St Patrick’s Day is just around the corner and I have two easy, crowd-pleasing recipes with prep times of 25 minutes or less. If you’re making these the day before, store in the refrigerator. Both of these treats contain alcohol. If you don’t stock these liquors regularly, just buy mini bottles.
Guinness Irish cream Brownies (Serves 16)
Box of Ghirardelli premium double chocolate Brownie mix
1 egg
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 Guinness beer.
-Preheat oven to 325 and prepare the brownies according to directions on the box with only one change. Don’t use water, use 1/3 cup of Guinness instead.
-Put mix in greased pan and continue to follow box instructions for cooking time.
Frosting:
8 oz cream cheese
1 stick of unsalted butter
1 1/2 tbsp milk
1 cup powdered sugar
3 splashes of Bailey’s
2 splashes of Jameson
Green food coloring (optional)
-Now here is where we get creative. There is always room for changes based on personal preferences. When it comes to the liquors, you may only want 1 splash of each. I strongly suggest, you start with 1, taste it, and add an additional splash of either or both liquors if you’d like.
-Mix cream cheese, milk, and butter on a medium speed until fluffy, slowly add sugar then add alcohol.
-If you’re feeling festive, mix in some green food coloring.
-Once brownies have cooled, frost them.
-If you’re feeling extra festive, dust your green frosted brownies with gold sugar.
I like them best after they’ve chilled in the refrigerator for 10 minutes.
Leprechaun Parfait (Serves 12)
1 ½ cups of crushed Oreos
2 boxes of vanilla pudding
3 Tablespoons creme de menthe, (mint liquor)
2 Tablespoon creme de cacao, (chocolate liquor)
Whipped Cream
-Mix pudding according to directions on the back of the box.
-Once again I suggest you start with a smaller amount of liquor, do a taste test, then work up to the amount that tastes best for you. I prefer 3 Tablespoons of mint and 2 of the chocolate flavored liquor.
-Whisk in your liquors. Let mixture stand a few minutes while you crush the Oreos.
-Spread crushed Oreos evenly over the bottoms of your parfait glasses.
-Start layering: Cookies, then pudding, lastly whipped cream. Repeat.
-Chill for 30 minutes.
-Garnish with dollop of whipped cream and extra cookie crumbles before serving.