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St. Patty’s Day is filled with all things rainbow and green!! We have plenty of festive St. Patrick’s Day recipes to celebrate!
More Collections: Easy Cookie Recipes, Cookie Bar Recipes, Spring Desserts
We Love St. Patrick’s Day?
St. Patrick’s Day was first established in 1631 but did not become an official Irish holiday until 1904. The holiday spread to America through Irish Immigrants. The St. Patrick’s Day we celebrate now is due to the desire to honor their Irish heritage.*
*History citation BBC Travel
A holiday to love:
- Festive. The color green, rainbows, shamrocks and clovers, luck and leprechauns, parades, and parties are a few of the ways that people join in celebrating the holiday.
- Fun treats. Add some color and fun to your day with these delicious St. Patrick’s Day recipes.
- Loved by all. Colorful, flavorful, and perfectly sweet for all of your celebrations!! Those little leprechauns will love any of these lucky goodies.
The History of St. Patrick
St. Patrick was born in Roman Britain back in the 5th century. At the age of 16, he was captured by Irish raiders and sold as a slave in Northern Ireland. He was tasked to be a shepherd, which he did for the next 6 years. He escaped and returned to his family in Britain.
After becoming a Catholic priest, he returned to Ireland as a missionary. He spent 30 years spreading and building the church in Ireland.
He was so successful because he was able to use Irish culture and traditions to share his gospel message.
Irish culture is full of oral legend and myth, so it’s no surprise that the stories of St Patrick became legendary and he was proclaimed a saint.
Activities to Celebrate the Holiday
One of my family’s favorite things to do on St Patrick’s Day is to find a treasure at the end of a Leprechaun Scavenger Hunt.
Some other fun activities include:
- Leprechaun trap. It’s said that if you can catch a leprechaun, he is obliged to tell you where his pot of gold is stashed. Set the trap out on the eve of March 16th and give it a try.
- Wear green. Tradition holds that if you’re not wearing green on March 17, you’ll get pinched. Go green from head to toe, or simply have it as an accent color.
- Eat green food. On occasion, some mischievous leprechauns have turned our milk green and left a box of Lucky Charms to pour it in. We also love to top cupcakes with a dollop of green frosting.
- Shamrocks. Hunt for a 4 leaf clover or plant some shamrocks in your garden.
- Make sweet St Patrick’s Day recipes. There are some specific St Patrick’s Day-themed treats, but it’s really easy to turn almost any treat into one perfect for the holiday. Just make it green or rainbow-colored!
Best food to celebrate with
If you’re looking for fun St. Patrick’s Day treats and snacks, this is your place. I’ve got everything from Rainbow Fruit Kabobs to Green Shamrock cookies. Some other Irish comfort foods and flavors you may be interested in making include:
- Corned beef hash and cabbage is an Irish American favorite as it stems from the Irish immigrants who first came to America. Serve it with a loaf of Irish soda bread and you’ve got a traditional meal.
- Guinness Beef Stew or Irish stew are both classic dishes that will warm you right up. Make stew recipes in a slow cooker to produce tender meat. At the end of the day just pour it into a bowl and enjoy.
- Colcannon is made from Mashed Potatoes and includes mixed greens like cabbage and kale, leeks, and green onions. As well as an ample amount of butter and cream.
- A delicious Shepherd’s Pie. The filling is traditionally made with ground lamb, seasonings, and vegetables. Add a mashed potato topping and bake in the oven.
- Boiled bacon and cabbage is typically a slice of salted pork that was soaked overnight and then boiled with cabbage.
Favorite St. Patrick’s Day Recipes
We love to celebrate with tasty and festive treats. We tend to lean towards green and rainbows!
1 Lucky Charms Treats Recipe
2 St. Patrick’s Day Cookies Recipe
3 Fruity Pebble Treats Recipe
4 Pistachio Bread
5 Pistachio Dessert Recipe
6 Mint Milkshake Recipe
7 Mint Brownies
8 Mint Trifle Recipe
9 Mint M&M Oreo Cookies Recipe
10 Mint Chocolate Chip Cookies Recipe
11 Grasshopper Parfait Recipe
12 Fruit Kabobs
Just Slice and Bake!
I’ve always loved slice-and-bake cookies, especially the cute holiday ones. So I thought, why not try and make these St. Patrick’s Day Cookies?!
The dough itself comes together in a matter of minutes, and the rest of the process is fairly easy. Waiting for the dough to chill is the most time-consuming part but well worth the wait!
Here is the recipe:
St. Patrick’s Day Cookie Recipe
Ingredients
Dough
- ¾ cup salted butter room temperature
- ⅓ cup brown sugar packed
- ⅓ cup sugar
- 1 large egg
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon almond extract
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- ¼ teaspoon kosher sea salt
Additional
- ¼ teaspoon green gel food coloring
- 1 egg white
- 1 tablespoon water
- ¼ cup rainbow nonpareil sprinkles
Instructions
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat butter and sugars for 2-3 minutes until light and fluffy. Add egg, vanilla, and almond and mix until combined. Add the flour and salt. Continue mixing until a soft dough forms.
- Divide the dough into two balls. Wrap one of the dough balls in plastic wrap and set aside. Fold the green food coloring into the remaining ball until it is a uniform color. Flatten the green dough ball into a 1-inch thick disk. Wrap the disk in plastic wrap and place it in the fridge along with the other ball of dough. Chill the dough balls for 3 hours.
- Remove the green dough ball from the fridge. Use a clover-shaped cookie cutter to cut as many clovers as you can out of the dough, re-rolling the dough as needed.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the egg white and water. Brush the egg white mixture over the tops of each clover, and stack the clover cutouts vertically into a tall "tower." You want the clovers to be lined up as evenly as possible. Lay the tower down on its side, so that it's one long log of clovers. Wrap the log with plastic wrap and freeze for 30 minutes.
- Break the ball of dough into several pieces and roll it into ropes. When the clover log is ready, remove it and line the clovers with the long ropes. You want to encase the clovers completely. Press tightly, then roll on a lightly floured surface into a smooth log. Brush the outside with egg wash, then roll in the sprinkles. I used a loaf pan to do this and it worked really well. Return to the freezer for 30 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone mat. Slice the log into ¼" thick slices. Place 12 on a baking sheet at a time. Bake for 10-12 minutes, remove from the oven, and allow to cool on the sheet for 3 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Happy St. Patty’s Day!
You’re sure to find some delicious “Leprechaun Approved” recipes on this list to make your St. Patrick’s Day extra special!
More Collections: Easy Cake Recipes, Dessert Bar Recipes
Hi my name is Shelly Tuttle I like your show. With all of the food looks so good yummy. Do you have any new trips on your cooking like do you know how to make tamales on the cooking show. It will be fun to Watch and learn to make them make sure ingredients. Please thank you much.
Last year I made the Lucky Charm treat and this year I did the Fruity Pebble rice krispies.
Such a fun place to find all the ideas you need for St Patrick’s Day! I love all her ideas. It will fun to try all the green food!