Chef notes
St. Patrick’s Day brings good cheer, beer, corned beef and candy to all who participate. Part of the fun of St. Patrick’s Day is leaning into the lore of the leprechaun. In Irish folklore, Leprechauns are small mythical men with a mischievous side. These peculiar creatures were said to be shoe makers who would stock their piles of gold at the end of rainbows, in forests and near streams. While there is no known correlation between leprechauns and Saint Patrick’s Day, they’re both symbols of Ireland which have been synonymous for centuries.
Chocolate coins wrapped in gold foil are often given during St. Patrick’s day to mimic the gold of the leprechauns. While there’s never too many gold coins, this fun and festive recipe takes the theme one step further. These chocolate leprechaun hats only require a handful of ingredients to come together. They do take some time to harden, so they’re best made ahead of time –making them ideal for a Saint Patrick’s Day party to cut down on prep work.
To make them, start by melting chocolate and transferring it to a silicone mat. Dip the marshmallows into the chocolate until covered on all sides. The marshmallows will represent the top of the hat. Next, dip the cookies into the chocolate until covered. Once the chocolate has hardened, use a bit more of the melted chocolate to act as glue to adhere them together. Finish the hat offs by decorating them with a candy shamrock.
Get Ingredients: If you don’t have everything you need on hand, you can easily purchase all of the ingredients (just click the orange button below that says ‘Get Ingredients’). You can pick and choose exactly what ingredients you need based on what’s in your pantry and they’ll be on your doorstep before you know it.
Technique Tip: If you’re short on time, pop these in the freezer to harden even quicker.
Swap Option: You can swap the Fudge Stripe cookie for any large, round cookie of your choice.
Ingredients
- 6 large marshmallows
- 6 round chocolate covered cookies, such as Keebler Fudge Stripe
- 1 12-ounce package chocolate candy melts
- 3 tablespoons green sanding sugar
- 1 ounce Shamrock sprinkles
Preparation
1.Melt the candy melts in the microwave in 30-second intervals. Stir the melts in between each interval until fully melted.
2.Prepare a baking sheet by lining it with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
3.Stick a chopstick into one end of a marshmallow and swirl the marshmallow in the melted chocolate until it's mostly coated, leaving a small rim around the end of the marshmallow closest to the chopstick. Drop the marshmallow onto the baking sheet to harden. Repeat with all marshmallows.
4.Submerge a cookie, fudge striped-side down, into the melted chocolate until it's completely coated. Using a spatula, wipe off any excess chocolate from the cookie. Drop the cookie onto the baking sheet to harden. Repeat with all cookies.
5.Let the chocolate harden for 15 minutes, or put the baking sheet in the fridge for 10 minutes.
6.Once the chocolate has hardened, take a marshmallow and dip the rim (where the chopstick was poking out) into melted chocolate. Only dip it deep enough so there is a thin line of chocolate around the rim of the marshmallow. Dip the rim of the marshmallow into the green sanding sugar. Lightly dip the marshmallow once more into the chocolate, and stick the marshmallow onto a cookie. The last dip acts as glue, sticking the marshmallow to the cookie. Repeat with the remaining marshmallows and cookies.
7.Take a shamrock sprinkle and lightly dip it into melted chocolate. Stick the sprinkle onto the middle of the marshmallow. Repeat with remaining marshmallows.
8.Let the chocolate hats harden for at least 15 minutes, or put the baking sheet into the fridge for 10 minutes until everything has set.
