Starting the day Irish

Happy St.Patrick's Day! On this day of kissing the Irish, Bailey's and Guiness and all things green, I am baking up some soda bread for a dinner tonight while my beloved heads downtown to march in Montreal's St. Paddy's Day Parade. Hope your day is filled with good friends and fun, and maybe a few libations? But please, no green beer.

 

And if you're looking for a good way to start off the day, why not try some green shamrock biscuits? They're tender, sweet and spiced with nutmeg, and go great with your irish coffee - and they'll take you all of 20 minutes to put on the table. Can't beat that!

Green Shamrock Biscuits
(based on Betty Crocker's Buttons and Bowknots recipe)

2 cups Bisquick

2 tablespoons granulated sugar

1 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/3 cup milk

1 egg

1/4 cup butter, melted

green food coloring

1/2 cup granulated sugar, for rolling doughnuts in

Preheat oven to 400°F. 

In a medium bowl, mix together Bisquick, sugar, nutmeg, cinnamon, milk, and egg until soft dough forms. 

Turn dough out onto a lightly floured counter. Roll dough into a ball and knead five times. Roll 1/2-inch thick and cut with 1-1/2 inch round floured cookie cutter.

 

Place doughnut holes on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet in shamrock shapes. Use trimmings to fashions stems, and press all 4 pieces gently together. (These seams will fuse during baking.) Bake for 8 to 10 minutes, until done and just starting to turn golden brown. 

Mix enough green food coloring into the melted butter to turn it a brilliant green. After baking, brush the surface of each shamrock with melted butter, then sprinkle with sugar. Serve warm. 

Makes about 12 shamrocks.