Irish red soda bread recipe from Samuel Adams

Ingredients

• 1 cup Samuel Adams® Irish Red 
• 1/4 cup milk 
• 4 cups all-purpose flour 
• 1/2 cup sugar 
• 1/3 cup packed dark brown sugar 
• 1 tablespoon baking powder 
• 1 tablespoon caraway seed (optional) 
• 3/4 teaspoon salt 
• 1 cup raisins or currants (optional) 
• 1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted 
• 2 whole eggs lightly beaten 

Directions 
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Let beer stand until flat, about 20-30 minutes. Spray 9” cake pan with cooking spray then line bottom of pan with parchment paper. In a large bowl combine flour, sugar, baking powder, caraway seeds, and salt. Stir in raisins. Stir in beer, milk, butter, and one egg until a dough forms. On a floured surface, knead dough until smooth. Shape into round loaf. Cut a 1/2" deep X into the top of the bread. Lightly beat remaining egg and brush over dough. Bake 55 minutes or until loaf sounds hollow when tapped on bottom. Remove from pan and cool on rack. Eat warm for best taste!

Irish Cream cake balls recipe

Irish cream liqueur is a beautiful thing. It can be enjoyed on its own as an after dinner "dessert" drink or it can be mixed with coffee or hot chocolate to warm your soul on a dreary afternoon. It can be mixed with other alcoholic beverages to make tasty cocktails or it can be paired with desserts and baked goods for a delightful treat.In this recipe, it is combined with cake, frosting and chocolate to create a tempting edible cocktail.

IRISH CREAM CAKE BALLS

• 1 boxed white or chocolate cake mix and the ingredients needed to bake the cake as directed on the package (water, eggs, oil)
• 1 tub prepared vanilla frosting
• 2 ounces Irish cream liqueur
• 2 packages white chocolate bark or candy coating
• sprinkles or sanding sugar for garnish, if desired

Directions
Bake cake as directed. Once the cake has baked and can be handled comfortably, break into pieces and crumble while still in pan. Add a little less than one half of the frosting and the liqueur to the crumbs and mix until well combined. If mixture appears too dry, add a little more frosting or liqueur until it holds it shape when rolled into a ball. Roll all of the mixture into 1 inch balls and place on a baking sheet lined with waxed paper. Place in the refrigerator for about a half hour to allow balls to firm up. When ready to dip, pour candy coating in a microwave safe bowl and microwave in 30 second intervals until smooth and creamy. After each 30 seconds, stir well before returning to microwave. To coat, drop 3-4 balls into the melted coating, rolling to coat completely. Use a fork to gently remove, making sure to tap against the side of the bowl to remove excess coating. Place on waxed paper and sprinkle with your topping of choice, if desired. Allow coating to harden completely before serving or packaging.

Cook's Notes-to make this recipe kid friendly, replace 2 ounces of the water needed to bake your cake with the liqueur. The alcohol will bake out of the cake while it is in the oven. You can also swap the liqueur out for Irish cream flavored coffee creamer.

Chocolate mint thumb print cookies recipe

A small glass of Crème de menthe (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

St. Patrick's Day is for meant for celebrating all things green. With all of this green comes the flavor of mint. These delicious cookies, inspired by Betty Crocker, do a great job of adding the green element to your holiday.

CHOCOLATE MINT THUMB PRINTS

• 1 cup butter, softened
• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons creme de menthe extract (I use a bottle to a bottle and a half of LorAnn Oils Super Strength Creme de Menthe Flavoring 1 dram bottle )
• 2 egg yolks
• green food coloring to achieve desired shade of green
• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup chocolate ganache
• 18 Andes Mints, unwrapped, cut in half diagonally

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside. In a large bowl, combine butter and powdered sugar until light and fluffy. Add flavoring, yolks and coloring and beat until well combined. Add flour, baking powder and salt and beat on low speed until just combined. Using your hands or a small melon baller, shape dough into one inch balls and place two inches apart on lined baking sheet. Using your thumb, press deep indentation into each cookie. Bake 10-12 minutes, until set. Reshape the thumb prints by pressing your thumb back into them and allow to cool for a couple of minutes before removing them to a rack to cool completely. Once cooled, fill each thumb print with a teaspoon of chocolate ganache and top with a half a mint. 

Pub style corned beef and cabbage recipe

Corned Beef and Cabbage (Photo credit: bobjudge)

From the great folks at Knorr come this delicious sounding recipe for Pub Style Corned Beef and Cabbage. This recipe is perfect for your St. Patrick's Day celebrations!

PUB STYLE CORNED BEEF & CABBAGE

• 1 package Knorr Leek Recipe Soup
• 3-3 1/2 pound corned beef brisket
• 2 1/2 cups water
• 6 whole cloves
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 small head cabbage, shredded
• 4 medium potatoes, cubed
• 3 cups sliced carrots

Directions

Combine soup mix, brisket, water, cloves and bay leaves in a 6 quart Dutch oven. Cover and simmer until the beef is almost tender. about 2-2 1/2 hours. Stir in vegetables and cook until tender, about 20 minutes. Remove bay leaves before serving.

For more great recipes that utilize Knorr product mixes, please stop by their site and take a look around.