Irish Cheddar Bread

I don't know what it is about St. Patrick's Day. Every year, I plan all kinds of green/Irish-inspired/boozy recipes to share in the month of March. And every year the plans fall through/prove disastrous/I run out of time/I'm pregnant and too nauseous to cook {as was the case last year}, etc.

I guess the "luck of the Irish" is only reserved for the legit Irish folk!

This year hasn't been any different. The ideas were abundant, but the hours in the day were not.

So naturally, I baked bread.

I know what you're thinking: Homemade bread takes forever to make! And you'd be correct in some instances, what with proofing and kneading and all those other bread-baking steps.

But not this bread. Or any of the breads I usually bake, honestly. As much as I'd like to dedicate time and counter space to such projects, the reality of the situation is that I'm all about the last minute, easy-to-clean-up baking.

{I had to sneak a shamrock in there somewhere! ;)}

This bread only takes a few minutes of active prep time and the rest is relatively "inactive", leaving you a few hours to find something green to wear or enjoy a frothy Guinness or, you know, fold that load of laundry that you keep spinning in the dryer.

To give this bread an Irish twist, I added in some chunks of Isle of Man Cheddar that I found at Trader Joe's. It's a nice, aged cheddar with scallions and roasted onions speckled throughout for some extra savory goodness.

So, if you've never baked your own bread before but have always wanted to, I'd say this is a good time to try your luck!

Irish Cheddar Bread
Adapted from Grandparents.com originally excerpted from Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day

Makes 2 loaves

1 1/2 cups lukewarm water {not too hot or it will kill the yeast}
1 packet yeast {2 1/4 teaspoons}
2 1/4 teaspoons sugar
3 1/4 cups flour
2 1/4 teaspoons salt
Approximately 1 cup of your favorite Irish cheddar, cut into chunks or grated

1. In a large measuring cup with a spout or a bowl, combine water, sugar and yeast. Allow yeast to get frothy. {If the yeast doesn't begin to bubble after a few minutes, it may be old or dead. Make sure to check the expiration and use fresh yeast.}

2. In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine flour, salt and cheese until well-combined. Slowly pour in the liquid yeast mixture and mix until just combined and there are no more dry patches.

3. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and place in a warm, dark place for about 2 hours or until the dough has doubled in size.

{Go do something fun!}

4. Once the dough has doubled, scoop it out onto a well-floured surface and divide into two equal halves. Smooth out each piece by stretching the dough around the ball and tucking it underneath until you have a firm ball. Place each ball onto a liberally floured pan or baking stone and set aside to rise for another 40 minutes.

5. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 450. Place an empty baking or roasted pan on the top rack and leave space on the lowest rack for the bread pan.

6. When the loaves have risen the second time, dust each with a good dusting of flour and either slash the tops or use a stencil to create a design on each loaf if desired.

7. Just before putting bread in the oven, pour a few cups of water into the empty baking or roasting pan. Quickly put the bread on the bottom rack and bake for about 25-28 minutes or until the tops are browned and firm.

Remove from oven and allow to cool a bit before slicing.

Savory Guinness & Veggie Cobbler

I attended a small Catholic school as a kid. Our school "mascot" was The Shamrock.

Exciting/menacing, I know.

Anyway, because of our obvious ties to the emerald emblem, I grew up with a strong appreciation for St. Patrick's Day & figured that everyone else in the world celebrated it as enthusiastically as we did.

{For us, it was "Spirit Day". Read: Pep rally, fun activities, and the biggest thrill of all -- getting to come to school dressed in non-uniform attire.}

Imagine my surprise when I discovered that adults liked celebrating St. Patrick's Day, too... just for different reasons.

As fond as I am of St. Patrick's Day festivities & fare, I've never really been one to dye food unnatural {and unappetizing} colors for the sake of thematic authenticity. Maybe that's the reason I've never hopped on the Red Velvet bandwagon.

But I digress.

Now, beer, on the other hand. That's a celebratory tradition I can stand behind. {Again, minus the dye.}

This recipe idea came to mind out of nowhere {after my initial idea drought}, and I just had to try it out and see if it would work. It did. Though sadly, it didn't look as pretty as it tasted.

However... if you're the type that wouldn't let a perfectly drink/meal/dessert go to waste just because it's tinted a funky green color, then maybe you can overlook the flaws of this dish, too.

While Guinness is perfectly fine on its own as the star of the show for an evening of carousing, it plays a great role in the background of this rich, hearty meal as well adding deep flavors to both the "gravy" and the dumplings. I made mine a vegetarian version, but I bet it would be good with beef or chicken for the meat-eaters among you.

If you're looking for something a little less "shamrocky" to make for St. Patrick's Day {or need something to help soak up those pints of green beer}, give this a try.

Otherwise, check out these other boozy delights from past posts!

Irish Cream Cookies

Homemade Irish Cream

 

Chocolate Whiskey Cupcakes

Or these cute Pot O' Gold Favors for the kiddies:

Savory Guinness & Veggie Cobbler

For Filling:

1 medium onion, diced
2 stalks celery, chopped
2-3 medium carrots, peeled & chopped
1 clove, minced
3-4 small Yukon gold potatoes, about 1 inch dice {about 2 cups}
1 12 oz. container sliced mushrooms
1 dried teaspoon rosemary or thyme (or 1 tablespoon if using fresh}
3 {heaping} tablespoons flour
6 ounces Guinness {approx}
1 1/2 cups chicken broth
Salt to taste

For Topping:

2 1/2 cups flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup grated sharp cheddar
8-10 oz. Guinness or stout beer1. Heat 1 to 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large pot or dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add onion, celery, and carrots, sprkinkle with a dash of salt. Cook until the onions are beginning to get translucent and the veggies start to get tender. Add garlic and cook for about a minute.

2. Toss in potatoes, mushrooms, and herbs and stir well. Cook for about 6-7 minutes to soften up the potato and let the mushrooms start giving off liquid.

3. Sprinkle the veggies with flour and toss well. Cook for about 1-2 minutes.

4. Pour in the Guinness and chicken broth. Stir well and let it simmer until it comes up to a bubble. Cook for about 8-10 minutes or until the liquid thickens up and starts to look more like a sauce or a gravy, scraping the bottom of the pot to make sure nothing is sticking and you're getting all those tasty brown bits. {Plus, less scraping when it's time to clean!} Season with salt to taste.

5. Meanwhile, combine the flour, baking powder, salt, and cheddar in a medium bowl. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.

6. Add about 8 ounces of Guinness and mix it until just combined. It'll be kind of lumpy. If it's still too dry and you have large patches of flour left, add a little extra beer at at time until it's moistened. Otherwise, leave as is. {You don't want it to be too wet or it'll spread too much like mine did. The consistency should be like drop biscuits.}

7. When the potatoes are pretty much fork tender and the sauce is thick, pour the stew mixture into a 9x13 inch baking dish.

8. Using a spoon or ice cream scoop, plop little mounds of batter over the top of the stew. It doesn't have to cover the whole thing.

9. Bake for about 20-22 minutes or until the dumplings have set and the stew is bubbly.

St. Patrick's Day Dipped Coffee Spoons & A Giveaway

Pssst... hey you... the one frantically searching for something festive to make for St. Patrick's Day. Come here.

A little closer, I don't want the whole world to hear.

I have a little secret to share with you. Ok, are you ready? Here it is:

I don't always get around to making something fabulous for every.single.holiday. {And I use the term "holiday" loosely.} 

Sometimes I run out of time. Or make 4 runs to the store and still manage to forget to pick up the ingredients I need for the recipe I want to try. Or I can't seem to think of something that hasn't already been blogged about by 800 other people. Or I forget that there's something to celebrate altogether.

It's ok.

I know... it's hard to shake feelings of inadequacy when the magazine covers in the express line are taunting you with "20 Easy St. Patrick's Day Goodies That Any Nitwit Can Pull Off". It may seem like those bloggers you follow have come up with every possible combination of beer/Irish cream/green/clover-shaped things without breaking a sweat. And you're sitting there holding a dropper of green food coloring without a clue as to what you will do with it.

Let's face it; most days we just don't have the energy {or supplies} to make precious little Leprechaun hats from cookies and candy and what have you, nitwit or not. {No offense if you are packaging these up right now, they are adorbs.}

For the better part of a month, I've racked my brain trying to come up with something wonderful to share for St. Patrick's Day. It seems like every time I would think of something good, someone else would beat me to actually posting it. Some of the ideas were a little too fussy or involved. Others were just, "eh." So I put off figuring out what I was going to make... and then I realized that St. Patrick's Day is this weekend.

Hm.

Armed with creativity, an iron will to deliver something festive {and a few baking pantry essentials}, these materialized:

What you need:

1. Plastic Spoons
2. Chocolate or candy melts or almond bark or any edible substance that can melt & set {caramel? PB, butterscotch, or mint chips?}
3. Sprinkles, preferably festive
4. A Refrigerator

Here are the directions:

1. Melt.
2. Dip.
3. Sprinkle.
4. Set.

And if you want to get REALLY fancy? Wrap & give.

It's that simple.

Why would these make a good St. Patrick's Day treat, you ask?

Well, because they're cute. And sugary. Because you know you've got about a dozen of those plastic-wrapped utensils that come with takeout stashed away somewhere in your house. And finally because after a few authentic Irish coffees, no one is going to care if you made a cake replica of an Irish castle or set up this {adorable} spread.

Still worried your contribution isn't cute enough? Just bring them out on one of these delightful personalized trays from Palm Beach Parties and no one will even notice. {While you're at it, take a look at her shop... SO much cute stuff!}

Consider today your lucky day.

Because you get an easy idea AND you can enter to win one of these pretty little party essentials, just by clicking a few things in the widget below.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

If I made your life any easier, I'd be spoon feeding you. Ha. ;)


Dipped Coffee Spoons

Plastic Spoons
Chocolate, Candy Coating, or other Melty Deliciousness {I used white candy coating}
Sprinkles
Parchment paper or a sheet tray
Packaging materials {cello bags, ribbon, etc.}

1. Heat desired dipping substance in a microwave safe container for 30 second intervals, stirring each time you stop, until smooth and liquidy enough to dip spoons in.

2. Dip spoons in to coat.

3. Place on a piece of parchment paper or a clean sheet tray.

4. If using sprinkles or colored sugar, sprinkle while wet.

5. Allow to set. You may do this at room temperature {takes a little longer} or in the refrigerator {super speedy}.

6. Decorate with colored icing or more chocolate as desired. {You can pipe on designs, drizzle for a gourmet look... just go for it. Get crazy!}

7. Allow any decorations to set again.

8. Package up if you'd like and give as a fun treat for stirring in coffee or cocoa!

Cookies & {Irish} Cream

Well, I'm still working on figuring out how to right the wrong that was supposed to be my St. Patrick's Day recipe. As I mentioned earlier in the week, I had a catastrophic small fiasco in the kitchen when I accidentally overflowed water from my sink, all over my counter top, and onto the floor and then proceeded to spill other assorted ingredients everywhere. To add insult to injury, the recipe didn't even turn out.

Evidence of my clumsiness.

I was not going to let a little kitchen mishap get to me, or stop me from sharing something festive. No, ma'am, not this little baker.

Yesterday, I was up before the crack of dawn {heaven knows why}, and in the kitchen as the sun rose so I could bring you these. {You know, before the next holiday.}

What are they, you ask?

Malted Irish Cream & White Chocolate Chip Cookies with Irish Cream Glaze, that's what.

And guess what? The Irish Cream in these? I made it from scratch!

It is just as good {if not better} than the stuff you buy at the store. I'm so glad I happened upon the recipe over at The Cupcake Project. I adapted the recipe just a little bit because I didn't have enough Jameson, so I adjusted the proportions and also made my own chocolate syrup to add to it. {I know, I'm out of control.}

But back to the cookies...

They are soft, chewy, and sweet with just a hint of the Irish Cream and malt flavors shining though. And the glaze adds a little extra Irish Cream punch in case subtlety isn't your thing when it comes to boozy desserts.

Since these cookies are spiked with the good stuff {and since I don't want to be arrested for serving minors}, I had to come up with an alternate treat for the kiddos I work with and for those who don't partake in the sauce.

Thanks to some Pinterest browsing and the creativity over at Hostess with the Mostess, I swiped this adorable idea for Leprechaun Goodie Bags {complete with printable tags!!}. Aren't they the cutest?

 

So, it may be back to the drawing board on the original recipe I planned on posting {at this point, who knows if it'll ever happen}, but I feel like I've made up for it with the trifecta of St. Patty's Day goods I've shared today. ;)  And tomorrow?

I may or may not have one more thing up my sleeve...

Malted Irish Cream & White Chocolate Chip Cookies with Irish Cream Glaze
Inspired by How Sweet It Is

1 1/2 sticks butter, softened
1 1/4 cups sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 2/3 cups flour
1/2 cup malted milk powder
1 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon instant espresso powder
9 tablespoons Bailey’s Irish Cream {or homemade, if you prefer}*
1/2 to 1 cup white chocolate chips {I wanted mine less "chippy"}

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine all dry ingredients in a medium bowl.

Cream butter and sugar until fluffy and pale. Add eggs, one at a time until incorporated, and vanilla. Add in Bailey’s one tablespoon at a time. Add flour, malted milk powder, instant espresso powder, baking soda and salt mixture and mix until combined.

Fold in white chocolate chips. Refrigerate dough for 2-3 hours or until firmed up.

With a mini ice cream scoop or a tablespoon measure, scoop uniform balls of dough and place on a greased or lined cookie sheet.

Bake at 350 for 8-10 minutes until slightly golden around the edges, but set in the centers.

For Irish Cream Glaze

1 to 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
3 tablespoons Irish Cream

In a small bowl, add Irish Cream, one tablespoon full at a time, to powdered sugar. Stir until desired consistency is reached. Drizzle over cookies and allow to set.

* If you'd rather not add alcohol to your cookies, a good substitution would be Bailey's Coffee Creamer which is non-alcoholic but has a similar flavor.

No Use Crying Over Spilled Cupcakes

Other appropriate titles for this post include: "Haste Makes Waste", "Don't Count Your Cupcakes Before They're Frosted", and "Oh, Why Dontcha Go Blog About It, Ya Big Sissy." :P

So, today might be known for the Luck of the Irish, but I should have known that wearing green does not automatically entitle you to some of that fortune. Although, I must tell you, I was convinced that good St. Pat was winking at me this morning when I started to bake my Mini Irish Cream Cupcakes.

You know how some days you wake up and you think to yourself, "Self, let's do something completely on a whim!" and it just magically works out? Well, that's how it seemed to be going with me this morning. I decided that I wanted to honor St. Patty's day with something sweet, but I didn't have any particular ideas in mind. After some Food Network browsing, I settled on Old-Fashioned Cupcakes because I didn't feel like getting too fancy. {Yes, it happens.} With an recipe in mind and a spring in my step, I was ready to hit the kitchen.