Macadamia Irish Cream Cookies

I wanted to do something in the Irish spirit for St. Patrick’s Day, but I didn’t want to go over the top with green food coloring and the like. I had already baked with Guinness, so I didn’t want to go that direction. I thought something with Irish Cream liqueur would be good, and I found this recipe on the Land O Lakes website. It also used macadamia nuts, which I’ve been trying to use up before they get stale. Perfect!

This recipe said it makes 4 dozen cookies, but I thought that might not be accurate so I did one and a half times the recipe and ended up with 4 dozen cookies. These cookies are unusual in that they contain a lot of liquid, in the form of half and half and Irish Cream liqueur. This makes for very fluffy, sticky dough. They bake up fairly flat, with bumps for the macadamia nuts. I think these would also be good with white chocolate chips.

The Irish Cream flavor is fairly strong in these cookies, and if you don’t know what they contain, it’s an unexpected flavor. If you wanted to leave out the liquor but still get the Irish Cream flavor, you could use Irish Cream coffee syrup (or so the original recipe says).These wouldn’t be a good cookie for kids, but they are a fine way to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day.

1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/4 cup half and half
1/4 cup Irish Cream liqueur
1/4 teaspoon rum extract
1 1/2 cups flour
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/8 teaspoon salt
3 ounces macadamia nuts, coarsely chopped

1/2 cup powdered sugar
2 tablespoons Irish Cream liqueur

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Line two baking sheets with silicone baking mats.

In a large mixer bowl, combine brown sugar and butter. Beat at medium speed until creamy. Add half & half, 1/4 cup Irish Cream liqueur and rum extract; beat until well mixed. The mixture may look curdled, don’t worry, it will come together. Reduce speed to low; add flour, baking soda and salt. Continue beating until well mixed. Stir in nuts.

Drop dough by rounded teaspoonfuls, 2 inches apart, onto prepared baking sheets. Bake for 10-12 minutes, until lightly browned. Cool for 10 minutes on the baking sheet before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

To make the glaze, combine the powdered sugar and 2 tablespoons Irish Cream liqueur in small bowl until smooth. Drizzle over cooled cookies.

Recipe from Land O Lakes