St. Patty's

Happy St. Patty's. I wanted to add a bit of the Irish to my dinner plans tonight (salads, whoa) so I did a little bit of research on Irish soda bread. Turns out that this is just a very basic quick bread (i.e. non yeast) that the Irish used as their daily bread, but did not require yeast OR an oven because most of them had neither. Rather, it uses baking soda for leavening and sour milk to help with the rise since it lacks yeast. 


Apparently, this dough used to be placed in a large dutch oven and cooked over coals since ovens were a luxury. Further, it is so simple to make because "luxury" ingredients such as butter and eggs were scarce as well.

I had never made Irish soda bread, but I think it was  literally the easiest bread I have ever made and it was so delicious. Bravo Ireland. Of course I had to serve my bread with some green beer, which I am convinced is an American tradition, but fun nonetheless. Lastly, how about some sugar cookies masquerading as good luck clovers? Yes, please. 

Irish Soda Bread

1 cup milk

2 tablespoons distilled white vinegar

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 T white sugar

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 T caraway seeds

Stir the milk and vinegar together, and allow to stand until curdled, about 10 minutes.

Preheat oven to 400 deg F. Grease a cast iron skillet, if you have one. Otherwise a small baking sheet will work. 

In a medium bowl, mix together the flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt. Stir in the caraway seeds. Gradually stir the soured milk into the flour mixture until the dough just comes together, then turn the dough out onto a well-floured surface. Knead a few times, and form into a round shape. 

Place the dough down in the cast iron skillet. Using a knife, cut an X shape into the top of the dough to help the bread keep its round shape. Sprinkle lightly with flour and a few caraway seeds. 

Bake until golden brown, about 40-45 minutes.

Now, onto the cookies. Let me preface this by saying that my husband and I like a drier, more crunchy sugar cookie, not a buttery soft one. So, I have cut the butter in half (yes in half), so if you like buttery sugar cookies, by all means use 2 sticks of butter!

Shamrock Sugar Cookies

1/2 cup butter, softened

1 cup sugar

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

In a mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar. Add egg and vanilla; mix well. Combine flour, baking powder and baking soda; gradually add to the creamed mixture. Chill dough for about 15-20 minutes in the refrigerator. 

Roll dough out on a lightly floured service and use cookie cutters to make shapes as desired. 

Place on greased baking sheet. Bake at 350 deg F for 8-10 minutes. Cool completely before icing.

I used royal icing, which is just a ratio of confectioners sugar and water (some people use milk, but I prefer water). I used about 1/2 cup sugar to about 1 T (cold) water. Drizzle the prepared icing over each cookie, spread it out with a knife or the back of a spoon and garnish with sprinkles.  You can also pipe the icing around the perimeter, as I did on a few.