Sweet and green for St. Patrick's Day

Since I have some Irish heritage and love any excuse for a celebration, I've made a tradition of preparing an Irish cream fudge for St. Patrick's Day. The green top layer and rich Bailey's flavor is my tribute to the holiday.

Here's the recipe, inspired by one I found on Allrecipes.com. You will need plastic wrap to smooth out the layers.

Irish Layer Fudge

Bottom layer:
4 c semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/4 c butter
3 c confectioner's sugar
1 c Bailey's Irish cream liqueur
1 1/2 c chopped walnuts or pecans

Top layer:
1 1/2 c white chocolate chips
2 T butter
4 T Bailey's Irish cream liqueur
green food coloring

1. Butter an 8x8 pan.
2. Place chocolate chips and butter for bottom layer in a double boiler over medium-low heat. Melt until soft enough to mix.
3. Add sugar and liqueur for bottom layer and stir until smooth. Add nuts.
4. Once thoroughly mixed, pour into pan. Cover immediately with plastic wrap and smooth out top.
5. Rinse out double boiler and use to melt white chocolate for top layer.
6. When chips are softened, remove from heat and stir in butter and liqueur for top layer.
7. Add and stir in drops of food coloring until desired green is achieved.
8. Remove plastic wrap from bottom layer and pour mixture on top, spreading with knife. Use a new piece of plastic wrap to smooth out the top.
9. Refrigerate 1-2 hours until firm.

This fudge is rich and very sweet. Expecting ladies beware - most of the liqueur is not cooked off so it is alcoholic!

Shop:
Crafts For St. Patrick'S Day (Holiday Crafts for Kids)