A St. Patrick’s Day Doll and an Easy Dessert

On this St. Patrick’s Day morning, my daughter had my doll table all ready for the celebration.  The doll was decked out in a hand crocheted shawl and tam o’shanter and there was a new embroidered cover for the table.  The picture of the cover doesn’t do it justice – it only measures 2-½ x 5 inches, so you can imagine how tiny the stitches are.

We’re having our traditional Reuben sandwiches for lunch (corned beef and cabbage in a more palatable form for us) and a quick and easy dessert with a little green to honor the day.  This is a deliciously rich dessert.

ST. PADDY PISTACHIO DESSERT

• Servings: 6 to 8
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Crust:
* 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
* 1/4 cup butter, cut in small cubes
* 1/2 cup toasted pecans, chopped

Filling:
* 4 oz. cream cheese, softened
* 1/2 cup granulated sugar
* 8 oz. carton of Cool Whip whipped topping, thawed, divided
* One small package of instant white chocolate pudding (four ½ cup svgs)
* One small package of instant pistachio pudding (four 1/2-cup svgs.)
* 1-1/2 cups milk, divided
* Green sugar for sprinkling on top

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F

To Make the Crust:

Mix the flour, butter and pecans well.  Press mixture in a 9×9 baking pan.  Bake @ 350 degrees F for 15 minutes until lightly brown.  Cool

To Make Filling and Assemble:

Layer 1: Beat cream cheese and sugar until fluffy.  Fold in 4 ounces (half of an 8-oz. carton) of whipped topping.  Spread over cooled crust.

Layer 2: Whisk one package of white chocolate pudding and 3/4 cup of milk until thickened.  Spread over Layer 1.

Layer 3: Whisk one package of pistachio pudding and 3/4 cup of milk until thickened.  Spread over Layer 2.

Layer 4: Spread remaining 4 oz. of whipped topping over Layer 3.

Sprinkle top with green sugar – maybe you’ll be more creative than I was in sprinkling the sugar.

Refrigerate for at least one hour before serving.

6 to 8 servings 

A Bit of the Irish in my March Kitchen

I have a lot of green in my kitchen any time because I collect Jadeite and Depression Green items.  Some things I bring out especially for St. Patrick’s Day.

Some pieces were bought on a trip to Ireland …

Many items were gifts….

Most of the pieces are handmade ….

I even have special potholders for the occasion…

I have a very thin line of Irish in my ancestry, but I raised four very Irish children, so St. Patrick’s Day is a major holiday in this house.

Irish Apple Scone Cake

I first saw this recipe on Joy of Baking last summer and bookmarked it as a nice St. Patrick’s Day breakfast item.  The original recipe is here.  The only changes I made were to use thinly sliced apples and to omit an egg used to brush the top of the cake.  Please note that this is a quick bread, not a cake.  It is best when served warm from the oven.  Leftovers can be reheated in the oven.

APPLE SCONE CAKE

• Servings: Makes one 9-inch cake
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• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1/2 cup cold butter, cut into small cubes
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 tsp. vanilla

Filling:

• 1 lb. Granny Smith apples (about 3-1/2 cups of peeled, thinly sliced apples
• 3 Tblsp. granulated sugar
• 1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon

Topping:

• Granulated sugar for sprinkling

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F

Butter a 9″ pie pan

From the 1/2 cup of milk, remove 1 Tblsp. for brushing cake.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt.  Blend the butter into the flour mixture until mixture looks like coarse crumbs.

In a separate small bowl, whisk together the egg, the remaining milk and the vanilla.  Add to the flour mixture, stirring with a fork just until the dough comes together.  Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface and knead gently four or five times and then divide dough in half.  Pat one half of the dough onto the bottom and up the sides of the pie pan.

In a separate bowl, toss together the apple slices, sugar and cinnamon.  Spread the apples evenly over the bottom  of the dough in the pie pan.

Roll the remaining dough into a 9″ circle on a lightly floured surface and gently place the dough over the apples.  Seal the edges of the top and bottom crusts with your fingers.

Brush the top of the dough with the reserved 1 Tblsp. of milk and sprinkle with granulated sugar.  Cut a slit in the center of the dough to allow the steam to escape.

Bake in a preheated 350 degree F oven for 45 minutes until pastry is nicely browned and a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.

Place the cake, still in the pan, on a wire rack to cool slightly.  Serve warm – clotted cream would be nice with this. 

When my daughter and I were in Ireland in 1995, we visited a Folk Farm where two ladies were demonstrating making a huge apple dish and now I wonder if it might have been a large version of the Apple Scone Cake.