St Patrick's Day Cookies!

I'm not Irish. I'm Mexican and German, quite a combination. However, I really like St. Patrick's Day and I like playing it up. When I was younger it was more about the green beer, and now with kids it's more about the leprechaun traps, but it's all fun. This year Laylah has had an especially busy Irish season. She's made leprechaun traps at school where they have their own leprechaun, Jamie, who makes all sorts of mischief but never gets caught. She had a St. Patrick's Day party at school and was invited to another at a friend's house. We've gone on leprechaun hunting walks, and read books about how to catch one. We're making our own traps to place in every room of the house, just in case, so that no matter where that sneaky leprechaun goes he'll be sure to be caught somewhere. She painted shamrocks for the windows, walls and doors. We're having shamrock shaped french toast for breakfast with green eggs baked inside shamrock shaped green pepper slices. We're going to watch "Darby O'Gill and the Little People" for the first time. I highly recommend this old Disney movie; a pre-Bond Shaun Connery ain't too bad on the eyes either. All is in readiness. Today we added the last touch for our numerous traps. Leprechaun Bait. Minty green little morsels of shortbread just perfect to lure a leprechaun into our clutches. I came up with the idea from a recipe I found on Pinterest, but I added my own spin. They are quite tasty too, if someone larger than a leprechaun had to, say, go around to all the traps in the middle of the night taking said bait and eating it herself while leaving a leprechaun sized mess behind. I don't know if they taste good with green beer, but the Pear Vodka and Midori martinis we're making tomorrow night might be the perfect bonus. Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Leprechaun Bait

1 cup butter
2 cups flour
2/3 cup sugar
1/2 tsp mint extract
two drops green food coloring
1/3 cup green sugar

Pre-heat oven to 325 degrees. Mix butter and sugar (both green and white) until creamy then add the mint extract and green food coloring. Add flour a little at a time until all incorporated. The dough is a little dry so you'll have to kneed it a little to get it into a nice smooth dough. Lay the green dough on a parchment lined cookies sheet and roll out into a rectangle-ish shape approximately 3/4 inch thick.

Take a knife or pizza cutter and cut into little squares about 1/2 inch by 1/2 inch, small enough for a leprechaun to handle easily.

Put the whole thing in the oven and bake for 30 minutes. It will get slightly golden around the edges. After they are done take the same knife and go back over the lines of the squares to separate the individual cookies. Let cool a few more minutes then place strategically in leprechaun traps, possibly in little sealed baggies so the ants won't be tempted but the leprechauns can still get to them. I'm hoping they work. I want to re-do the master bath and a nice big pot of gold would do nicely.

Sick Day Cookies

When you have small children, especially if any of them spend any amount of time outside of the house, at playgrounds, school, play dates, the store, the mall, daycare, etc., it is inevitable that they will bring home some kind of virus that will get everyone sick, no matter how many times you wash their hands or slather them in anti-bacterial stuff. They put things in their mouths, they lick things, they hug and kiss each other, they wipe things. There really is no avoiding it. In our house this year we spent the time between Halloween and New Years taking turns being sick with some form of cold, ear infection, or flu. I tried everything to make it stop. In January it seemed to calm down a little and we've only been slightly sick once since then. Knocking on wood as I type. During this last episode (because I was desperate not to have another three months of stuffy noses, coughs, and sore throats) I decided I would make a treat that put everything in it that could help prevent a cold, and also treat one if it's already invaded your home. All the stuff my daughter refuses to take when she's sick. Echinacea, flax seeds, honey, wheat germ, blueberries, prunes, ginger, elderberry syrup. If I could have figured out a way to squeeze garlic and lemon juice in there I would have. Hence, Sick Day cookies were invented. And, I'm proud to report that they not only taste great, but this last cold lasted only two days, the adults did not catch it, and we have not been sick again since. Again, knocking on wood. Connor loved them too. These, along with chicken soup will be my new go-to remedy when we have sick people. Now if only I could figure out how to get someone to make them for me when I'm sick, too.

Sick Day Cookies

1 cup butter
2 cups flour
1/2 cup brown sugar
one packet Celestial Seasonings (or other brand) Echinacea tea
1/4 cup ground flax reads
1/4 cup wheat germ
2 tblsp Elderberry syrup
Choice of blubbery preserves, prune "amazins", dried cranberries, or honey for garnish

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Mix butter and sugar until creamy. Tear open tea packet and add dry leaves to the mix. Add Elderberry syrup. Add flour in increments. When it's all mixed in start adding the flax and wheat germ. This will form a nice solid smooth dough.

Place walnut sized balls about two inches apart on a parchment lined baking sheet.

Here's the fun part. Depending on your preference you can just flatten them with a criss cross fork pattern (like peanut butter cookies) and leave them plain, Laylah's preference. Or you can make them into thumb print cookies and add a dollop of blueberry preserves. Or you can make thumbprints and fill them with prune pieces, dried cranberries or cherries, whatever strikes you or it handy.


Bake for about ten minutes or until slightly golden around the edges. Let cool, they will be soft when they first come out but harden after cooling. I like to put raw honey on them and eat them that way. Addicting!!! Plus honey is so uber good for colds it's ridiculous. They were a big hit at our house and I'd like to think they helped us get over our colds faster. More experimenting is probably in order, but I hope I won't have to make them again too soon!