Happy St. Patty's Day, Shamrock Butter Cookies!

For pretty much every holiday I bake butter cookies and make them in whatever appropriate shapes.  Thus, it's no big surprise that I made some butter cookies in the shapes of shamrocks for St. Patrick's Day.  YUM YUM!

Everyone loves them and they're easy to make.  Sometimes I ice them for extra sweet goodness, and sometimes I let the butter cookie sing.  This time I did both.

The recipe comes to me from my mom :)

SHAMROCK BUTTER COOKIES

INGREDIENTS:

1 lb. butter
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
4 1/2 - 5 cups of flour (not a full 5)
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. vanilla
3 cups sifted confectioner's sugar
1/4 cup milk
1/2 tsp. vanilla
Dash of salt
(food coloring, optional)

DIRECTIONS:

Mix well. Taking one or two handfuls at a time, roll out the dough. Cut with cookie cutter, or use a juice glass top to cut. Just press rim of glass into dough and form circles.

Bake at 325 for approximately 5-6 minutes. They shouldn't be too brown on the edges. I check the bottoms to make sure they are golden before taking them out.

PERSONAL NOTES:

When rolling the dough, use a sheet of wax paper for the surface, sprinkle with flour, place the dough and sprinkle that with some flour. Cover with a second piece of wax paper. Use the rolling pin over that. It just makes for easier rolling.

For the icing I use skim milk and it always comes out great.

Happy St. Patrick's Day: Irish Soda Bread

It would be wrong on many levels if I failed to produce the traditional Irish soda bread for St. Patrick's Day.  I took a recipe from here and added to it a bit.  I had to; it didn't include the caraway seeds or raisins.  Both are a MUST if you're making Irish soda bread.  Otherwise it's not the real deal ; )

As always, I'm pleased with the way my Irish soda bread came out.  It's so good and full of flavor.  Normally I'm not into the flavor of caraway seeds but it goes so well with this bread.  And while the bread is good on its own, it never hurts to spread a little butter on your slices.

YUM!

IRISH SODA BREAD

INGREDIENTS:

4 cups all-purpose flour

4 tablespoons white sugar

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup margarine, softened

1 cup buttermilk

1 egg

1/4 cup butter, melted

1/4 cup buttermilk

1 tablespoon caraway seeds

3/4 cup raisins

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Lightly grease a large baking sheet.

In a large bowl, mix together flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, caraway seeds, raisins, salt and margarine. Stir in 1 cup of buttermilk and egg. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead slightly. Form dough into a round and place on prepared baking sheet. In a small bowl, combine melted butter with 1/4 cup buttermilk; brush loaf with this mixture. Use a sharp knife to cut an 'X' into the top of the loaf.

Bake in preheated oven for 45 to 50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean, about 30 to 50 minutes. You may continue to brush the loaf with the butter mixture while it bakes.

PERSONAL NOTES:

As I mentioned above I had to add the caraway seeds and raisins as the original recipe doesn't include them.  Which by the way, is unusual.  I've never had an Irish soda bread without those ingredients. 

Oh, and I chose to omit the butter mixture for the top of the loaf.  I thought it was fine without it.  So that's up to you.