Buckets of Holiday Ideas for St. Patricks Day

Sunday, February 22, 2009

St. Patrick's Day Cupcakes
Quick Cooking"These stir-and-bake cupcakes go together super-quick, " remarks Kathy Meyer of Almond, Wisconsin. Pistachio pudding mix gives them a mild flavor and pretty pastel color that makes them perfect for St. Patrick's Day.

SERVINGS: 12

TIME: Prep: 15 min. Bake: 20 min. + cooling

Ingredients: 1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour2/3 cup sugar1 package (3.4 ounces) instant pistachio pudding mix2 teaspoons baking powder1/2 teaspoon salt2 eggs1-1/4 cups milk1/2 cup vegetable oil1 teaspoon vanilla extractGreen food coloring, optionalCream cheese frosting Directions: In a large bowl, combine the dry ingredients. In another bowl, beat eggs, milk, oil and vanilla; add to dry ingredients and mix until blended. Fill paper-lined muffin cups three-fourths full. Bake at 375° for 18-22 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack. Add food coloring to frosting if desired. Frost cupcakes. Yield: 1 dozen.
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Mint Swirl Bars
Country Woman

SERVINGS: 24
TIME: Prep: 20 min. Bake: 15 min.

Ingredients: 1 package (3 ounces) cream cheese, softened1/4 cup butter, softened3/4 cup sugar2 eggs2/3 cup all-purpose flour1/2 teaspoon baking powder1/2 teaspoon salt1/3 cup chopped walnuts1 square (1 ounce) semisweet chocolate, melted1/2 teaspoon peppermint2 to 3 drops green or red food coloring, optional

GLAZE:1 square (1 ounce) semisweet chocolate1 tablespoon butter1 cup confectioners' sugar1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract2 to 3 tablespoons boiling waterDirections: In a mixing bowl, beat cream cheese, butter and sugar. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Combine the flour, baking powder and salt; add to creamed mixture and mix well. Transfer half of the batter to another bowl; stir in nuts and chocolate. Spread into a greased 9-in. square baking pan. Stir peppermint extract and food coloring if desired into remaining batter. Spoon over chocolate layer; cut through batter with a knife to swirl. Bake at 350° for 15-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack. In a saucepan, melt chocolate and butter. remove from the heat; stir in confectioners' sugar, vanilla and enough water to achieve glaze consistency. Pour over brownies and spread evenly. Cut into bars. Yield: 2 dozen.

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Minty Ice Cream Shamrocks
Taste of Home

With a soft, chewy chocolate cookie and festive mint green ice cream, these fun desserts are a sweet delight. "You can cut out the cookie wafers in any shape you choose and use any flavor ice cream," says field editor Beverly coyde of Gasport, New York. "Try heart shapes for Valentine's Day filled with strawberry ice crream."

METHOD: Freezer

TIME: Prep: 30 min. + chilling Bake: 10 min. + freezing

Ingredients: 6 tablespoons butter, softened3/4 cup sugar1 egg1-1/2 teaspoons milk3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract1-1/3 cups all-purpose flour1/4 cup baking cocoa1-1/4 teaspoons baking powder1/4 teaspoon salt1-1/2 to 2 cups mint chocolate chip ice cream, softenedDirections: In a small mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar. Add egg, milk and vanilla; mix well. Combine the flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt; gradually add to creamed mixture just until blended. Divide dough into two portions; flatten. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour or until firm. On a lightly floured surface, roll out dough to 1/8- to 1/4-in. thickness. Cut with a floured 3-in. shamrock cookie cutter. Place 2 in. apart on parchment paper-lined baking sheets. Prick with a fork if desired. Bake at 350° for 7-10 minutes or until set. Cool for 2 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks to cool completely. Spread 1/4 to 1/3 cup ice cream over the bottom of six cookies; top with remaining cookies. Wrap individually in plastic wrap; freeze. May be frozen for up to 2 months. Yield: 6 servings.
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These easy St. Patrick’s Day cupcakes don’t require any special decorating tips or techniques, just mini M&Ms and some foil-wrapped chocolate coins.

