Pot of Gold Cookies and Cake Make Decorative Centerpiece for St. Patrick's Day Party Table

We love celebrating St. Patrick's Day because it's the first holiday of spring! And in Wisconsin, spring is definitely worthy of grand celebration! St. Patrick's Day and the Irish lore of "the little people" give the kids and me lots of magical themes for creative cooking. We also have a large, cast-iron cooking pot that invites play. This year we're testing out table centerpieces for our St. Patrick's Day party by creating a pot of gold cake and cookies.    

Our edible centerpiece was super-easy to make and looks fun, but the very best part is the cookies. I got this Scotch scone recipe from Mrs. Sweeney. I don't know why they're called Scotch scones; they don't look like scones and there's no scotch in them. But Mrs. Sweeney isn't Irish either, - her husband is the Chicago Irishman. But some of my very best Irish recipes have come from Mrs. Sweeney. It's Mrs. Sweeney's corned beef recipe that I make every St. Patrick''s Day. It's the very best! But keep reading for her Scotch scone cookie recipe.

Mrs. Sweeney's Scotch Scones

• 3 Tablespoons light brown sugar
• 1 cup butter
• 2 cups sifted, all-purpose flour
• Confectioner's sugar

"Place brown sugar in a 1 cup measuring cup and tap down. Pour in the confectioner's sugar until the sugars together measure 1 cup. Cream butter and add sugars gradually. Add flour, mix well, - maybe with hands. Form into 3 rolls (or one large one). Refrigerate over night.

Slice rolls. Place on un-greased cookie sheet. Bake at 375 degrees for 10-12 minutes."

These cookies are Mrs. Sweeney's favorite. She makes batches and batches of different cookies at Christmas and always tries new cookie recipes. And it's these Scotch scones that top her favorite's list every year. You know they're real winners!

They need no frosting, but for our pot of gold cake, my daughter put gold frosting-gel on them so they would sparkle. The gold gel makes a good effect, but be sure and leave some cookies unfrosted because they taste better that way.

As for creating the pot of gold cake, that's easy if you have the right pot. I greased our cast iron pot with butter, then mixed up lemon cake - Betty Crocker from a box. I poured all of the batter into the pot and baked it for 50 minutes. The cast iron did a marvelous job of baking the cake evenly. Afterward, we put the decorated cookies on top to look like pieces of gold. All in all, our pot of gold, St. Patrick's Day decorative centerpiece was easy, fun, and tasty.

But if you don't feel like baking, you can always decorate your table with a Wisconsin baker's St. Patrick's Day cookies:   

Comments

[oil paintings]

Spot on. I like the feedback you have gave, giving it some thought, I will bookmark this page.

[Gold Cookies]

St Patrick's stuff looks lovely.. Would love to try these..
https://www.yousendit.com/transfer.php?action=batch_download&send_id=817789614&email=7cff47bb7cdcb76fbfa15e66c81a1961

[Cristie]

Hi Ruth, Thanks for stopping by. Last year you told me you make colcannon for St. Paddy's Day. I just found a Wisconsin recipe for it. I'm going to make it despite my kids' fear of cabbage.

[Ruth E]

I really need to plan some St Paddy's stuff - love all you've done here!

[Amanda and Linda]

Thanks for stopping to look, Susie. I consider this first day of March the unofficial first day of a Wisconsin spring. I'll be baking more St. Patrick's day treats to celebrate! If anyone has tricks for making St. Patrick's day decorations out of food, I'm game to learn them. Leave me a link.

[Susie's Homemade]

What a cute idea!!