48 St. Patrick’s Day Desserts, from Guinness Brownies to Irish Cream Tiramisu
PureWow Editors select every item that appears on this page,, and the company may earn compensation through affiliate links within the story You can learn more about that process here. Yahoo Inc. may earn commission or revenue on some items through the links below.
Read the original article on Purewow.
Can’t make it to Dublin to celebrate St. Paddy’s Day? No worries: You can still claim the luck of the Irish in your own kitchen. Even after you’ve had your fill of soda bread and corned beef, you’ll want to make room for sweet treats like green doughnuts, chocolate stout cake, Guinness brownies and a potato candy that has nothing to do with spuds. Here, 48 St. Patrick’s Day desserts that are better than a pot of gold.
33 Easy Irish-Inspired Recipes to Try at Home
1. Baileys Cookies and Cream Parfait
Erin McDowell
Time Commitment: 35 minutes
Why We Love It: beginner-friendly, special occasion–worthy
Save the yogurt and fruit parfaits for Easter. These layered desserts are just boozy enough, thanks to a generous splash of Irish cream. (Sorry, kiddos, this one is adults only.)
2. ‘Potato’ Candy
Photo: Mark Weinberg/Styling: Erin McDowell
Time Commitment: 20 minutes
Why We Love It: no cook, crowd-pleaser, kid-friendly
This regional confection is popular in Philadelphia around St. Patrick’s Day. The sweet bites are called potatoes because they look like potatoes—but they taste like a fancy Mounds candy bar coated with cinnamon instead of chocolate.
3. Chocolate Stout Cake
Erin McDowell
Time Commitment: 2 hours, 15 minutes
Why We Love It: crowd-pleaser, special occasion–worthy
Sure, Valentine’s Day gets all the love when it comes to decadent desserts, but let’s not overlook the fact that Guinness and chocolate make a delightful pair. Luck of the Irish, indeed.
4. Baileys Coffee Granita
Erin McDowell
Time Commitment: 3 hours, 20 minutes
Why We Love It: <10 ingredients, beginner-friendly
Essentially an “adult” slushy, we love the idea of serving this frozen treat as an alternative to after-dinner espressos. Even better, it calls for just six ingredients.
5. Baileys Chocolate Truffles
Erin McDowell
Time Commitment: 1 hour, 40 minutes
Why We Love It: <10 ingredients, beginner-friendly
Requiring only five ingredients and two hours of your time, you’ll be set with a gourmet dessert and still have time to binge watch Darby O’Gill and the Little People.
6. No-Churn Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream
Photo: Mark Weinberg/Styling: Erin McDowell
Time Commitment: 5 hours
Why We Love It: beginner-friendly, kid-friendly, gluten free
No one will pinch you if you present them with a bowl of this minty green ice cream. And FYI, if you can make whipped cream, you’re halfway there.
7. Irish Apple Cake with Whiskey Crème Anglaise
A Cookie Named Desire
Time Commitment: 1 hour, 20 minutes
Why We Love It: crowd-pleaser, beginner-friendly
If you’re keen on celebrating St. Patrick’s Day in a more traditional way, this cake has your name on it. It’s a popular dessert served in Irish households, and you can top it with confectioners’ sugar, a creamy whiskey sauce or both.
8. Guinness Brownies
Sally's Baking Addiction
Time Commitment: 3 hours
Why We Love It: crowd-pleaser, beginner-friendly, special occasion–worthy
Before you diss a brownie made with beer, allow us to explain. Guinness stout is commonly paired with chocolate in baking for its deep, coffee-like flavor. (In other words, it doesn’t taste like beer in the slightest.)
9. Shortbread Cookies
Two Peas & Their Pod
Time Commitment: 2 hours, 30 minutes
Why We Love It: beginner-friendly, <10 ingredients, kid-friendly
These crumbly cookies made from sugar, butter and flour were actually invented by the Scottish (and leavened with yeast). Over time, the yeast was swapped for butter—an Irish staple—and that’s how shortbread as we know it today came to be.
10. Spicy Chocolate Stout Cake
Spoon Fork Bacon
Time Commitment: 1 hour, 15 minutes
Why We Love It: crowd-pleaser, special occasion–worthy
We were so entranced by the swoops of peanut butter frosting, we almost forgot there’s a rich, cinnamon-spiked chocolate cake underneath there.
11. Double Dark Chocolate Marshmallow Mint Chex Bars
What's Gaby Cooking
Time Commitment: 10 minutes
Why We Love It: beginner-friendly, kid-friendly, <15 minutes, <10 ingredients
You don’t have to be Irish or a pro baker to whip up this quick, sweet snack. Make a batch for your kids’ lunches, your office party or just to hoard at home.
