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45 St. Patrick’s Day Desserts, from Guinness Brownies to Irish Cream Tiramisu

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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 chocolate stout cake, Guinness brownies and a potato candy that has nothing to do with spuds. Here, 45 St. Patrick’s Day desserts that are better than a pot of gold.

The Best Traditional Irish Food to Make This St. Patrick’s Day


st patricks day desserts baileys cookies and cream parfait recipe
Erin McDowell

1. Baileys Cookies and Cream Parfait

  • 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.)

st patricks day desserts potato candy recipe
Photo: Mark Weinberg/Styling: Erin McDowell

2. ‘Potato’ Candy

  • 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.

st patricks day desserts chocolate stout cake recipe
Erin McDowell

3. Chocolate Stout Cake

  • 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.

st patricks day desserts baileys coffee granita recipe
Erin McDowell

4. Baileys Coffee Granita

  • 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.

st patricks day desserts baileys chocolate truffle recipe
Erin McDowell

5. Baileys Chocolate Truffles

  • 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.

st patricks day desserts no churn mint chocolate chip ice cream recipe
Photo: Mark Weinberg/Styling: Erin McDowell

6. No-Churn Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream

  • 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.

st patricks day desserts irish apple cake with whiskey creme anglaise recipe
A Cookie Named Desire

7. Irish Apple Cake with Whiskey Crème Anglaise

  • 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.

st patricks day desserts guinness brownies recipe
Sally's Baking Addiction

8. Guinness Brownies

  • 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.)

st patricks day desserts shortbread cookies recipe
Two Peas & Their Pod

9. Shortbread Cookies

  • 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.

st patricks day desserts spicy chocolate stout cake recipe
Spoon Fork Bacon

10. Spicy Chocolate Stout Cake

  • 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.

st patricks day desserts double dark chocolate marshmallow mint chex bars recipe
What's Gaby Cooking

11. Double Dark Chocolate Marshmallow Mint Chex Bars

  • 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.

st patricks day desserts homemade irish cream recipe
Cupcake Project

12. Homemade Irish Cream

  • 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.

st patricks day desserts guinness floats recipe
Gimme Some Oven

13. Guinness Floats

  • 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.

st patricks day desserts carrot cake doughnuts with cream cheese glaze recipe
Photo: Nico Schinco/Styling: Erin McDowell

14. Carrot Cake Doughnuts with Cream Cheese Glaze

  • 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?

st patricks day desserts irish cream tiramisu recipe
How Sweet Eats

15. Irish Cream Tiramisu

  • 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.

st patricks day desserts snickerdoodle lucky charms cookies recipe
I Am a Food Blog

16. Snickerdoodle Lucky Charms Cookies

  • 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.

st patricks day desserts gluten free matcha cupcakes with matcha frosting recipe
Snixy Kitchen

17. Gluten Free Matcha Cupcakes with Matcha Frosting

  • 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.

st patricks day desserts baileys mint chocolate cream pie recipe
Grandbaby Cakes

18. Baileys Mint Chocolate Cream Pie

  • Time Commitment: 30 minutes
  • Why We Love It: <30 minutes, beginnerf-friendly, crowd-pleaser

It looks super impressive, but the press-in cookie crust and easy pudding filling make it entirely foolproof.

st patricks day desserts guinness sheet cake with candied pecans recipe
So Much Food

19. Guinness Sheet Cake with Candied Pecans

  • Time Commitment: 1 hour
  • Why We Love It: crowd-pleaser, sheet pan recipe

If a Texas sheet cake and a pint of Guinness had a very delicious baby, this would be it. We don’t always agree with nuts in desserts, but these candied pecans are *chef’s kiss.*

st patricks day desserts stout chocolate brownies recipe
Foodie Crush

20. Stout Chocolate Brownies

  • 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.

st patricks day desserts yogurt and olive oil pistachio cake with lemon buttercream recipe
The Modern Proper

21. Yogurt and Olive Oil Pistachio Cake with Lemon Buttercream

  • 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.

st patricks day desserts brown butter braided cinnamon roll cake recipe
Spoon Fork Bacon

