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Another fun holiday is almost upon us; it’s time to break out a bit o’ the green for St Patrick’s Day. One of the many things I love about being a parent is that I get an excuse to go all out for each and every holiday. My day is made a bit brighter anytime I have a reason to make pancakes in fun shapes (think four-leaf clovers) and a suitably colored milkshake or smoothie. Now St Paddy's Day is one of those holidays that in different phases of my life has meant different things. Not too long ago, it meant toasting with Irish stout beer with a bunch of friends, and possibly attending a parade of some sort.
These days the celebration has taken a different turn to a more family friendly one involving sweet treats and lots of Irish music. Although, rest assured that after listening to the last Celtic lullaby CD and putting the kiddies to sleep for the night we’ll also be enjoying a pint of the good stuff!
While toasting your kids with green beer is out of the question, you can toast with your own delicious frothy green milkshakes, AKA that old fast food chain institution the “Shamrock Shake”, that your kids will go wild for. Although many people pine for the one from the Golden Arches (there are even websites dedicated to finding one in your local area), I must admit, it just doesn’t taste like it used to. What I remember as being cool and minty now tastes a little too syrupy sweet. So I prefer to make my own, with vanilla ice cream, milk, mint, and a touch of green food coloring. A bonus to making them at home is avoiding a high fat, low nutrition fast food happy meal that would go along with your children’s special milkshake.
Another treat that is a fun to make with your kids are Irish potato candies. Before you think "potato candy? Yuck!", there isn’t any potato in them at all. These are balls of coconut flavored cream cheese that are rolled in cinnamon sugar and made to look just like miniature Irish potatoes!
The true significance behind the Irish potato is a less than sweet one and is closely related to the Irish potato famine. Much of the Irish population had long been dependent upon the potato as their main food crop and staple in their diet. During the 1840s the crop in Europe failed due to a potato blight, causing starvation and disease that led to mass emigration, changing the country forever. The potato lives on as a symbolic reminder of those hard times for the Irish.
I learned about Irish potato candies in one of my first after-school jobs as a kid. When I was a young teen, I worked in an old fashioned candy and ice cream shop (not too many of those around anymore!). It was a fun job other than that the extremely fussy owner was always admonishing his staff to carry the candy trays with “two hands” (a phrase I still sometimes use jokingly) so we wouldn’t drop them. During the weeks leading up to St. Paddy's Day we would roll hundreds of these babies to get ready for the holiday.
So this St Patrick’s Day, show your kids the luck o’ the Irish with these sweet treats!
©2026 CDKitchen, Inc. No reproduction or distribution of any portion of this article is allowed without express permission from CDKitchen, Inc.
To share this article with others, you may link to this page:
https://www.cdkitchen.com/cooking-experts/pamela-chester/1031-irish-kids-treats/
St. Paddy's Day With The Kids
Another fun holiday is almost upon us; it’s time to break out a bit o’ the green for St Patrick’s Day. One of the many things I love about being a parent is that I get an excuse to go all out for each and every holiday. My day is made a bit brighter anytime I have a reason to make pancakes in fun shapes (think four-leaf clovers) and a suitably colored milkshake or smoothie. Now St Paddy's Day is one of those holidays that in different phases of my life has meant different things. Not too long ago, it meant toasting with Irish stout beer with a bunch of friends, and possibly attending a parade of some sort.
These days the celebration has taken a different turn to a more family friendly one involving sweet treats and lots of Irish music. Although, rest assured that after listening to the last Celtic lullaby CD and putting the kiddies to sleep for the night we’ll also be enjoying a pint of the good stuff!
While toasting your kids with green beer is out of the question, you can toast with your own delicious frothy green milkshakes, AKA that old fast food chain institution the “Shamrock Shake”, that your kids will go wild for. Although many people pine for the one from the Golden Arches (there are even websites dedicated to finding one in your local area), I must admit, it just doesn’t taste like it used to. What I remember as being cool and minty now tastes a little too syrupy sweet. So I prefer to make my own, with vanilla ice cream, milk, mint, and a touch of green food coloring. A bonus to making them at home is avoiding a high fat, low nutrition fast food happy meal that would go along with your children’s special milkshake.
Another treat that is a fun to make with your kids are Irish potato candies. Before you think "potato candy? Yuck!", there isn’t any potato in them at all. These are balls of coconut flavored cream cheese that are rolled in cinnamon sugar and made to look just like miniature Irish potatoes!
The true significance behind the Irish potato is a less than sweet one and is closely related to the Irish potato famine. Much of the Irish population had long been dependent upon the potato as their main food crop and staple in their diet. During the 1840s the crop in Europe failed due to a potato blight, causing starvation and disease that led to mass emigration, changing the country forever. The potato lives on as a symbolic reminder of those hard times for the Irish.
I learned about Irish potato candies in one of my first after-school jobs as a kid. When I was a young teen, I worked in an old fashioned candy and ice cream shop (not too many of those around anymore!). It was a fun job other than that the extremely fussy owner was always admonishing his staff to carry the candy trays with “two hands” (a phrase I still sometimes use jokingly) so we wouldn’t drop them. During the weeks leading up to St. Paddy's Day we would roll hundreds of these babies to get ready for the holiday.
So this St Patrick’s Day, show your kids the luck o’ the Irish with these sweet treats!
Irish Potato Candy (Without Potatoes)
Made with ground cinnamon, flaked coconut, butter, cream cheese, vanilla extract, confectioners' sugar
Made with ground cinnamon, flaked coconut, butter, cream cheese, vanilla extract, confectioners' sugar
Serves/Makes: 60
- 1/4 cup butter, softened
- 1/2 package (8 ounce size) cream cheese
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 4 cups confectioners' sugar
- 2 1/2 cups flaked coconut
- 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
In a medium bowl, beat the butter and cream cheese together until smooth. Add the vanilla and confectioners' sugar; beat until smooth.
Using your hands if necessary, mix in the coconut. Roll into balls or potato shapes, and roll in the cinnamon.
Place onto a cookie sheet and chill to set. If desired, roll potatoes in cinnamon again for darker color.
Homemade Shamrock Shake
Made with vanilla ice cream or frozen yogurt, milk, mint extract or creme de menthe, green food coloring
Made with vanilla ice cream or frozen yogurt, milk, mint extract or creme de menthe, green food coloring
Serves/Makes: 1
- 1 1/2 cup vanilla ice cream or frozen yogurt
- 1/4 cup milk, more if needed
- 1/2 teaspoon mint extract or creme de menthe
- 3 drops green food coloring
Combine the ice cream and milk in a blender. Process on pulse mode for a few seconds to just start to mix the ingredients. Add the extract and food coloring and continue to blend until the shake is a uniform color. You can add more food coloring if desired for a darker green shake.
Serve in a tall glass.
Cook's Notes: Creme de menthe is alcohol so only serve that to the grownups.
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©2026 CDKitchen, Inc. No reproduction or distribution of any portion of this article is allowed without express permission from CDKitchen, Inc.
To share this article with others, you may link to this page:
https://www.cdkitchen.com/cooking-experts/pamela-chester/1031-irish-kids-treats/