - Sweet Treats Thursday - Inspiration for Celebration - Show Off Your Stuff - Kitchen Fun and Crafty Friday - Friday Favorites - Anything Goes Linky - Fusion Friday - Sweet Tooth Friday - Friday Food - Fun Stuff Fridays - I'm Lovin' It - Sweets for a Saturday - Seasonal Inspiration - Strut Your Stuff Saturday Link Party - Scrumptious Sunday Link Party - A Themed Baker's Sunday

The Luck 'o the Irish

I realize that St. Paddy's Day has come and gone, but it is still March ......I'm allowed one pass aren't I?? I couldn't resist sharing these amazing cupcakes......Chocolate Guinness Cupcakes with Bailey's Buttercream Frosting. If you've never baked with alcohol before, this is a great introduction. Guinness Stout pairs AMAZINGLY with chocolate.....so good in fact, that the hubby probably could have devoured the cupcakes plain with only a sprinkling of powdered sugar (which is what we did right when they came out of the oven....mmmmmm....). But then you top it off with a buttercream frosting that has a hint of Bailey's in it, and wow! These puppies really did a number on my willpower.

Try them.....you'll love them.....and why bother waiting till next St. Paddy's Day....these would be yummy anytime! Check out The Culinary Chronicles for the full recipe......enjoy!