12 Boozed-Up Desserts for a Rowdy St. Patrick's Day Party
Happy St. Paddy’s Day to one and all, otherwise known as the holiday when parading revelers don oversized leprechaun hats and (after a few beers) fervently believe that they can stepdance like an old Irish pro. It is a feasting day though, so imbibe the best of both worlds by slipping a little extra Irish luck into your desserts. The Emerald Isle would want it that way.
1. Irish Cream Cupcakes
Hope you’ve got your seasonal stash of Irish cream at the ready, 'cause you’re gonna need it. That wicked-smooth liqueur is essential for creating the tinted buttercream frosting atop these cupcakes. Speaking of which, these dark chocolate minxes boast an extreme fluff factor thanks to the addition of buttermilk in the batter. Get the Recipe >>>
2. Irish Bread Pudding with Jack Daniels Caramel Whiskey Sauce
Bread pudding: good. Whiskey bread pudding: “Yes please and thank you.” Bread pudding is a thing of beauty for two reasons: it reincarnates an otherwise inedible loaf of stale bread and soaks up liquid like a thirsty sponge. In this case, that liquid is a transcendent, eggy blend of milk, vanilla and whiskey. Once baked, that combo yields a crusty-edged, gooey-centered pudding that begs for a drizzle of sticky caramel-whiskey sauce. Get the Recipe >>>
3. Guinness Cake
Annie, get your Guinness—and pour it into this dense, chocolate-slathered Bundt. It’s positively stacked with dark and handsome ingredients, from cocoa powder to dark brown sugar to frothy black stout, not to mention the warm Guinness-chocolate glaze that dribbles down the sides, trailing walnut slivers all the way. Get the Recipe >>>
4. Grasshopper Pie
Green means go, which hints at the near future when you’ll be shoveling fistfuls of this grassy-hued pie into your face at alarming speed. It’s hard to hold back when you’re staring deep into a slice of mint chocolate ice cream spiked with crème de menthe and cradled in a chocolate wafer crust. We’ve all been there. Get the Recipe >>>
5. Bailey’s Chocolate Mousse
Five ingredients to that sophisticated mousse lifestyle? Lead the way, please. You’ll want to dust off ye olde candy thermometer, but it’s worth it. Irish cream and bittersweet chocolate whip up into a puffy, scoopable little tuffet when whisked with eggs, sugar and heavy cream. You’ll have to restrain yourself from licking the bowl clean (along with every other surface this mousse has touched). Get the Recipe >>>
6. Old-Fashioned Whiskey Cake
“Old fashioned” is really just a retro way to say “full of booze.” And that’s fitting considering the half cup of whiskey that goes into the icing alone for this cake. Need that old fashioned fix in a hurry? You’re in luck, because you can make this with boxed cake mix and people will be none the wiser once you slosh in s’more whiskey and vanilla pudding. Dot that sucker with chopped pecans, glaze it in buttered, boozy icing and raise a fork to whiskey well-applied. Get the Recipe >>>
7. Crème de Menthe Brownies
Crème de menthe? More like crème de more. As in, you’ll want to bake way more than one batch of these babies. Dense, fudgy and decidedly naughty, these brownies are draped in two distinct layers of goodness: one minty and spirituous, another spun from semisweet chocolate silk. Get the Recipe >>>
8. Irish Car Bomb Cupcakes
Less messy than cannonballing a shot of Irish cream and whiskey into a pint of Guinness, but no less satisfying. Dominate your St. Patrick’s day shindig with these extra-tender chocolate stout cakes (thank you, sour cream) stuffed silly with Irish whiskey ganache and capped with Irish cream frosting. Get the Recipe >>>
9. Mini Grasshopper Cheesecakes
Patience, young grasshopper, I know it’s tempting to scarf down these bite-size cheesecakes before anyone else gets a taste, but try to exercise restraint. It doesn’t help that the most-beloved Girl Scout cookie of all has joined the fray. Yes, at the base of each minty cake you’ll find a crisp Thin Mint, beckoning like the chocolate siren that it is. You’re only human, after all. Get the Recipe >>>
10. Bailey’s Irish Cream Cake
Lurking at the squishy center of this chocolate ring? Strong black coffee, the secret to intensifying that rich cocoa flavor. You’ll also find buttermilk, bringing its trademark tang and tender crumb to the table. Lastly? The equivalent of a luxe fur coat: a thick sheath of Irish cream frosting that fits like a dream. Get the Recipe >>>
11. Blarney Blondies
No need to head overseas to get your lips on the Blarney Stone, these blondies are a winning (and much more sanitary) stand-in. Their green goodness stems from pistachios soaked in whiskey, each one a crunchy surprise inside the buttery filling topped with even more whiskey streusel. Get the Recipe >>>
12. Coffee & Bailey’s Jello Cubes
No-spill Irish coffee does exist—and that’s a good thing on the most schnockered of national holidays. Plus, it looks super classy. Jellify your drink by combining hot coffee and brown sugar with gelatin and topping it with a separate layer of jiggly Irish cream. Finally, jello shots for the refined St. Patrick’s Day drinker in all of us. Get the Recipe >>>
Craving even more Irish comfort this holiday? Don’t miss:
• 14 Whiskey Cocktails for St. Patrick’s Day
• Potatoes, 32 Ways
• 50 Favorite Irish Dishes