Is it a Shamrock or is it a Clover? Is there a difference? The Robin Hill School students discover something unexpected and set out to learn the truth about the St. Patrick’s Day symbol! There are so many great St. Patrick’s Day books. Here are just a few.

Even if you aren’t Irish, you can still join in on the holiday fun!

Remember to wear green
Surprise your family with some unexpected green fun

With a little bit of green food coloring you can transform an everyday food into a St. Patrick’s Day surprise. Try adding some green food coloring to your milk in the morning or to your mashed potatoes at dinner.
For those of you with a sweet tooth, St. Patrick’s Day is a great excuse to bake festive treats. All it takes is a basic cookie recipe, a shamrock cookie cutter, green frosting and sprinkles.

Basic Cookie Recipe

Ingredients:

2 ½ cups of flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. cream of tartar
½ tsp. salt
2 sticks of butter softened
1 ½ cups confectioners’ sugar
1 large egg
1 ½ tsp. vanilla

Whisk together flour, baking soda, cream of tartar and salt in a bowl and set aside

In a large bowl, beat together butter and confectioner’s sugar with an electric mixer at med-high speed until fluffy

Beat in egg and vanilla

Reduce speed to low and slowly add the flour mixture until blended

Divide mixture in half. Shape each half into a disk shape. Wrap each disk in plastic wrap and place in refrigerator. (Chill at least 1 hr. before using; can be chilled for three days.)

Variation #1 – Traditional Cut out Cookies

Preheat oven to 350. Take 1 pack of dough out of refrigerator and roll into 12 inch round, 1/8 to 1/4 inch thick.

Using your favorite cookie cutters, cut out shapes and using a metal spatula, transfer to cookie sheets. Sprinkle with your favorite decorating sugar or nonpareils. (If desired)

Bake cookies 8-10 minutes

Notes: Re-roll dough scraps only twice. If rolling dough on a flour surface is difficult, roll dough between two pieces of wax paper.