For Christmas last year, I received an Ancestry DNA test. While I can’t say the results were anything too shocking, I’ve loved learning more about where my family came from and have started doing some research of my own! I’ve always known I had some Irish heritage– in fact, when I was 12, we took a family trip to Northern Ireland and got to see the church that some of my ancestors were married in. We ran into the minister of the church who kindly volunteered to show us some of the church records at the manse. I remember my sister and I skipping around the garden with the butterflies while Mom and Dad turned massive pages of ancient books in the dining room, scouring the pages for familiar names.
When I think of St. Patrick’s Day food, I normally think of soda bread, corned beef and, of course, Guinness. But after focusing on my family’s Northern Irish roots, I wanted to make something specific to that area this year. After some quick Googling, I found a recipe for Irish Fifteens.
For all the Americans who, like me, have never heard of Irish Fifteens, they are a no-bake cookie of sorts that are made with Digestives, sweetened condensed milk, candied cherries, marshmallows and coconut. The name comes from using 15 of each main ingredient, and these are a popular treat in bakeries across Northern Ireland. I’ve even heard that Starbucks has them!
Keep reading for the simple and delicious recipe. Sláinte!
Ingredients
Prep time: 30 min | Chill time: 4 hrs | Total time: 4.5 hrs | Yield: ~15
-15 Digestives (or graham crackers)
-15 candied cherries, halved
-15 regular marshmallows, quartered (or 2 cups mini marshmallows)
-200 ml sweetened condensed milk
-1 cup shredded unsweetened coconut
Directions
- Crush your Digestives. I used a food processor, but you can just as easily put them in a bag and crush them with a rolling pin. I recommend the food processor route if you have one though, because it’s zero waste!
- Add your crushed Digestives, halved cherries and quartered marshmallows to a large bowl and mix.
- Slowly add the sweetened condensed milk until you have a dough that can hold its shape. Shape into a long sausage.
- Roll out some plastic wrap and pour out half of the shredded coconut. Put your dough sausage (lol) on top and pour the rest of the coconut on top. Roll to coat.
- Wrap your dough roll in the saran wrap and chill for 4 hours.
- Slice and serve!
Happy St. Patrick’s Day! ☘️
