St. Patrick’s Day is quickly becoming one of my favorite holiday's. Green is my favorite color, I am a little Irish, and Irish food is so good! Finding new recipes for this holiday is a challenge and I love it. I figured everyone probably already has their own tradition for dinner, so I wanted to come up with traditional Irish desserts. Both of these recipes are delicious and fairly simple to make. I baked the scones just as the recipe told and they did come out pretty golden, but the centers are perfect, so if you don't want them as golden bake them 5-10 minutes less. The pie is the perfect apple pie, but different from the traditional cinnamon apple pie. It is sweet and tangy and oh so good. Happy St. Patrick's Day! Enjoy!

Traditional Irish Scones with Clotted Cream

3 1/2 cups flour

5 teaspoons baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup salted butter, cold

1 egg

1/4 cup heavy whipping cream

3/4 cup whole milk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl mix the dry ingredients together. With a pastry cutter or fork mix the flour and butter together until it resembles breadcrumbs.

In a small bowl mix the egg with the milk and cream. Pour into the flour mixture and mix until the dough forms. The bowl should be cleaned from dough. Turn your dough onto a flour surface and gently knead to bring the dough together and is smooth. Pat the dough out until 1inch think. Using a biscuit cutter, cut out 8-12 scones. Place on a greased baking sheet and bake for 25-35 minutes. Enjoy with jam and clotted cream.

Clotted Cream

3 ounces cream cheese softened

3 tablespoons sugar

1/8 teaspoon salt

1 cup heavy whipping cream

Mix the cream cheese, sugar and salt in a large mixing bowl. Slowly add the whipping cream and whip until stiff peaks form. Chill before serving.

Irish Apple Amber

Single pie crust

8 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored, and grated

1/4 cup water

6 large egg yolks

1 cup sugar, divided

2 tablespoons lemon juice

6 large egg whites

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place the grated apples and water in a large pot, cover, and cook over medium-low heat until tender, about 15 minutes, take off the heat. While the apples are cooking roll out the pie dough to a few inches bigger than your pie dish. Transfer the dough to the pie dish, trim off any excess, and flute the edge. Par-bake the pie crust for 10 minutes.

Whisk the egg yolks, 3/4 cup sugar, and lemon juice together in a small bowl and stir the mixture into the cooked apples that have slightly cooled. Mixing quickly. Pour the apple mixture into the par-baked crust and bake for 30 minutes or until the filing is set and the crust is golden. Cool completely.

Whip the egg whites and remaining 1/4 cup sugar until the meringue holds stiff peaks. Spoon the meringue onto the cooled pie and brown under the broiler watching carefully.