In honor of St. Patrick's Day, I'm carrying on the 'green' theme from last week...
St Patrick's Day is a great holiday for celebrating with kids. There are so many fun crafts (I mean, you've got shamrocks, leprechauns and rainbows to work with!) and lots of fun treats to make. Sadly, I didn't really 'discover' this holiday until I was older. It wasn't widely celebrated when I was a child in England, so my fondest St. Patrick's Day memories come from my college years.
Since my family lived in England and I was at school in the States, I spent my holiday weekends with friends. St. Patrick's Day, in particular, was spent with the family of a friend who just happened to have Irish heritage. Every year, they made a lavish celebratory feast with all the trimmings like corned beef and cabbage, soda bread, and Irish coffees. We dressed in green, listened to Irish music, and watched 'Darby O'Gill and The Little People'. I was always grateful to be included in their family celebrations, and this evening of festivity and laughter made up for all the St. Patrick's Days I'd missed in the years before.
Of course, St. Patrick's Day is fun for adults, too. It's a great excuse to sip Bailey's and indulge in green-tinted treats like these festive mints. Their buttery, minty flavor will please any adult palate, but they're easy enough to whip up with your kids.
Peppermint Patties
3/4 cup sweetened condensed milk
1 1/2 teaspoons peppermint extract
3 - 4 cups confectioners' sugar, as needed
Up to 1 scant Tablespoon butter, melted (optional)
Green food coloring (optional)
Combine condensed milk, peppermint extract, and food coloring in a large mixing bowl. Stir until well blended. Gradually add the confectioners sugar to form a stiff dough. For a richer taste, and to make the dough more malleable, stir in melted butter (this step is optional, but the added flavor is worthwhile). This will make the mixture slightly more fluid when handled, but it should firm up when allowed to stand at room temperature.
Working the dough as little as possible, shape into 1/2-inch balls. Place on waxed paper and flatten into discs with fingers. Shamrock shapes can be formed by shaping three small balls for leaves and a thin, short rope for a stem. Allow the candies to set at room temperature for a couple of hours. If desired, dip cooled, set patties in melted chocolate to coat (also recommended!). Store patties in the refrigerator.
St Patrick's Day is a great holiday for celebrating with kids. There are so many fun crafts (I mean, you've got shamrocks, leprechauns and rainbows to work with!) and lots of fun treats to make. Sadly, I didn't really 'discover' this holiday until I was older. It wasn't widely celebrated when I was a child in England, so my fondest St. Patrick's Day memories come from my college years.
Since my family lived in England and I was at school in the States, I spent my holiday weekends with friends. St. Patrick's Day, in particular, was spent with the family of a friend who just happened to have Irish heritage. Every year, they made a lavish celebratory feast with all the trimmings like corned beef and cabbage, soda bread, and Irish coffees. We dressed in green, listened to Irish music, and watched 'Darby O'Gill and The Little People'. I was always grateful to be included in their family celebrations, and this evening of festivity and laughter made up for all the St. Patrick's Days I'd missed in the years before.
Of course, St. Patrick's Day is fun for adults, too. It's a great excuse to sip Bailey's and indulge in green-tinted treats like these festive mints. Their buttery, minty flavor will please any adult palate, but they're easy enough to whip up with your kids.
Peppermint Patties
3/4 cup sweetened condensed milk
1 1/2 teaspoons peppermint extract
3 - 4 cups confectioners' sugar, as needed
Up to 1 scant Tablespoon butter, melted (optional)
Green food coloring (optional)
Combine condensed milk, peppermint extract, and food coloring in a large mixing bowl. Stir until well blended. Gradually add the confectioners sugar to form a stiff dough. For a richer taste, and to make the dough more malleable, stir in melted butter (this step is optional, but the added flavor is worthwhile). This will make the mixture slightly more fluid when handled, but it should firm up when allowed to stand at room temperature.
Working the dough as little as possible, shape into 1/2-inch balls. Place on waxed paper and flatten into discs with fingers. Shamrock shapes can be formed by shaping three small balls for leaves and a thin, short rope for a stem. Allow the candies to set at room temperature for a couple of hours. If desired, dip cooled, set patties in melted chocolate to coat (also recommended!). Store patties in the refrigerator.
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Those look really good and I'm sure we'd have fun making them... I'm planning all sorts of green treats this week and I just may have to add this in for fun :) (I also see that you had a green theme last week so I'm going to have to check out your other posts for more ideas!!)
ReplyDeleteso tasty love buttermints and I love your sweet clovers come see what i shared at http://shopannies.blogspot.com
ReplyDeleteYum! These look great. I normally make something similar around Christmas time - never thought of shaping them into shamrocks. Really creative!
ReplyDeleteThanks! My mum used to make them at Christmastime, too - such happy memories!
DeleteOh man! How yummy and totally cool looking are these!
ReplyDeleteOh these look yummy! Can you press them into candy molds too?
ReplyDeleteI imagine you could. I haven't tried it with this particular recipe (it does make a slightly gooey mixture, pre-cooling, if you use the butter) but I have done it with similar versions. I'd recommend a mold that isn't too detailed, though - just in case :)
DeleteYummy! I hope you'll add these to my St. Patty's Day Project Parade.
ReplyDeletewww.itsybitsypaperblog.com
This looks yummy!
ReplyDeleteMrs. Delightful
www.ourdelightfulhome.blogspot.com
Really cute Idea!
ReplyDeleteHow cute are these!! :) So festive, and they look yummy! Thanks for sharing at oopsey daisy!
ReplyDeleteoh my word….these look DELICIOUS!
ReplyDeleteOh yum! These look tasty and so festive! Thanks for sharing at Scrumptious Sunday at Addicted to Recipes!
ReplyDeleteThey fit the occasion thanks for posting
ReplyDeleteRachel, your Shamrock Butter Mints look so pretty just perfect for St. Patrick's Day. They look delicious! Hope you are having a great week end and thank you so much for sharing with Full Plate Thursday.
ReplyDeleteHappy St. Patrick's Day!
Miz Helen
Delicious! Peppermint patties are a favorite of mine. Love the green shamrocks!
ReplyDeleteI could live off of peppermint patties like this, and I try to some days I tells ya. How yummy!
ReplyDelete