I think this might be the most patriotic treat I’ve ever baked.
And I’m not even a little bit Irish.
Clearly I’m saving my English and Welsh patriotism for something else.
My friend Taylor and I met up with some other friends of ours and their two adorable children on Saturday and I volunteered to make dessert. Because that’s kind of my thing.
With St. Patrick’s Day right around the corner, something vaguely Irish seemed appropriate and with me still being a little restricted in what I can do with my knee a simple Irish-inspired sugar cookie seemed perfect.
This is basically my sugar cookie recipe with a little peppermint added and dough dyed the colours of the Irish flag.
I did make these while listening to music by an Irish band so I was feeling the full St. Patrick’s Day spirit while I was baking.
I actually have listened to this band after each of my last 4-5 surgeries. They seem to help get me through it.
Speaking of my knee, I get to take the tortuous immobilizing brace off TOMORROW!! I’m replacing it with a simple sleeve brace so I’m not completely brace free yet, but this will hopefully make me more mobile and I should start sleeping better because I won’t have metal poking me. I see my surgeon again in a couple of weeks so hopefully he’ll start letting me do a little more in physical therapy.
I’m possibly the most impatient patient in the world.
But back to these cookies!
They are adult cookie monster and two-year old cookie monster approved and that’s the highest level of approval that I could ask for 🙂
Colourful swirls, a hint of peppermint, soft and fluffy. What more could you want?
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
- 2 cups sugar
- 4 eggs
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 - 2 tsp. peppermint extract
- 5 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 tsp. baking powder
- 1 tsp. salt
- Green gel food colouring
- Orange gel food colouring
Instructions
- In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until smooth. Beat in eggs and extracts. Stir in flour, baking powder and salt.
- Divide dough into three equal portions. Using a mixer or your hands, dye one portion green, one orange, and leave the other. Individually wrap each portion of dough in plastic and refrigerate for one hour.
- Roll out each portion of dough onto wax paper, making the sizes as similar as possible. Once rolled out, place on top of each other, with the plain dough in the middle. Trim any excess edges and roll into a log shape. Wrap in wax paper and refrigerate for one hour.
- Preheat oven to 400°F.
- Remove dough from the fridge and slice 1/4-1/2" thick. Place on baking sheets and bake for 6 minutes for soft, fluffy cookies or 8 minutes for slightly harder cookies. Let cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
These cookies are just adorable and are pretty enough to sit in a bakery window.
Thank you, Julie!