And top o’ the mornin’ to ya. Happy St. Patrick’s Day! The pubs are closed, the parades are canceled, but we can still wear a bit o’green, pretend we’re Irish even if we aren’t, and enjoy these yummy cupcakes.

Total Time: Approximately 1 hr.
Prep Time: 15 mins.
Cook Time: 25-30 mins.
Finish Time: 15-20
Makes 18 cupcakes

Ingredients
Cupcakes
1 cup Irish stout beer (such as Guinness®)
9 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 1-inch pieces
2 cups dark brown sugar
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
3/4 cup sour cream
2 eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

Frosting:
1 stick unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 tablespoons Irish cream liqueur (such as Baileys®), or more to taste
2 teaspoons Irish whiskey (such as Jameson®), or to taste
3 cups confectioners’ sugar

Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

Line a muffin tin with paper liners.

Combine stout beer and butter in a large saucepan over low heat. Heat until butter melts, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and whisk in brown sugar and cocoa

Whisk sour cream, eggs, and vanilla extract in a bowl; pour into the saucepan and mix until a smooth batter forms.

Stir flour and baking soda together. Fold into the batter. Divide batter evenly among the prepared muffin cups.

Bake in the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 25 minutes. Leave in the tin for 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Make frosting while the cupcakes cool. Place butter in a large mixing bowl and beat with an electric mixer on medium-high speed for 2 to 3 minutes. Mix in Irish cream and whiskey on low speed. Gradually spoon in confectioners’ sugar, mixing on low speed until frosting is smooth and creamy.

Spread frosting over cupcakes. You can use a pastry bag with a fancy tip to get the ruffled version, or just spread the icing on top.

*Paddy’s Day Tip: Add a few drops of green food coloring or gel to the frosting before mixing.
*Silver’s Tip: Enjoy with a cup of Bailey’s Irish Cream coffee.

CLICK HERE if you want to see the original recipe over at All Recipes. These are definitely adult cupcakes though technically, the alcohol cooks out leaving only the flavor behind. Some kids might not like them but us big kids? Oh, yeah! Just ask Lochlan O’Toole, former Irish Ranger, Wolf shifter, and Hard Target team member. While Loch doesn’t have his own book–yet–he popped in to wish me a Happy St. Paddy’s Day and mentioned if I wanted to bake him these cupcakes, he’d love me forever. If y’all haven’t read about the Hard Target team, you’ll first meet some of them in the upcoming MOONSTRUCK: BETRAYAL, and their story continues in MOON SHOT and DOUBLE CROSS, and you get the best of two worlds in DOUBLE TROUBLE (a Hard Target story set in Roxanne St. Clair’s Barefoot Bay world). Loch said he asked Mother Goose to make him cupcakes and she threatend him with the business end of a shotgun. 😉 Want to read about this team of super-secret Special Operators? Just click on the book cover or any of the titles!

What about y’all? Are you a little bit Irish today? Sláinte!