12. Homemade Irish Cream
Cupcake Project
Time Commitment: 2 hours, 10 minutes
Why We Love It: <10 ingredients, no cook, beginner-friendly
It might only take ten minutes to make your own Irish cream, but once you try the homemade version (made with sweetened condensed milk and heavy cream), you’ll understand why it’s a dessert.
13. Guinness Floats
Gimme Some Oven
Time Commitment: 2 minutes
Why We Love It: beginner-friendly, no cook, <10 ingredients, <15 minutes
Behold the easiest St. Patrick’s Day dessert ever: Just scoop, pour, drizzle and sip. If you're not convinced or you've never had stout, know that it tastes a little like coffee and chocolate combined.
14. Carrot Cake Doughnuts with Cream Cheese Glaze
Photo: Nico Schinco/Styling: Erin McDowell
Time Commitment: 1 hour
Why We Love It: crowd-pleaser, kid-friendly
St. Paddy’s Day means spring is on the way, and nothing says spring like a moist carrot cake doughnut with a tangy cream cheese topping. Plus, what better way to start the day?
15. Irish Cream Tiramisu
How Sweet Eats
Time Commitment: 6 hours, 35 minutes
Why We Love It: make ahead, special occasion–worthy
Swap the usual booze for Irish cream and voilà, a festive dessert. It tastes so good we want to dive in with a spoon, but that’s neither here nor there.
16. Snickerdoodle Lucky Charms Cookies
I Am a Food Blog
Time Commitment: 20 minutes
Why We Love It: <30 minutes, kid-friendly, beginner-friendly
Hearts, stars, horseshoes and the gang are teaming up with chewy, cinnamon-y cookies for the cookie of our childhood dreams. (Psst: Did you know you could buy a bag of *just* the Lucky Charms marshmallows?)
17. Gluten Free Matcha Cupcakes with Matcha Frosting
Snixy Kitchen
Time Commitment: 44 minutes
Why We Love It: gluten free, special occasion–worthy, crowd-pleaser
They’re as green as the rolling hills of Ireland. The cupcakes are sweetened with honey, which tames the bitter notes of the matcha and adds a ton of moisture.
18. Baileys Mint Chocolate Cream Pie
Grandbaby Cakes
Time Commitment: 30 minutes
Why We Love It: <30 minutes, beginner-friendly, crowd-pleaser
It looks super impressive, but the press-in cookie crust and easy pudding filling make it entirely foolproof. No water bath, no problem.
19. Guinness Sheet Cake with Candied Pecans
So Much Food
Time Commitment: 1 hour
Why We Love It: crowd-pleaser, sheet pan recipe
It’s a little bit southern, a little bit Irish and extremely decadent, thanks to a rich combination of dark chocolate and stout beer. The candied pecans are a delicious touch, but you could also swap in green sprinkles for a festive addition.
20. Stout Chocolate Brownies
Foodie Crush
Time Commitment: 2 hours, 10 minutes
Why We Love It: <10 ingredients, crowd-pleaser, beginner-friendly
Psst: You don’t have to use Guinness when the recipe calls for stout. These brownies are made with Murphy’s, but you can use any dark beer.
21. Yogurt and Olive Oil Pistachio Cake with Lemon Buttercream
The Modern Proper
Time Commitment: 1 hour, 20 minutes
Why We Love It: crowd-pleaser, special occasion–worthy
Nothing against green food dye, but there’s something much more appealing about the springy hue of a real pistachio. Greek yogurt in the batter keeps the cake moist…and also makes it suitable for breakfast, no?
22. Brown Butter Braided Cinnamon Roll Cake
Spoon Fork Bacon
Time Commitment: 1 hour, 45 minutes
Why We Love It: crowd-pleaser, kid-friendly, special occasion–worthy
The key to making it holiday-ready (and mouthwateringly good) is to use the best Irish butter you can find. Thank us later. If making the dough is too intimidating, try using store-bought pizza dough instead.
23. Pistachio Cookies
Also the Crumbs Please
Time Commitment: 1 hour, 35 minutes
Why We Love It: crowd-pleaser, beginner-friendly
Kiss us, we just made you a batch of these chewy, gooey, chocolate-studded cookies. Pistachios add a subtle green hue without incorporating food coloring.
24. Lucky Charms Cereal Milk Confetti Cupcakes
How Sweet Eats
Time Commitment: 1 hour, 25 minutes
Why We Love It: crowd-pleaser, special occasion–worthy, kid-friendly
Plan ahead when steeping your cereal milk so the rest of the recipe comes together in a flash. The edible gold leaf is optional, but we like the way it takes things over the top.
