I took one of those DNA tests this past year and found I am 50% from the Scottish, English, and Wales region. So I decided to do some research on cookies made in good old Ireland for St. Patrick's Day. It turns out; the Irish did not indulge in too many varieties of sweets in the early days.
So I was having a hard time trying to come up with a cookie for this holiday but went with the old standard shamrock.
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Ingredients You Will Need
- Butter unsalted
- Sugar white
- Egg
- Vanilla extract
- Almond extract
- Baking powder
- All-purpose flour
- Kosher Salt
- Coloring gel green
- White Sparkling sugar
Making Shamrock Cookies
These sugar cookies are really simple and the only prep work is getting the dry ingredients together.
In a bowl weigh or measure the flour, baking powder and salt. I run a whisk through to blend. In another bowl weigh or measure the sugar and you are set to go!
Mixing the Dough
I start by cubing the butter into a mixer bowl.
I like to cream my butter before I add my sugar. If your butter is at room temperature, it only takes 1 to 2 minutes.
Next, add the sugar and mix on a medium mixer speed for 3 to 5 minutes. I stopped about halfway through and scraped down the bowl. Then, you can just scrape it down again at the end before adding the next ingredients.
Now add the egg, extracts, and coloring gel, mixing until the egg is incorporated.
Finally, add the flour about a quarter at a time. You do not want to over-mix the flour. It will make your cookies tough. So do not worry if there is still flour that needs to be mixed in. You can take care of that after you add the dough to the pastry mat.
So knead your dough until all the flour has been incorporated. I like to knead the dough and make it into a log.
Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 to 2 hours. I find that the dough needs this time to absorb the flour and the coloring gel. I get a more uniform color throughout my dough this way.
Baking Sugar Cookies
Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C or 180°C) and line 2 cookie sheet pans with parchment paper.
Take the cookie dough out of the fridge and unwrap the plastic wrap. I let it sit for a little while to warm up, this makes it easier to roll out.
On my pastry mat I sprinkle some powdered sugar then I take about ¼ of the cookie dough and roll it out to about ⅜" thick. I love my rolling pin rings that go on the ends of my rolling pin. They make it easy to have same thickness of the cookies for even baking.
Place 12 cut-out cookies on one of the prepared sheet pans. Just keep rerolling the access cookie dough that was around your cutouts or another quarter of the log until you fill one of the pans. Bake for 6-8 minutes. Once you pull the pan from the oven, sprinkle the sparkling white sugar onto the tops of the cookies. They will stick to the hot cookies.
Leave them on the sheet pan for a few minutes, then move them to a cooling rack.
Enjoy! Happy Saint Patrick's Day!
FAQ's
The simple answer is no. The biggest reason for refrigerating the cookie dough is to allow the melding of the flour into the butter-sugar mixture. It has been my experience that I have less streaking of the color throughout the cookie dough by giving it time to meld. The choice is yours.
Every time I do that it melts into the tops of the cookies, and I do not get that crunchy white sugar that I love. You could do both!
I keep them in an airtight container right on my counter. They will last a good week or more.
Other Sugar Cookies To Try
Recipe
Irish Shamrock Sugar Cookies - Revised
Barbara HallWould you like to save this recipe?
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Ingredients
- 1 cup (227 g) Butter unsalted room temperature
- 1 cup (200 g) Sugar white
- 1 (1) Egg
- 2 teaspoons (2 teaspoons) Vanilla Extract
- ¼ teaspoon (0.25 teaspoon) Almond extract
- 3 cups (375 g) All-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoon (2 teaspoon) Baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon (0.25 teaspoon) Kosher Salt
- 2 drops (2 drops) Coloring gel green
- White Sparkling sugar sprinkle on top
Instructions
- Weigh or measure the sugar and set it aside. In another bowl, weigh or measure the flour, baking powder, and salt, running a whisk through to blend. Cream the butter in a stand or handheld mixer for about 2 minutes. Add the sugar and mix for 3 to 5 minutes on a medium mixer speed. Add the vanilla and almond extracts, two drops of green coloring gel, and egg blend thoroughly. Turn the mixer down to low, add the flour mixture, and mix until incorporated. You want the dough like playdough that you can form a ball in your hand.
- Add the cookie dough to a pastry mat. You want to knead the cookie dough to incorporate any flour that is not mixed in. You have two options at this point. You do not have to refrigerate, but when I add color to cookie dough, I like to wrap and refrigerate it to allow the color to meld. I get fewer streaks of color throughout my cookies. I wrapped and chilled the dough for 1 to 2 hours.
- Sprinkle powdered sugar on your pastry mat to prevent the cookie dough from sticking while you roll it out. I break off about ¼ of the dough and roll it out to ⅜" inch thickness. You can undoubtedly roll them out thicker, but you may have to add a minute to the baking time. You can use whatever cookie cutter you like, but I liked the shamrock. Lay 12 cut-out cookies onto a cookie pan lined with parchment paper.
- Bake at 350°F (175°C or 180°C) for 6-8 minutes. Sprinkle white sparkling sugar onto the cookies as soon as they come out of the oven. The sparkling sugar will stick to the hot cookies. Transfer the cookies to a cooling rack after they cooled on the sheet pan for a couple of minutes. These sugar cookies are fun to make with children.
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NUTRITION DISCLAIMER
I am not a certified Dietitian or Nutritionist. The nutrition amounts given below are provided through a program and are only a guideline.
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