What You Need: 1 cupcake; white, green or blue icing; mini M&Ms in various rainbow colors; chocolate coins.How to Make It: Frost cupcake. Leaving a little space at the right edge for coins, arrange mini M&Ms in an arched rainbow. Add chocolate coins.
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These clover-shaped cupcakes will be the hit of the St. Patrick’s Day party, as everyone asks, “How’d you do that?” Well, it’s easy.

What You Need: Cupcake batter; paper liners (with shamrocks if you’d like!); marbles or balled-up aluminum foil; green icing; toothpick.

How to Make It: Fill muffin tin with paper liners. Fill each liner about half-full with batter. If you fill them too full, the batter will spill over and your cupcakes won’t look like shamrocks. (You may have to experiment a bit.) Now, slip 3 marbles, equally spaced, between the paper liner and the inside bottom of the muffin tin. Bake as usual, but check frequently. Also, don’t burn yourself, as the marbles get pretty hot! Once the cupcakes cool, frost them with green icing and use a toothpick to draw leaf “veins.” Or, use green writing icing. Add a green candy stem (we used Sour Punch green apple straws).
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Been wanting to try fondant on your cupcakes? These simple St. Patrick’s Day four-leaf clovers are a great place to start. You can place the shamrock on top of a buttercream-frosted cupcake like we did, or cover the entire cupcake with fondant. To learn more, visit our using fondant with cupcakes page.

What You Need: 1 cupcake; white icing; green fondant (or tint white fondant green using gel food coloring); small heart-shaped cutter; rolling pin; mat or other clean surface; spatula or knife.How to Make It: Frost cupcake. Roll out fondant about 1/4 inch thick. Cut four hearts with cutter. (Dip cutter in powdered sugar first if it’s sticking.) Cut small strip of fondant for stem using spatula or knife. Arrange on cupcake.
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Make quick clovers for St. Patrick’s Day and your cupcakes will have the luck of the Irish. Enjoy them with a shamrock shake.

What You Need: 1 cupcake (baked and cooled); white frosting; green mini M&Ms (or regular for larger shamrocks); strands of green sour candy.How to Make It: Frost cupcake. Arrange M&Ms in groups of 3. Snip or cut off short lengths of sour candy to make stems and add to cupcake.
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St. Patrick's Day Cookie Pops

by Amanda Formaro ttp://www.fabulousfoods.com/holidays/stpat/stpatcookiepops.html

If you are looking for a fun and easy recipe to do with the kids, try these deliciously simple St. Patrick's Day Cookie Pops. The kids will smile and giggle while making these treats, and will have something fun to give to family, friends, and classmates!

You will need:20 vanilla wafer cookies1/2 cup peanut butter1 12-ounce bag white chocolate chipsgreen and yellow gumdropsgreen Dots® candiesgreen and yellow Nerd® candiescake decorating writer gel in green, yellow, red, orange, and black1 tube of green cake decorator frosting with tipgreen and yellow decorator sugargreen food coloringice cream or lollipop stickswax paper or paper platesInstructions:Spread peanut butter onto the flat side of the cookies. Place an ice cream stick into the peanut butter on half the cookies. Top with another cookie so the stick is sandwiched between the two cookies.Melt chocolate chips (follow links for directions and tips for working with chocolate). Before melting, seperate the white chips into two bowls. After melting, add a few drops of green food coloring to one of the bowls of white chips to make green chocolate.Dip cookie pops in the melted chips, covering completely. Sprinkle with green and yellow sugar and lay or stand on waxed paper or paper plates. Place in refrigerator to chill.

Fun Variations

Leprechaun - After coating with white chocolate, dip top of pop into green sugar. Slice two yellow gumdrops to make beard. Allow to dry on wax paper. Use black and red decorator gel for eyes and mouth, and for trim on hat.Rainbow with Pot of GoldAfter coating with white chocolate, cut a green Dot in half lengthwise, adhere to chocolate. Before chocolate has a chance to dry, place 3-5 yellow candy nerds "in" pot. Create a rainbow with various colored decroator gel.Shamrock After coating with white chocolate, sprinkle with yellow decorator sugar, then draw on a shamrock using green cake decorator icing.Four Leaf Clover After coating with green chocolate, use green sliced gumdrops to create clover leaves. Slice a small strip out of remaining gumdrop for stem. Use a green candy Nerd for the center of the clover.Note: Another variation is to use vanilla or chocolate frosting instead of peanut butter for the filling. These can also be made without sticks. Use one stick to be able to dip the cookies in chocolate and roll in sprinkles, then remove the stick and put on wax paper or paper plates, then chill.This recipe was adapted from Penny Warner's Cookie Pops available in the Kid's Party Cookbook.Candy made from potatoes? Try this delicious recipe and several other fun food ideas for Saint Patrick's Day.
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You guessed it… Mint Oreo Truffles ummmmm… good.