25. Miniature Banoffee Cobblers
Photo: Nico Schinco/Styling: Erin McDowell
Time Commitment: 1 hour, 45 minutes
Why We Love It: <10 ingredients, crowd-pleaser
This dessert is technically English in origin, but it’s also popular throughout Ireland. And why not? It checks every texture box: gooey caramel, soft bananas, airy whipped cream and crisp graham cracker crumbles.
26. Irish Apple Cake Doughnuts with Whiskey Glaze
The Modern Proper
Time Commitment: 40 minutes
Why We Love It: beginner-friendly, crowd-pleaser
Traditional Irish dessert, but make it doughnuts because why not? If you don’t already have a doughnut pan, you can find them online.
27. Green Velvet Doughnuts
Upstate Ramblings
Time Commitment: 20 minutes
Why We Love It: kid-friendly, crowd-pleaser, beginner-friendly
And if apples aren’t your thing, maybe green velvet (aka mildly chocolate cake with plenty of green dye) is.
28. Banoffee Pie with Honeycomb
Lomelino's Pies
Time Commitment: 40 minutes
Why We Love It: crowd-pleaser, special occasion–worthy
Here’s another take on banoffee, this time with a crispy, caramel-like honeycomb topping for even more texture. Bananas not ripe enough? Here's how to speed up the process.
29. Guinness Chocolate Glazed Doughnut Holes
Sweet Peas and Saffron
Time Commitment: 25 minutes
Why We Love It: crowd-pleaser, beginner-friendly
Hot tip: Anyone can make baked-not-fried doughnut holes if they have a mini muffin tin on hand. Glaze them while they're still hot to let some of the sugar sink in.
30. Baileys Irish Cream Cake
Noble Pig
Time Commitment: 1 hour, 30 minutes
Why We Love It: crowd-pleaser, special occasion–worthy
This pretty cake contains Irish cream in both the batter and the glaze for a double-dose of flavor. (Your guests don't need to know that it starts with a boxed yellow cake mix.)
31. Homemade Shamrock Shakes
The Recipe Critic
Time Commitment: 5 minutes
Why We Love It: <10 ingredients, no cook, kid-friendly
Those golden arches don’t know what’s coming. You can make your shake plain or add cookie crumbles and chocolate syrup for a major upgrade.
32. Lucky Charms Marshmallow Treats
Show Me the Yummy
Time Commitment: 12 minutes
Why We Love It: <15 minutes, kid-friendly, crowd-pleaser, beginner-friendly
Sometimes making a festive snack is as easy as swapping in marshmallow cereal in an already-simple recipe. Pretty ingenious, if you ask us.
33. No-Bake Irish Cream Cheesecake
A Classic Twist
Time Commitment: 3 hours, 30 minutes
Why We Love It: no cook, crowd-pleaser, special occasion–worthy
You had us at no-bake. This creamy cake doesn’t require a fussy water bath or an oven, and while the texture is lighter than a classic New York cheesecake, it’s no less delicious.
34. Beer Truffles with Crushed Pretzels
A Cookie Named Desire
Time Commitment: 40 minutes
Why We Love It: <10 ingredients, crowd-pleaser
You already know what we’re going to say: Use a stout-style beer (preferably an Irish one, like Guinness or Murphy's) to stick with the theme.
35. Boozy Lucky Charms Cereal Milkshakes with Marshmallow Frosting
How Sweet Eats
Time Commitment: 30 minutes
Why We Love It: <30 minutes, <10 ingredients, beginner-friendly
Sip responsibly: These cute shakes are made with marshmallow vodka for a kick. Of course, if you’re making them for the kids you can just leave the alcohol out.
36. Pistachio Drop Cookies
Sally's Baking Addiction
Time Commitment: 1 hour
Why We Love It: crowd-pleaser, beginner-friendly
We’re a little bit obsessed with this simple recipe. The cookies come together in one bowl and call for just six ingredients, and they taste like heaven thanks to a brown butter icing.
37. One-Bowl, 8-Ingredient Irish Coffee Fudge Brownies
Half Baked Harvest
Time Commitment: 35 minutes
Why We Love It: beginner-friendly, crowd-pleaser
There’s coffee. There’s Baileys. There are pools of melted chocolate. What more could you need? (Maybe a scoop or two of vanilla ice cream—just a suggestion.)
38. Chocolate Stout Macaroons
A Cookie Named Desire
Time Commitment: 30 minutes
Why We Love It: <30 minutes, <10 ingredients
Coconut and stout sounds unusual on paper, but one bite of these sweet, chewy, chocolatey cookies and the combination makes total sense.
