The Secret Ingredient In These Saint Patrick’s Day Recipes Is Booze (And Love, But Mostly Booze)

Pop open a cold one and put on your “Kiss me, I’m Irish” apron, it’s time to bake up some awesomeness! Important note, all of the alcohol in these recipes will bake out, so they’re fine for everyone. Except the homemade Irish Cream recipe, that’ll put hair on your chest and a ring on your finger — proceed with caution!

Beer Bread

I grew up in the Midwest and usually heard this called Coors Bread. It never really had enough of a beer taste for me. I prefer to make it with a hoppier beer. It’s super simple and super delicious.

Ingredients:

• 3 cups all purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 12 ounces delicious beer (It’s Saint Paddy’s Day, try Guinness!)
• 2-4 tablespoons butter melted and poured over the bread before it bakes

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 375-degrees fahrenheit.
2. Mix all of the ingredients together (except the butter) in a large bowl. What’s that? You didn’t read through the sentence and you already added all the butter? It’ll be okay, that’ll just make for a heartier bread.
3. Spray an 8″x4″ loaf pan with PAM.
4. Pour in the batter and top with the melted butter — this makes for a super crunchy crust, if you don’t like that then go ahead and add the butter during the mixing process.
5. Bake for 50 minutes.
6. Remove the bread from the pan (or it will become gummy, that goes for most things baked in a loaf pan) and let it cool for at least 15 minutes before slicing it up.

Beerrownies

Brownies with beer in them. Omnomnom.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup all purpose flour
• 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 3 1/2 ounces semi sweet chocolate
• 8 tablespoons of butter, browned
• 1/2 cup stout or any dark beer
• 4 eggs, at room temp
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1 cup brown sugar, packed
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Sift together the flour and cocoa powder.
3. Melt the chocolate in a bowl over boiling water.
4. Melt the butter over medium heat until it starts to brown and smell like nuts (it’s called beurre noisette and it’s amazing).
5. Pour the butter and scrape all of the brown bits into the bowl of chocolate.
6. Stir the beer and vanilla into the butter chocolate mixture.
7. Beat together the eggs and sugar until thick and light. 2 to 5 minutes.
8. Fold in the dry mixture in thirds alternating with the addition of wet ingredients.
9. Finish with the vanilla. Do not over mix.
10. Fold in the chips.
11. Pour into a buttered and floured 9 x 13 pan. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes.

Irish Cream Cheesecake

Irish Cream, it should really just be called Ahhhhhrish Cream. The little punch of alcohol gives super creamy cheesecake just what it needs. This is best after it’s been chilled for a day, so plan ahead! It’s also really great with a caramel sauce. If only someone would post a delicious caramel sauce recipe.

Crust

• 1 cup graham cracker crumbs (or ginger snaps)
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• 3 tablespoons melted butter

Cheesecake

• 20 oz. cream cheese
• 1 2/3 cups sugar
• 5 eggs
• 1 cup Irish Cream Liquor
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 cup chocolate chips (semi sweet)

Directions:

1. Mix together the cracker/cookie crumbs with the melted butter and sugar. Press into the bottom of a 9″ springform pan. Bake the crust alone at 325 degrees F (175 C) for about 10 minutes. Allow crust to cool while you make the filling.
2. Beat the cream cheese with a mixer well, slowly add in the cup of sugar so that it’s nice and smooth. No lumps!
3. Add the vanilla, sour cream and liqueur to the cream cheese and mix until homogeneous.
4. Add the eggs one at a time and beat until combined.
5. Pour the filling over the crust and scatter the chocolate chips. Swirl some in with a spatula.
6. Bake until the center is set. No jiggles. This will take about an hour and twenty minutes.
7. Transfer to a rack to cool for about an hour. Best if you can chill it overnight.
8. Release from pan and serve with caramel sauce. Hey, there’s a caramel sauce in this post!

Make Your Own Irish Cream

Yes indeed! Make your own Irish Cream. No weird preservatives either! (Seriously, how on Earth does that stuff stay so shelf stable?) This recipe actually makes a lovely gift, too. Put it in a pretty bottle, then give it to me.

Delicious Stout Beer Caramel Sauce

Okay, here’s that awesome beer-based caramel sauce I’ve been teasing throughout the post (a recipe post with foreshadowing? only at Uproxx!). If you want the beer flavor to be mild, for say, topping a cheesecake, use a lighter beer. This sauce also works really well with stouts, hence the name. Drizzle this on some vanilla ice cream and call it a day. A good day.

Ingredients:

• 12 oz. beer
• 2 tablespoons butter (if it’s salted butter, omit the addition of salt)
• 1 1/2 cups packed dark brown sugar
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• Pinch of salt

Directions:

1. Simmer the beer in a saucepan for about 10 minutes to reduce.*
2. Add the sugar to the beer and cook to 235 degrees F (a candy thermometer works best here).
3. Take the pot off the heat and slowly whisk in the heavy cream vanilla and salt. It will likely seize up.
4. Don’t panic, return the caramel sauce to the heat if it’s seized and whisk until it’s all melted back together.

*Simmer means there may be small bubbles along the side, but it’s not really boiling.

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Michelle Doll is a Chef and Instructor at the International Culinary Center in New York. Check out her instructional videos on the YouTube, her appearances on Throwdown with Bobby Flay (she won), or visit her on her website, www.michelledollmakes.com. 

Doll is her maiden name, she doesn’t just call herself that.