Happy Half St. Patrick’s Day!

If you are looking for ideas on how to celebrate, I have a few: wear blue and yellow, tell everyone to hug you because you’re half Irish, and make these Emerald Isle-inspired shortcakes: chocolate Guinness® Draught Beer shortcakes, filled with Baileys® Irish Cream whipped cream and strawberries, and topped with a decadent chocolate Jameson® Irish Whiskey sauce. 

Irish Car Bomb Strawberry Shortcakes (serves 8)

Chocolate Guinness Shortcakes (adapted from Bisquick)

Ingredients

• 2 1/4c Bisquick®
• 2/3c Guinness
• 1/4c cocoa
• 1/4c sugar
• 1/2c milk-chocolate coated toffee bits (Necessary!)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 450°F. Prep baking sheets with parchment.
2. In medium bowl, stir Bisquick mix, beer, cocoa, sugar, and toffee bits until soft dough forms.
3. Drop spoonfuls of dough onto cookie sheets so that you have 8 shortcakes that are the same size.
4. Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until firm around edges.

Baileys Whipped Cream

Ingredients

• 1cup heavy whipping cream
• 1/4c Baileys
• 2T sugar

Directions

1. Chill bowl and beaters before whipping cream.
2. Pour heavy cream, sugar, and 2T of Baileys into chilled bowl.
3. Beat on medium for 1 minute until frothy, then on high 2 to 3 minutes until soft peaks form.
4. Fold in the remaining Baileys.

Chocolate Jameson Whiskey Sauce (adapted from Serious Eats)

Ingredients

• 5oz dark chocolate chips
• 1/2c milk
• 2T sugar
• 3T heavy cream
• 2-3T Jameson Whiskey

Directions

1. In a medium saucepan, whisk together milk and sugar.
2. Bring milk to a steady simmer, stirring until sugar has dissolved.
3. Pour in chocolate chips and let sit for 3 minutes. Whisk until smooth.
4. Whisk in cream. Let mixture come to room temperature, then mix in whiskey.
5. Chill until ready to serve, but feel free to heat it up in the microwave if you want to serve it hot.

Strawberries (from my wonderful America’s Test Kitchen Family Cookbook)

Ingredients

• 2 quarts of strawberries
• 6T sugar

Directions

1. Hull and slice up the strawberries and smash about 1/3 of them with a pastry cutter.
2. Mix smashed strawberries, sliced strawberries, and sugar together and let them hang out with each other for 30 minutes before serving.

When the shortcakes are cool enough, slice them in half, throw some of that spiked whipped cream on them, add some strawberries, put the top half back on, and drizzle it with some of that tasty, tasty whiskey sauce. Separately, the shortcake, whipped cream, and sauce might seem heavy and overwhelming, but put together (especially with the lightness of the strawberries) they create a dessert that is balanced, layered, and unbelievably good.

Slàinte!