HOLIDAYS
HOLIDAYS
It seems you can always count on the bakery section in your grocery store to have the sugar-coated shamrock cookies around St. Patrick's Day. This year, mix it up a bit and bake your own St. Paddy's cookies like Mint Jelly Thumbprints, Shamrock Stenciled Sugar Cookies, and St. Patrick's Day Macarons to add a little variety to your holiday sweets.
Recipe adapted from The Sophisticated Cookie by Jeanne Benedict. Thumbprint cookies remind me of finger-painting. Bring the kids in the kitchen for this one and let them stick their thumbs into the center of these cookies for a fun St. Patrick's Day food craft.
- Saint Patrick's Day Treasure Hunt
- Shamrock Facts & Folklore
- Saint Patrick's Day Party for the Wee Ones
- 3/4 Cup unsalted butter
- 1 Cup granulated sugar
- 2 large egg yolks
- 1 Teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 Teaspoon baking powder
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 Cup mint jelly
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly spray a baking sheet with a non-stick cooking spray.
- Add butter and sugar into a mixing bowl and beat until smooth. Add egg yolks and vanilla extract and beat well. Sift together dry ingredients and beat into mixture until thoroughly combined.
- Form 1-inch balls and place 2 inches apart on prepared baking sheet. Press thumb gently in center of each cookie. Bake for 10 minutes. Remove cookies from oven and cool thoroughly.
- Pour mint jelly into a small bowl and stir until smooth. Spoon 1 teaspoon jelly in center of each cookie. Makes about 24 cookies
Recipe adapted from The Sophisticated Cookie by Jeanne Benedict. These St. Patrick's Day sugar cookies bake up extra crispy because of the powdered sugar. The end product should be a pale creamy color. Check out a craft store with a baking section or baking supply store for the shamrock stencil or create your own as I suggest in the recipe instructions.
- Small shamrock stencil
- 3/4 Cup unsalted butter, room temperature
- 3/4 Cup powdered sugar
- 3/4 Cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg yolk
- 1 Teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 Teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 cup or small bottle green decorator sugar
- First, look for a small shamrock stencil at your local craft store. If unavailable, make your own using a stencil blank (usually found in the stencil section of craft stores), or use cardstock. Simply draw a small shamrock image on to the cardstock and cut it out. Make sure that the image is no larger than 2 inches so that it will fit on to your 3-inch cookies.
- Add butter and sugar into a mixing bowl and beat until smooth. Beat in egg yolk and vanilla extract. Sift together flour and baking powder and beat into mixture until combined. Form a ball and wrap in plastic wrap. Chill for 1 hour.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly spray a baking sheet with a non-stick cooking spray. Roll out dough on a floured surface to 1/8-inch thickness. Cut out cookies with 3-inch round cookie cutters. Place cookies 2 inches apart on prepared sheet. Place shamrock stencil on cookies and sprinkle green sugar within the shamrock shape. Lift off the stencil to reveal your shamrock. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes.
- Remove cookies from oven and cool completely.Makes about 24 cookies
This favorite French cookie is ideal for St. Patrick's Day with its melt in your mouth texture and festive green color.
- 2 1/4 cups powdered sugar
- 1 Cup ground almonds
- 4 large eggs, room temperature
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- Green food coloring
- Vanilla canned frosting
- Preheat oven to 275 degrees. Line baking sheets with wax paper.
- Add the powdered sugar and ground almonds into a food processor bowl and process until mixture is finely ground. Sift the mixture to remove larger almond bits.
- Beat egg whites on high speed in a clean metal mixing bowl until soft peaks form. Add granulated sugar and beat until peaks stiffen a bit. Gradually sprinkle in powdered sugar almond mixture while beating until incorporated. Beat in green food coloring until desired color is achieved.
- Transfer batter into a pastry bag fitted with a wide round tip. Pipe 1 1/2-inch diameter circles on to prepared baking sheets, making about 60 circles. (Tip: For nice rounded tops, wet your finger and smooth any tips on the circles.)
- Bake for 10 to 12 minutes until macarons appear dry. Remove from oven and cool completely.
- Gently peel macarons off wax paper. (Tip: Carefully run a knife under the cookies if they stick.) Mix together green food coloring and vanilla frosting until desired color is achieved. Spread about 1/2 teapsoon of green frosting on the flat side of the macaron and place the flat side of another macaron on the frosting to make a cookie sandwich.Makes about 30 macarons
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