39. Pistachio Shortbread Cookies
Saving Room for Dessert
Time Commitment: 33 minutes
Why We Love It: crowd-pleaser, beginner-friendly
It’s not easy being green…unless you’re a buttery, nutty, obsession-worthy shortbread cookie. To make these ahead, roll the dough into a log and stash it in the freezer until you're ready to slice and bake.
40. Peanut Butter Chocolate Stout Cake
Broma Bakery
Time Commitment: 1 hour
Why We Love It: special occasion–worthy, crowd-pleaser
Pull out all the stops and make a towering, decadent chocolate cake spiked with beer this St. Patrick’s Day. After all, what are holidays for if not for eating and drinking?
41. Rainbow Waffle Cake
Photo: Liz Andrew/Styling: Erin McDowell
Time Commitment: 10 minutes
Why We Love It: <15 minutes, crowd-pleaser, kid-friendly
We can’t promise a pot of gold at the end of this particular rainbow, but we can promise you’ll be making waffle cakes for every occasion here on out.
42. Frozen Irish Cream Cappuccinos
How Sweet Eats
Time Commitment: 15 minutes
Why We Love It: <15 minutes, <10 ingredients, gluten free
Top of the morning? On second thought, we’ll save these for dessert. Luckily, you don’t need an espresso machine to make these indulgent drinks, just a blender.
43. Vanilla Bean St. Patrick’s Day Cookies
Sally's Baking Addiction
Time Commitment: 3 hours
Why We Love It: crowd-pleaser, kid-friendly
You simply can’t go wrong with a classic (and festive) sugar cookie. These are flavored with vanilla extract and vanilla bean seeds, so they’re lightyears ahead of any store-bought biscuits.
44. The Luckiest Rice Cereal Treats
How Sweet Eats
Time Commitment: 1 hour, 25 minutes
Why We Love It: kid-friendly, crowd-pleaser, beginner-friendly, <10 ingredients
By using the classic puffed rice cereal, these bars maintain the crisp texture of the original (with plenty of festive flair from the Lucky Charms ’mallows). Take your treats OTT by arranging individual marshmallows in a layer on top.
45. Chocolate Stout Bundt Cake
A Cookie Named Desire
Time Commitment: 1 hour, 35 minutes
Why We Love It: crowd-pleaser, special occasion–worthy
The stout adds depth and moisture to the deeply chocolate cake, so it’s a no-brainer addition. But if you’re looking for even more boozy flavor, it’s also in the ganache.
46. 3-Ingredient Lucky Charms Bark
Sally's Baking Recipes
Time Commitment: 1 hour
Why We Love It: <10 ingredients, beginner-friendly, kid-friendly
You only need white chocolate, cereal marshmallows and lots of rainbow sprinkles to make a magical treat that sweet tooths will adore. The swirls of pink are optional, but easily achieved with a drop of red food coloring. (Oh, and if this is too sweet for your tastes, try swapping in melted dark chocolate instead.)
47. Baileys Irish Cream Mug Brownie
How Sweet Eats
Time Commitment: 6 minutes
Why We Love It: <15 minutes, beginner-friendly
St. Patrick's Day dessert for one? It's a thing, especially when you can forgo making an entire batch of brownies and instead mix one up that you don't have to share. Top it with vanilla ice cream while it's still hot and dig in.
48. Salted Pistachio Shortbread
Chris Bernabeo/Sweet Enough
Time Commitment: 30 minutes
Why We Love It: crowd-pleaser, <30 minutes, <10 ingredients
One of the reasons we adore shortbread? It requires very few ingredients (here, six, to be precise) and can be customized to your heart’s desire. This version features pistachios and flaky salt for an almost savory twist that also happens to be green.
Don’t Feel Like Baking? Order These Treats Instead
PieCaken The St. PatCaken
https://goldbelly.pxf.io/c/408233/1032087/13451?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.goldbelly.com%2Frestaurants%2Fthe-piecaken-shop%2Fthe-st-patcaken&subId1=st_patricks_day_desserts
100
Buy it now
Bread and Roses Bakery St. Patrick's Day Shamrock Cookie Platter
https://goldbelly.pxf.io/c/408233/1032087/13451?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.goldbelly.com%2Frestaurants%2Fbread-and-roses-bakery%2Fst-patricks-day-shamrock-sugar-cookie-platter&subId1=st_patricks_day_desserts
70
Buy it now
The Nuns of New Skete Mint Chocolate Cheesecake
https://goldbelly.pxf.io/c/408233/1032087/13451?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.goldbelly.com%2Frestaurants%2Fnew-skete-monastery%2Fmint-chocolate-cheesecake-9&subId1=st_patricks_day_desserts
70
Buy it now
