mint chocolate irish cream liqueur.

I’m a big fan of celebrations. Traditions. Fanfare.

If you know me IRL (in real life!), you know I’m easily excitable. I say “yay!” a lot. With exclamation points, of course.

And yes, sometimes I actually say ”exclamation point.” I verbally punctuate. I know, it’s a little ridiculous.

So. Anyway. I love holidays. And seasons. And holiday seasons! What’s not to like, right? Especially when we’re talking about St. Patrick’s day!

We all pretty much celebrate St. Patrick’s day, don’t we? If you don’t wear something green, you’ll get pinched. Which, by the way, is painful! I really don’t think some people are aware of how hard they pinch. Or, they’re just sadists. When I was little, my grandfather taught me a real devil of a pinch–the ‘knip.’ Knip  is Yiddish for “pinch,” but it’s really a pinch with a twist. Literally. Ouch.

Lucky for me that I look good in green–no pinches or knips for me!

Also, having colorful tattoos means you have build-in protection from any pinching enthusiasts. Like insurance.

Anyway. Since we all seem to start celebrating St. Patrick’s day as soon as the calendar reads March 1, we’ve started a tradition in our house that I love. It involves booze, so what’s not to like?

We make our own homemade irish cream liqueur. Yep, we do. It literally takes five minutes, tops. It lasts in the fridge for the entire month of March.

Oh, and did I mention it’s the best damn irish cream liqueur you’ve ever had in your whole entire life? Because it is.

Seriously, guys. Once you make this (and you HAVE TO. really.), you will never buy store-bought irish cream again! No contest. Hands-down, this irish cream will change your life.

This year we decided to shake things up a bit, because that’s just how we roll. We’re movers and shakers. And irish cream makers!

Why is there not a career dedicated solely to writing silly rhymes, puns, jingles and limericks? I would rock that career.

So. This year, we made mint chocolate irish cream liqueur! Creamy, smooth, sweet, boozy, refreshing, chocolatey, minty deliciousness.

The boy took one sip and declared this year’s irish cream to be the best yet. I couldn’t agree with him more–it’s refreshing, sweet without being cloying, and strong without knocking you on your ass. It’s a winner.

I’m thinking you should whip some of this mint chocolate irish cream liqueur up today. It’ll last the entire month of March (if you don’t drink it all!), it’s incredibly versatile (bake with it! stir it in your coffee!), and your friends will ooooh and ahhhh when they come over and you offer them some.

“Homemade irish cream that’s minty and chocolatey and boozy and amazing? You are the most impressive human being alive!”

That’s what people will say. And guess what? It’s totally true! No one has to know how easy it is to pull off, though. That can be our little secret.

Mint Chocolate Irish Cream Liqueur

Yield: approximately 4 1/2 cups liqueur

Prep Time: 5 minutes

here’s the obligatory ‘omg there’s raw egg in this beverage’ warning: if you’re a child, knocked up, or super-old, you might not want to use the raw eggs. but then again, if you’re a child, you probably shouldn’t make homemade irish cream. i mean, unless you’re a badass.

...just kidding!

Ingredients:

1 14-ounce can of sweetened condensed milk
1 cup heavy cream
4 large eggs
2 tablespoons pure mint extract
1/4 cup chocolate syrup (make your own!)
2 teaspoons espresso powder (substitute instant coffee granules)
2 teaspoons pure vanilla bean paste (substitute pure vanilla extract)
8-12 ounces Irish whiskey (depends on how strong you like it!)

Directions:

Add all ingredients except the whiskey to the blender, and process until smooth and frothy, about 15-30 seconds.

Pour whiskey into the blender, and process to distribute throughout mixture.

Set a strainer over a bowl and pour irish cream through, straining out any bits of egg or espresso powder that didn't get fully incorporated into the mixture.

Using a funnel, ladle the irish cream into clean, sterilized bottles.

Screw the tops on the bottles tightly, and store in the fridge.

Label your bottles with a "use-by" date, as the irish cream will keep for 30 days from the day you make it if stored properly in the fridge.

The cream will naturally separate when stored in the fridge, simply shake the bottle gently to mix everything together.

adapted from me, who originally adapted from the hungry mouse

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