These might even be better than the originals (well, maybe). And, they're just as easy to make, but because I could only find the mint Oreos in Double Stuf, I changed the ratios a little from the regular Oreo Truffle recipe. Here you go…Mint Oreo Truffles1 pkg. Double Stuf Oreos - Cool Mint Flavor - (1 lb. , 1 oz. pkg.)• use 22 cookies with cream centers included• use 10 cookies with cream centers discarded1 pkg. (8 oz.) cream cheese, room temperaturechocolate bark or candy coating*Finely crush the cookies in a food processor or a ziploc bag with a rolling pin.Stir in softened cream cheese. Use the back of a large spoon to help mash the two together completely.Roll the mixture into 1" balls and place on wax paper covered cookie sheet.Place covered in freezer or refrigerator for a few minutes to help retain shape when dipping in melted chocolate.Melt chocolate as directed on the package and then dip balls into chocolate, tap off extra and set aside on wax paper covered cookie sheet to dry.Refrigerate and enjoy!*Or, go green:white chocolate bark/candy coating for dippinggreen candy melts for dippingMake your green and/or white shamrocks first (see picture below). You can use a ziploc bag with a small corner cut off or a decorating bag with with a small round tip attached to make the shamrocks. Use a toothpick to direct chocolate into desired shamrock shape. (Of course, in hindsight, this would have been a lot easier if I had found some little shamrock sprinkles.) Let dry.Then, dip half the truffles in white chocolate and the other half in green.If necessary, dip them again for a smooth finish. I found it necessary, especially for the white ones.Then, on the second dipping, while still wet, press your cooled shamrocks gently on the top of your truffles.For another effect, you can take the ziploc bag of chocolate and drizzle across each truffle with the alternating color.Makes about 36 truffles.
Recipe amended from Kraft Food & Family Fall 2006.
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Chocolate Potato Candy
This recipe uses cooked mashed potatoes, but without milk or butter added to the potatoes.
4 cups powdered sugar
4 cups flaked coconut
3/4 cup cold mashed potatoes (without added milk or butter)
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla
1/2 salt
1 pound chocolate or candy coating
Combine sugar, coconut, potatoes, vanilla, and salt and mix well. Line a 9-inch pan with foil covered with a non-stick spray (or use butter or shortening on the foil). Spread the mixture into the pan, cover and refrigerate overnight. Cut into rectangles. Cover and freeze. Melt the chocolate and dip the bars into the coating. Place on waxed paper to harden. Store in an airtight container.

Irish Potato Candy
Despite the title, this one does not have any potatoes in it.
1/4 cup butter, softened
3 oz. regular cream cheese, softened (not the low-fat variety)1 tsp. vanilla16 oz. powdered sugar
7 oz. (about 2 1/2 cups) sweetened flaked coconut
1 T. cinnamon
Cream the butter and cream cheese together. Add vanilla and powdered sugar, beating until the mixture forms a ball. Stir in the coconut, and roll the mixture into small balls. Roll the balls into the cinnamon, and chill until firm (about an hour). You can roll the candies a second time in cinnamon after they have chilled.
Irish Potato Candy
Here is a different Irish Potato Candy, but this one does have potatoes in it!
1 T. mashed potatoes
2 1/4 cup powdered sugar
1 12 oz. jar peanut butter
Place the mashed potatoes in a mixing bowl. Add powdered sugar 1 cup at a time, beating well after each addition. Spread into a greased 10x15 inch pan. Spread peanut butter over the top. Roll as for a jelly roll. Cut into slicesMakes 16 servings.
St. Patty's Day Cupcakes
The color and chocolate chips make these a wonderful treat, and you won't need a mixer for these super-quick treats either!
1 3/4 cup flour
1 4-serving size package instant pistachio pudding mix
3/4 cup mini chocolate chips
2/3 cup sugar
2 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
2 beaten eggs
1 1/4 cups milk
1/2 cup oil
1 tsp. vanilla or 1/4 tsp. almond extract
1/2 can (1 cup) cream cheese frostinggreen colored sugar
1/2 cup candy-coated milk chocolate pieces
In a large bowl, stir together flour, pudding mix, chocolate pieces, sugar, baking powder, and salt. In a small bowl, combine the eggs, milk, oil, and vanilla or almond. Stir into flour mixture just until combined. Fill greased or paper-line muffin tins about 2/3 full. Bake at 375 for 18 to 20 minutes or till golden brown. Cool on a wire rack. Frost and sprinkle with green sugar and/or other candy pieces, such as green M&Ms. Makes 18 cupcakes.
Article by Rachel Keller
http://www.allhomem%20adecookies.%20com/recipes/%20holiday/stpatric%20ksday.htm
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St. Patrick's Day Popcorn
Country Woman
Everyone's eyes will be smilin' when they see this candy corn with anIrish twist. "The green color gives the snack instant holiday appeal,"nods Karen Weber of Salem, Missouri.
SERVINGS: 24
Prep: 15 min. + coolingIngredients:4 quarts popped popcorn1 cup sugar1/2 cup packed brown sugar1/2 cup water1/2 cup light corn syrup1 teaspoon white vinegar1/4 teaspoon salt1/2 cup butter8 to 10 drops green food coloringDirections:Place popcorn in a large roasting pan; keep warm in a 250° oven.Meanwhile, in a large heavy saucepan, combine the sugars, water, cornsyrup, vinegar and salt. Cook and stir over medium heat until mixturecomes to a boil. Cook, stirring occasionally, until a candy thermometerreads 250° (hard-ball stage).Remove from the heat; stir in butter until melted. Stir in foodcoloring. Drizzle over warm popcorn and toss to coat. Cool. Break intopieces. Store in an airtight container. Yield: 6 quarts.
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Sunday, February 22, 2009

Here's a wee present for you
Full of luck and wishes
Celebrate this St. Patrick's Day
With these Leprechaun Kisses!

Leprechaun KissesPut gold foiled Hershey kisses in a baggie and attach this poem:Just a little bit of IrelandThat I'm sending you todayTo bring you luck and happinessOn this fine St. Patrick's DayIt's a wee and tiny presentFull of good luck and wishesSeems the little folk of Ireland
Have sent you some Leprechaun Kisses.

Other cute poems at: http://www.sawyers-specialties.com/poops/Leprechaun-Poop-Candy-Treat.php

Fill a bag with gold coins or gold Hershey kisses or Treasures and confetti shamrocks, etc.
The tiny LeprechaunIs clever and quick.
I tried to catch himBut he had a trick.
I will keep tryingBecause I’ve been told,
If I catch him, He’ll give me his gold!

Poem for "Skittles"
Its a lively day in Ireland
When the Leprechaun fiddles.
The old folks dance a lively jig,
And the wee ones eat their skittles!
- by TLCreations

Poem for seed packet or shamrock plant
Good St. Patrick traveled far
To teach God's Holy Word,
And when he came to Erin's sod
A wondrous thing occurred...
He plucked a shamrock from the earthand held it in his hand,
To symbolize the Trinity,
That all might understand.. .
The first leaf for the Father,
And the second for the Son,
The third leaf for the Holy Spirit-Three of them in One
- unknown

For a pin or to make into a bookmark gift, etc:~
For an Irish Angel
~God took one pair of angel wings,
a bit of shamrock dust,
Two eyes that dance with laughter,
a heart that one can trust,
Two hands that give to others
and then God said,"
I wish Your home to be the fairest landand your name to be 'Irish."
- unknown

A Little Bit Of Heaven ~Sure, a little bit o' Heaven fell from out of the sky one day,And nestled on the ocean in a spot so far away;And the angels found it, sure it looked so sweet and fair.They said suppose we leave it, for it looks so peaceful there!So they sprinkled it with star dust just to make the shamrocks grow;'Tis the only place you'll find them, No matter where you go;Then they dotted it with silver, To make its lakes so grand,And when they had it finished, Sure they called it IRELAND!- unknown