Irish Cream Sandwich Cookies

When it comes to celebrating St. Patricks day, we Irish keep things pretty simple: Corned beef and cabbage, soda bread, Guinness, whiskey and Baileys Irish Cream. Baileys is smooth, creamy, goes great with coffee and aside from enjoying it on ice, I try to incorporate it into dessert whenever possible. (See: Baileys Marshmallows) Celebrate the luck of the Irish this year by making these delicious chocolate sandwich cookies, filled with Baileys spiked buttercream. They're festive, boozy and travel well. So whether you're stuck at the office, or lucky enough to be at the pub, bring them wherever your travels may take you this March 17th. 

Irish Cream Sandwich Cookies
Makes 2 dozen sandwiches
Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup light brown sugar
1 egg
2 teaspoons Baileys

Directions:
1. Combine flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt in a small bowl and set aside. 

2. In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Add the egg and Baileys and continue to mix until incorporated.

3. Add the flour mixture, mixing until dough just comes together. Wrap dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, or until firm.

4. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a baking sheet with liners or parchment paper.

5. On a lightly floured work surface, roll out the chilled dough to about 1/8-inch thick. Use a circle cookie cutter to cut out 2 to 3" rounds. (I used a 2 1/4" circle cutter.) Gather and re-roll scraps to make more cookies.

6. Place the cookies 1/2 inch apart on the baking sheet. Bake for 8 minutes, then cool completely.

Irish Buttercream Filling

Ingredients:
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
4 cups (about 1 lb.) confectioners’ sugar
3 tablespoons Baileys
Pinch of salt

Green decorating sugar

Directions:
1. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter for about 30 seconds. Turn the mixer on low, then add the confectioners’ sugar.

2. Drizzle in 3 tablespoons of the Baileys and continue to mix until creamy. Beat at medium speed for about a minute, adding more Baileys if needed to achieve desired consistency.

3. Scoop out filling into a zip top bag and snip off about 1/2 inch of the corner.

Assemble the Cookies
Place the green sugar in a shallow dish. Pipe about a tablespoon of filling around the bottom side of a cookie. Top with another cookie, then roll the edge in the green sugar. Cookies will keep in an airtight container in a cool place for about a week.

Emerald Love & Shamrock Treats

Although it's one of my favorite holidays, I haven't been that inspired by St. Patrick's Day this year. Perhaps it's because being 71/2 months pregnant prevents me from partaking in a pint, or maybe I'm just having a hard time believing March is already here. Needing some St. Paddy's direction, I drew inspiration from the colorful folks over at Pantone. In choosing Emerald as the 2013 "Color of the Year", they picked an equally gorgeous and fitting color to motivate me this St. Patricks Day! Here are some random things I'm loving in Emerald right now. Seriously, I really want the toaster.

1. Kiss Me Tee,  2. Apron from Anthropologie,  3. Measuring spoons ,  4. Kate Spade Bangle,  5. Wine Glass,  6. Tea Kettle,  7. Green Toaster

And since I've really been craving Rice Krispies Treats lately, I decided to go ahead and celebrate St. Patrick's Day with a batch of everyone's favorite (and easiest) treat. Yes, I'm sure the Irish would approve with the addition of Lucky Charms to the traditional Rice Krispies recipe. (Ok, maybe not, but a leprechaun sure would.) It may not be a passed down soda bread recipe, or even the Guinness Pots 'o Gold that I created last year, but these Rice Krispies treats really are magically delicious. Here's the recipe, I just swapped out 2 cups of Rice Krispies for Lucy Charms. 

Pots o' Gold

Legend has it that a leprechaun's secret hiding place for his pot of gold is at the end of the rainbow (at least that's what I learned from eating Lucky Charms). Of course, we all know the end of the rainbow is impossible to reach, seeing as it's a never-ending optical effect. The good news is that you can still have your pot o' gold, and just in time! St. Patrick's day is this Saturday and hopefully you've stocked up on as much Guinness as I have. Yes, I may have married an Italian, but I'm Irish and St. Pat's is one of my favorite days of the year. Dark stouts can add depth and flavor when you cook with it, so I set out to create a dessert that would utilize Guinness. I stumbled across this delicious recipe for Chocolate Guinness pudding from Chef Shane Coffey and I've adapted it for these festive little pots o' gold. I halved the recipe, and substituted the Guinness whipped cream for a Baileys Whipped Cream (See my previous obsession with Baileys here). Overall, these pudding cups were amazing! The chocolate cups are incredibly easy to make and look very fancy once they set.

To Make the Chocolate Pots 

INGREDIENTS 

8 oz semi-sweet chocolate chips 

6 balloons

DIRECTIONS 

1. In a microwavable bowl, melt the semi-sweet chocolate in 30 second increments. Stir after each increment, until chocolate is smooth and melted. 

2. Inflate balloons to about 4-inch diameter, then knot. Wipe balloons with a damp paper towel to make sure they're nice and clean. Hold balloons by the knot and dip into chocolate, rotating to ensure plenty of chocolate coverage. Place balloon, knotted side up, on parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Repeat with remaining balloons to make 6 cups, then refrigerate for at least an hour. 

3. Use scissors to snip a hole in each balloon. Once balloon is deflated, carefully peel away from chocolate. Continue to refrigerate cups until needed.

To Make the Guinness Chocolate Pudding
INGREDIENTS
4 large egg yolks
½ cup sugar
¾ cups Guinness Stout
2 cups heavy cream
4 ounces high-quality dark chocolate (70-72% cacao), chopped
1 tbsp. Baileys Irish Cream
Gold sprinkles

DIRECTIONS
1. In large mixing bowl, whisk together egg yolks and sugar.

2. Open can of Guinness and pour into saucepan. Add 1¼ cups cream and whisk to combine. Set over medium heat, whisking occasionally, until bubbles begin to form at the edges. Remove from heat, add chocolate and whisk until smooth and all chocolate is incorporated.

3. Slowly pour hot chocolate mixture into eggs, whisking constantly. Return mixture to saucepan and set over medium-low heat.

4. Cook, whisking constantly, until mixture thickens. Mixture should be thick enough to coat the spoon. Pour pudding into a bowl and cover with plastic wrap. The plastic wrap can touch the pudding surface to prevent skin from forming. Refrigerate overnight, or until chilled and set.

5. Beat remaining cream until soft peaks form. Add 2 tbsp. Baileys Irish Cream and beat until stiff peaks form.

Assemble the pots o' gold
For an added touch o' gold, I painted edible gold pearl dust around the rim of the chocolate pots. You can buy it at any cake decorating or craft store. Had I actually found my pot at the end of the rainbow, I'd probably use this real gold leaf to garnish my pots. 

These are best assembled just before serving. Spoon pudding into chocolate cups, leaving enough room for the whipped cream. Top each pot with a large spoonful of whipped cream and garnish liberally with gold sprinkles. Happy St. Patrick's Day!