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Fun fact about me: I spent my 14th birthday in Dublin, Ireland on a student ambassador trip with 40 other kids from Alabama. I had the opportunity to stay in the home of a family with children that were close to my own age for a few days and familiarize myself with bits and pieces of their culture that you can only experience first hand. While the terrain of Ireland wasn’t as green as I had dreamed it would be, it was stunningly beautiful nonetheless. I will say that many of the people were a bit more fiery in nature than what I was accustomed to, but they were welcoming and gave me memories I’ll never forget!

My favorite memory from my travels to Ireland was dancing to Irish folk music with local teenagers in a barn one evening. We all paired up and danced the night away while a few picked on stringed instruments and sang and chanted to their favorite songs. It was one of the times in my life where I felt most alive – probably because I have such a strong connection to music. In fact, I am almost always listening to music related to the content I’m working on. For this particular post, I’ve had one of my favorite songs on repeat as I type – it instantly takes me right back to that barn where I laughed, sang and danced my heart out! If you’ve never listened to Galway Girl by Steve Earle – give it a listen! (Linked below)

While this recipe isn’t a traditional Irish recipe by any stretch, it’s just a fun little tip of the hat to the Irish culture as St. Patrick’s Day is quickly arriving. Plus, sugar cookies are always fun to make if you have little hands in the house that love to use cookie cutters and sprinkles!

I have a huge basket in my pantry dedicated to just sprinkles. I have more sprinkles than I know what to do with, and I’m always picking up more as they go on clearance after the holidays! (NOW is the time to stock up on Valentine’s Day sprinkles, by the way!) The golden pearls and flakes on the cookies really bring them to life, don’t you think?

Here’s the recipe for the simple sugar cookie batter I used to make these cookies. Once the cookies were cooled, I dipped them in green candy melts and added the sprinkles while the chocolate was still wet. Easy peasy!

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St. Patrick's Day Sugar Cookies

Author: Southern Made Simple

Ingredients

• 1½ sticks unsalted butter or ¾ cups butter - softened
• 1 cup granulated sugar + a little extra for dusting, optional
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 tsp salt
• 2½ cups all purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• Green food coloring
• Green Chocolate Melts I use Wilton brand
• St. Patrick's Day themed sprinkles

Instructions

• In a large bowl, combine butter and sugar until creamy
• Add in eggs, vanilla and food coloring and blend well
• In a separate bowl. combine flour, salt and baking powder
• Blend flour into sugar and butter mixture and beat with mixer until thick dough forms
• Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours
• Once dough is chilled, preheat oven to 350F
• Clean off counter space or use a large cutting board and dust a little flour over surface
• Using a rolling pin, smooth out dough into a thin layer and press the cookie cutter to form shapes
• Alternatively, if the dough appears to be too sticky to spread with a rolling pin, roll small amounts of dough into a ball and dust with sugar. Pat flat in the palm of your hand and set on counter. Use cookie cutter to cut out shape, then transfer to baking sheet.
• On a greased baking pan, bake cookies for exactly 8 minutes
• Remove from oven and transfer to plate to finish cooling
• Melt green chocolate chips in the microwave for 20 seconds at a time, stirring between microwave sessions until chocolate reaches desired consistency
• Using a spoon, spread a small amount of chocolate across the cookie and pour sprinkles on top
• Yields roughly 30-40 cookies, depending on cookie thickness

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Tried this recipe?

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I purposely make the dough for this sugar cookie not as sweet as most other sugar cookie batters, simply because 10 times out of 10, I’m going to be adding some sort of sugary frosting or chocolate and sprinkles on top. No need to overdo it on the sweetness of the batter in my opinion. These little cookies come out perfectly every time!

If you’re looking for a few other St. Patrick’s Day sweets and treats to make, check out these two posts linked below to give you a little inspiration!

St. Patrick’s Day Sugar Wafers

St. Patrick’s Day Snack Crafts for Kids

Do you have an easy snack idea to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day with? If so, send a little luck o’ the Irish my way and share the love! I love to celebrate other cultures, especially when I get to make and eat fun foods while doing it!