Good morning and welcome to another edition of The Secret Recipe Club. For a little “behind the scenes” information, The Secret Recipe Club (SRC) is divided into four group. Each group posts on a different Monday of the month. I am in Group C and always post on the 3rd Monday of the month. Which meant that during those special months with five Mondays there’d be a week without any fun reveal day! So now, on the 5th Monday of the month there is a themed reveal and it’s a “free for all,” which means that there aren’t any group restrictions. I’m looking forward to getting to know some of the other bloggers in the club.

Who would have thought that February would ever have 5 Mondays in it!? Happy Leap Day, everyone! As it’s the last day of February the Secret Recipe Club is looking into March for inspiration. Leprechauns and Bunnies was the assignment as St. Patrick’s Day has to share its month with Easter  this year.

I don’t think I could have asked for a better assignment this month! Making Memories with your Kids has an incredible index of holiday foods and crafts. Erin is a single mom to two kids who are most definitely making memories together through baking and crafting. Her blog is such a great resource of ideas!

Her sloppy Joe baskets would work for either holiday, really. Erin made them as “Easter baskets” but they could easily be a “pot of gold,” too.

While I don’t care much for St. Patrick’s Day (especially now that I don’t live near Kate anymore) I decided to make her Pot o’ Gold Cookies instead of her Chocolate Peep Sugar Cookies simply because the former were simple and used ingredients I already had. I did take some liberty in forming a few as Easter eggs and decorating with purple sprinkles, but you’ll notice they’re not photographed. They weren’t very pretty; to make them like Easter eggs definitely use white chocolate instead!

These shortbread cookies were a huge hit! My mother-in-law helped make them and showed Firecracker how to roll the dough into balls. He wasn’t particularly interested and instead preferred to “Hulk smash” the balls. Until he discovered the deliciousness of the dough! It’s egg-free so I had no problems with letting him try it, though once I realized he was eating it I had to clear most off of his table to prevent a sugar rush!

If I hadn’t put these cookies in a bag they wouldn’t have lasted through the evening. They’re addicting! Luckily the “impenetrable” barrier of a resealable bag (and a trip to Graeter’s ice cream) kept them safe so I could share them with friends.

Pot O’ Gold Cookies

Ingredients:

• 2 sticks butter, at room temperature
• 1/2 C powdered sugar
• 1 tsp almond extract
• 2 1/4 C flour
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 C milk chocolate chips
• yellow or gold sprinkles

Steps:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
2. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together the butter, sugar, and almond extract. Mix in the flour until it starts to combine. Turn dough out onto a flat surface and knead until smooth and combined.
3. Roll dough into 1″ balls. Bake on an ungreased cookie sheet for 11 minutes, until the edges are lightly golden. Allow cookies to cool completely on the cookie sheet.
4. Melt chocolate in a double boiler or the microwave. Spoon chocolate over the cookies and top with sprinkles. Allow chocolate to set before serving.

*This recipe is adapted from Erin at http://makingmemorieswithyourkids.com/2015/03/pot-of-gold-meltaway-cookies/*

I didn’t wait for the chocolate to set before photographing… Firecracker doesn’t like sticky things, he wasn’t quite sure what to do!

To see the other bloggers who participated in the themed Secret Recipe Club this month click here: