St. Patrick’s Day is fast approaching, and there’s no more festive way to celebrate the holiday than with a crowd-pleasing, Irish-themed treat. To help you get into the spirit, we’ve put together a list of some of our favorite St. Patrick’s Day desserts. There’s something here to satisfy every palate. Many of the recipes can be customized, depending on your audience or the amount of time you have.
Craveable Cakes, Cookies and Brownies
From light and airy cupcakes to fudgy brownies (as well as options for folks with a little less of a sweet tooth), these baked desserts are sure to delight your friends and family come March 17th.
- Cream Cheese Sugar Cookies: Who doesn’t enjoy a perfectly prepared sugar cookie? This recipe takes it up a notch by incorporating cream cheese to create an incredibly chewy concoction. Roll out the dough and cut it into shamrock shapes, or keep it simple and scoop it into small balls. However, be sure to let it chill in the fridge beforehand so it’s easier to handle. Coat the cookies with a green-tinted powdered sugar glaze, then watch them get devoured.
- Luck o’ the Irish Brownies: Chocolate and mint tops many people’s list of favorite flavor combinations. These supremely rich, triple-layer brownies offer both in abundance. They involve a little mid-prep refrigeration to ensure that the center peppermint layer sets properly. Be sure to factor that into your timing.
- Irish Coffee Cupcakes: If you like Irish coffee, you’ll love this tasty cupcake version of the popular beverage. The delicate texture of the frosting provides the perfect counterbalance to the bolder flavor of the cupcake. This recipe is best suited to adults, given its ingredients, although you can use caffeine-free espresso powder and omit the whiskey to make it a little more family-friendly.
- Pot of Gold Rainbow Cake: Want to create a real show-stopper? This stunning cake looks like it should take hours to create but is relatively simple. It involves baking four separate cake layers using a boxed mix (hello, time-saver!), and then cutting a circle in the two inner layers and filling the resulting “well” with candy-coated chocolate balls. Perhaps the most complicated aspect of this recipe is the multi-colored frosting, but dividing the different colors into plastic bags and then piping them onto the cake one by one simplifies the process. (And if you want, you could always skip the rainbow and simply frost the entire cake green.)
- Irish Soda Bread Cookies: Not everyone is a fan of super-sweet desserts. For those who prefer a something slightly subtler this St. Patrick’s Day, these Irish soda bread cookies fit the bill. After all, what could be more authentically Irish than soda bread? The unique flavor of these cookies comes from the addition of dried currant - as well as caraway seed, which lends just a hint of anise to the overall taste. If you don’t like licorice, you can easily omit this ingredient.
Going Green with Matcha
Looking to add a healthy element to your dessert? Cooking Light suggests including matcha (green tea powder) in your recipes. Matcha has long been touted for its health benefits. It’s packed with antioxidants and proponents swear that it burns calories, sharpens concentration and enhances mood. Matcha can be incorporated into everything from yogurt to pound cake, and its green hue makes it the perfect add-on for St. Patrick’s Day desserts.
Gluten-Free Goodies and Dairy-Free Delights
There are plenty of wonderful dessert options out there that don’t involve gluten or dairy - whether you’re avoiding them for health or lifestyle reasons or simply because you’d like to try something a little different.
- DIY Shamrock Shake (gluten-free): There’s no law that says your St. Patrick’s Day dessert can’t be sipped instead of eaten. Real Simple’s DIY Shamrock Shake is a cool, creamy delight that successfully mimics its cult-favorite McDonald’s counterpart, but with a fraction of the processed sugar.
- Vegan Avocado Ice Cream (gluten- and dairy-free): Leave it to Martha Stewart to create one of the most visually appealing desserts on the list. Her vegan avocado ice cream gets its pale green color from the aforementioned avocados - which, when combined with coconut milk, result in a texture so smooth and velvety that you’ll never miss the cream.
Whichever recipe you choose, these scrumptious sweets are sure to be the highlight of your menu on St. Patrick’s Day - or any time of year, for that matter!