St Patrick’s Day is just around the corner and with that comes some tasty treats from the kitchens of the Distinctive Inns of New England (DINE). In keeping with our acronym, the innkeepers at DINE love to offer up special treats from their kitchens. This time around, to celebrate this green and Bailey’s-filled holiday, we’ve made some slight adaptions to innkeepers’ offerings from DINE country. While we wish you could spend St Patrick’s Day at any of the nine DINE inns, if that’s not in the cards, here are a few ideas for special treats you can serve up for the holiday. We hope to see you soon for your spring flings and romantic getaways in New England.
Three special recipes adapted for St. Patrick’s Day
Lime Meltaways Cookies from Captains House Inn
Oven Temperature: 350 degrees F
Yield: 10 Dozen (can be halved for smaller batches)
Ingredients:
¾ Cup Unsalted Butter, room temperature
1 Cup Confectioners’ sugar
4 Tbsp Freshly Squeezed Lime Juice, plus grated zest of 2 limes
A few drops of green food color
1 Tbsp Pure Vanilla Extract
2 Cups All Purpose Flour
2 Tbsp Cornstarch
¼ tsp Salt
Method:
In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, cream the butter and 1/3 cup sugar until fluffy.
Add the lime juice, zest, and vanilla; beat until fluffy. To adapt for St Patrick’s Day, add two or three drops of green food color here.
In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cornstarch, and salt. Add the butter mixture, and beat on low speed until combined.
Between two 8 by 12 inch pieces of parchment paper, roll dough into two 1 ¼ inch diameter logs. Chill at least 1 hour.
Heat oven to 350F Line two baking sheets with parchment. Place remaining sugar in resalable plastic bag. Remove parchment from logs; slice into 1/8 inch thick rounds. Place rounds on sheets, spaced about 1 inch apart.
Bake until barely golden, about 15 minutes. Transfer cookies to a wire rack cool slightly 8 to 10 minutes. While still warm, place cookies in sugar filled bags, toss to coat. Bake or freeze remaining dough. Store in an airtight container up to two weeks.
Baked Sugar Donuts from Harbor Light Inn
Ingredients:
Baking spray
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder.
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 extra-large egg, lightly beaten
1 1/4 cups whole milk
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
For the topping:
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Green food color
Method:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray 2 doughnut pans well.
Into a large bowl, sift together the flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt. In a small bowl, whisk together the egg, milk, melted butter, and vanilla. Stir the wet mixture into the dry ingredients until just combined.
Spoon the batter into the baking pans, filling each one a little more than three-quarters full. Bake for 17 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean. Allow to cool for 5 minutes, then tap the doughnuts out onto a sheet pan.
For the topping, melt the 8 tablespoons of butter in an 8-inch sauté pan.
To adapt for St Paddy’s Day, add a drop or two of green food color to the sugar then combine the sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl. Dip each doughnut first in the butter and then in the cinnamon sugar, either on one side or both sides.
Enjoy!
Chocolate Hazelnut Truffles from Rabbit Hill Inn
Ingredients:
1-cup heavy cream
2 Tbls Hazelnut paste or Nutella
8 oz semi-sweet chocolate, chopped
2 Tbls Sugar
12 oz of semi-sweet chocolate
½ cup of Bailey’s Irish Cream (more to taste)
Method:
Bring heavy cream and sugar to a boil.
Remove from heat and stir in 8 oz of chocolate and hazelnut paste.
Chill until the mixture is workable.
Form into ball and chill again.
While the chocolate balls are chilling, melt 12 oz of chocolate in a double boiler. Cool by stirring to 90°F. To adapt for St. Patrick’s Day, slowly stir in a ½ cup of Bailey’s Irish Cream (or more – to taste but not enough to so chocolate is liquidy).
Dip truffles into melted chocolate and Bailey’s mixture and return to refrigerator to set.
If the luck of the Irish is with you, perhaps you’ll be spending St Patrick’s Day at your favorite DINE inn. Don’t forget to book directly when you make plans for your next romantic getaway.
In Vermont: Rabbit Hill Inn in Lower Waterford & Grafton Inn in Grafton
In New Hampshire: Manor on Golden Pond in Holderness & Chesterfield Inn in West Chesterfield
In Connecticut: Inn at Harbor Hill Marina in Niantic
In Massachusetts: Harbor Light Inn in Marblehead, Deerfield Inn in Historic Deerfield and Captain’s House Inn in Chatham on Cape Cod
In Maine: Inn at English Meadows in Kennebunkport.
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