If you’re preparing to do some Christmas-inspired baking and cooking, why not add a touch of Gaelic tradition to your holiday treats?
When you add Irish elements to your Yuletide menu, you’ll honour your own Emerald Isle heritage, and you’ll also enjoy the delicious and traditional tastes of Ireland.
To help you create the ultimate Irish holiday menu, we’ve compiled a few fun recipes that are guaranteed to please your friends and family, while also capturing the Emerald Isle spirit.
Choose to bake up some rich, decadent cupcakes that are infused with the creamy-smooth flavour of Bailey’s Irish Cream liqueur, or opt to cook a hearty Colcannon side dish that is made from potatoes, leeks, bacon and cabbage.
To complement your Irish-inspired menu, be sure to prepare a nice pot of tea. The most traditional Irish tea brands are Lyon’s and Barry’s.
If you can find these teas at a local shop, adding them to the holiday mix will be a perfect way to experience the true taste of a good Irish “cuppa”.
Now, let’s look at some fun, simple and satisfying recipes with a distinct Irish flavor…
Irish Cream Cupcakes
You’ll need:
For the Cupcakes…
- 1 packet cake mix (white or yellow)
- 1 packet chocolate pudding mixture (3.4 ounce size)
- 3 eggs
- 3/4 cup Bailey’s Irish Cream liqueur
- 1/3 cup Crisco oil
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
For the filling…
- 1/2 cup soft, unsalted butter
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 2 tbsp. Bailey’s Irish Cream liqueur
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 tsp milk
For the frosting…
- 1/2 cup soft, unsalted butter
- 3- 3/4 cups powdered sugar
- 1 tbsp. milk
- 3 tbsp. coffee (instant will work well)
How to Make The Cupcakes:
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Mix the cake and pudding mixtures. Combine the dry and wet ingredients. Line your cupcake pan with paper cups. Add batter until cups are 2/3 full. Bake for 20-23 mins. Cool the cupcakes on a rack before filling and frosting.
How to Make the Filling:
Beat the unsalted butter until it’s light and airy in texture. Add sugar, liqueur, vanilla extract and milk. Beat until all ingredients are combined. Cut inch-long X marks into the cupcakes (once they are cooled). Add the filling to a pastry bag with a round tip. Fill the cupcakes until the filling is level with the tops.
How to Make the Frosting:
Beat the unsalted butter until it’s light and airy. Add the rest of the ingredients a little at a time, until they are combined. Frost the cupcakes and you’re done.
Tasty Colcannon is Great Side Dish for Christmas Feasts
To make this hearty and flavorful Irish side dish, gather the following ingredients:
- 4 slices bacon
- 1 tablespoon of olive oil
- 1 leek, washed and chopped
- 1 onion, chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 cups of shredded green cabbage
- 1/3 cup of butter
- 1 cup of hot milk
- 1/2 tsp. of salt
- 1/8 tsp. of white pepper
How to Make the Recipe:
Peel and cube your taters. Then, place them in a pot and cover with cool water. Turn up the heat to maximum, bringing the water to a boil. Then, simmer the potatoes for about 15 minutes. As your potatoes cook, fry up your bacon in a pan until is crispy and brown.
Put the cooked bacon on a paper towel to drain off excess fat. Save your bacon drippings and add the olive oil to them. Then, cook your cabbage in the oil and drippings, for about eight minutes.
When potatoes are ready, drain them to dry them out, and then put them back in the pot that you used to boil them. Add butter and mash the potatoes. Put in the milk, salt and pepper and beat the potatoes until they are smooth. Then, add the bacon and cabbage mixture.
Celebrate Ireland with a Whimsical Irish Charm
Add a little Irish flavor to your Tara’s Diary Charm Bracelet or Pandora charm bracelet, by choosing our whimsical Thatched Roof Irish Cottage Charm.
This charm looks just like a traditional Irish cottage, and it’s the perfect way to honour your Emerald Isle roots.
So affordable and fun to wear, this handcrafted design is created right in Ireland, for true authenticity.
Available for just $55.00, our cottage charm makes an ideal gift idea for any special lady in your life.