22. Brown Butter Braided Cinnamon Roll Cake

  • 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.

st patricks day desserts pistachio cookies recipe
Also the Crumbs Please

23. Pistachio Cookies

  • 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.

st patricks day desserts lucky charms cereal milk confetti cupcakes recipe
How Sweet Eats

24. Lucky Charms Cereal Milk Confetti Cupcakes

  • 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.

st patricks day desserts miniature banoffee cobblers recipe
Photo: Nico Schinco/Styling: Erin McDowell

25. Miniature Banoffee Cobblers

  • Time Commitment: 1 hour, 45 minutes
  • Why We Love It: <10 ingredients, crowd-pleaser

This dessert is *technically* English, 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.

st patricks day desserts irish apple cake doughnuts with whiskey glaze recipe
The Modern Proper

26. Irish Apple Cake Doughnuts with Whiskey Glaze

  • 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.

st patricks day desserts green velvet doughnuts recipe
Upstate Ramblings

27. Green Velvet Doughnuts

  • 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.

st patricks day desserts banoffee pie with honeycomb recipe
Lomelino's Pies

28. Banoffee Pie with Honeycomb

  • 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.

st patricks day desserts guinness chocolate glazed doughnut holes recipe
Sweet Peas and Saffron

29. Guinness Chocolate Glazed Doughnut Holes

  • Time Commitment: 25 minutes
  • Why We Love It: crowd-pleaser, beginner-friendly

Hot tip: You can make baked-not-fried doughnut holes if you have a muffin tin on hand.

st patricks day desserts baileys irish cream cake recipe
Noble Pig

30. Baileys Irish Cream Cake

  • 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.

st patricks day desserts homemade shamrock shakes recipe
The Recipe Critic

31. Homemade Shamrock Shakes

  • 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.

st patricks day desserts lucky charms marshmallow treats recipe
Show Me the Yummy

32. Lucky Charms Marshmallow Treats

  • 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.

st patricks day desserts no bake irish cream cheesecake recipe
A Classic Twist

33. No-Bake Irish Cream Cheesecake

  • 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.

st patricks day desserts beer truffles with crushed pretzels recipe
A Cookie Named Desire

34. Beer Truffles with Crushed Pretzels

  • 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) to stick with the theme.

st patricks day desserts boozy lucky charms cereal milkshakes with marshmallow frosting recipe
How Sweet Eats

35. Boozy Lucky Charms Cereal Milkshakes with Marshmallow Frosting

  • 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.

st patricks day desserts pistachio drop cookies recipe
Sally's Baking Addiction

36. Pistachio Drop Cookies

  • 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.

st patricks day desserts one bowl eight ingredient irish coffee fudge brownies recipe
Half Baked Harvest

37. One-Bowl, 8-Ingredient Irish Coffee Fudge Brownies

  • 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?

st patricks day desserts chocolate stout macaroons recipe
A Cookie Named Desire

38. Chocolate Stout Macaroons

  • 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.

st patricks day desserts pistachio shortbread cookies recipe
Saving Room for Dessert

39. Pistachio Shortbread Cookies

  • 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.

st patricks day desserts peanut butter chocolate stout cake recipe
Broma Bakery

40. Peanut Butter Chocolate Stout Cake

  • 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 this St. Patrick’s Day. After all, what are holidays for if not for eating?

st patricks day desserts rainbow waffle cake recipe
Photo: Liz Andrew/Styling: Erin McDowell

41. Rainbow Waffle Cake

  • 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.

st patricks day desserts frozen irish cream cappuccinos recipe
How Sweet Eats

42. Frozen Irish Cream Cappuccinos

  • 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.

43. Vanilla Bean St. Patrick’s Day Cookies

  • 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

  • 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

  • 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 for even more boozy flavor, it’s also in the ganache.

Katherine Gillen is PureWow’s senior food editor. She’s a writer, recipe developer and food stylist with a degree in culinary arts and professional experience in New York City restaurants. She used to sling sugary desserts in a pastry kitchen, but now she’s an avid home cook and fanatic baker.

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