These 29 classic Irish desserts will have you feelin’ lucky on St. Patrick's Day

Who says St. Patrick’s Day is only about the booze? Not us, certainly. We think one of the best ways to celebrate St. Patty’s is to add some classic Irish desserts to your festivities. Whether you go with light-hearted, fun options or more traditional Irish-inspired fare, these St. Patty's Day desserts are sure to be beloved by all, kids and adults alike.

Irish desserts are known for their comfort, warmth, and heartiness, so they’re perfect for March during St. Patrick’s Day when it’s blustery and cold out. When it comes to conventional Irish desserts, we’ve got to admit we’re taking some liberties. Our fave on this list, Irish soda bread, doesn’t usually contain any add-ins, much less the chocolate chips we’ve included (but they’re delicious!).

Our St. Patrick's Day cake or cupcakes will light up your day, no matter the weather, with a full array of colors. And don’t worry, we’ve snuck in plenty of alcoholic desserts in here too—a little booze can add depth of flavor to almost any dessert and really bring it to the next level. Baileys Irish Cream and Guinness everything are classics this time of year. We especially love them in our Baileys cheesecake and our chocolate Guinness cake. Looking for something over-the-top cute for your celebration? Everyone will love our shamrock cookies or our leprechaun bait. Kids will flip over them, and even miserly adults who don't care for the adorable can enjoy—they count as something green, so there's no fear of getting pinched!

Bailey’s Chocolate Cream Pie

Who said St. Patty’s Day desserts need to be bright green? Try this delicious pie of chocolatey boozy fun instead! This no-bake twist on a classic chocolate cream pie is the perfect dessert for your holiday festivities or a clever way to use up Baileys left over from the party.

Irish Potato Candy

Don’t worry, this confection from Philadelphia only looks like cute little potatoes, and actually contains no spuds at all! Imagine the texture of a chocolate truffle but with cream cheese, coconut, and vanilla instead. The outside is coated in ground cinnamon, giving it an uncanny likeness to the real thing.

Chocolate Guinness Lava Cakes

Who needs a pot of gold when you have 12 perfectly molten chocolate Guinness cakes? These are delightfully bitter and dark, like our chocolate Guinness cake, but also gooey and rich like our lava cakes…and even after test number five, we could not stop eating them!

Baileys Chocolate Coffee Cake

Wondering what to do with that opened bottle of Baileys, or looking for an extra-sweet breakfast for St. Patrick's Day? In this recipe the classic breakfast cake gets a sweet (& boozy!) boost in this recipe thanks to an easy chocolate topping and a Baileys-spiked cake.

Irish Apple Cake

This tender apple cake is jam-packed with fruit, which is why we think it's perfectly appropriate to eat a slice for dessert or breakfast. Don't skip the custard sauce—it's traditional and delicious to boot.

St. Patrick's Day Cake

We think we found our pot of gold with this epic top hat-shaped rainbow cake. Once you start assembling the layers, the tricky part is done—just don’t forget to fill your cake with Lucky Charms before putting the top layer on!

Guinness Cake

Chocolate + stout = one of the greatest dessert combos of all time. The proof is in this cake (and in our Baileys Irish floats). Hot tip: Make sure your Guinness is room temperature, and it will incorporate into the batter more easily.

Skillet Fudgy Brownie Pudding

This recipe has everything you love about a typical brownie, but with a fun twist: It has Baileys in the batter and in the whipped cream, making it the perfect dessert for St. Patrick's Day and all year round.

Perfect Fruit Scones

Fruit scones are meant to be seasonal, so use your favorite farmers' market fruit (or whatever you need to use up in your fridge). Serve with some ice cream for an Irish shortcake-inspired dessert.

Irish Soda Bread

Though the dough for this quick bread recipe is rather traditional, how we serve it (with chocolate 😅) is not. If you want to bake up a classic loaf, skip the mini chocolate chips and don't sprinkle extra sugar on top. Personally, we really love our sweeter, chocolatey version.

Pot O' Gold Cups

If the end of the rainbow led to these mini desserts, honestly we wouldn't be disappointed in the slightest. They're made from box brownie mix (although you can make homemade brownies if you prefer), then decorated with whipped cream "clouds," a candy rainbow belt, and gold sprinkles. Have fun with it!

Chocolate Shortbread

If you’re looking for an easy and classic addition to your baking repertoire, chocolate shortbread should be your next bake. Slightly crisp with a meltingly tender texture, they're the perfect cookie alternative to your usual shortbread this St. Patrick's Day.

St. Patrick's Day Cookies

Is there any cuter way to celebrate St. Patrick's Day than with shamrock-shaped cookies? Our easy sugar cookie recipe always keeps its shape while baking so you can relax knowing all of your leaves will come out perfectly round and defined. Decorated with royal icing, these cookies are a breeze.

St. Patrick's Day Cupcakes

Don’t just make plain old cupcakes for your St. Patty’s Day bash—make these adorable rainbow-topped cupcakes that taste as good as they look! They’re nothing more complicated than a moist, vanilla cupcake with a rich buttercream frosting decorated to be the cutest rainbow around!

Millionaire Shortbread

Buttery shortbread is already a favorite Irish sweet, but these are made extra special with layers of gooey caramel and chocolate. You'll feel like you found that pot of gold at the end of the rainbow when you eat them!

Baileys Cheesecake Cups

Brownies, cheesecake, and booze? We'll call that a holy trinity. We use a box brownie mix, but by all means feel free to try our homemade brownie recipe.

Butter Cookies

These little guys might look simple, but they're dangerously good. There's a healthy dose of salt in the dough, making it easy to down 4 or 5 without overdosing on sugar. Use sweet-and-salty Irish Kerrygold butter to make them extra delicious.

Leprechaun Bait

We went with Lucky Charms and green M&M's for added St. Paddy's Day flair, but like any party mix, this is completely customizable! Feel free to get creative with this mix, but whatever you do, don't forget the green. 😉

Baileys Cheesecake

This creamy, decadent cheesecake is made even MORE creamy and decadent with the addition of Baileys. And don't worry if yours cracks while baking—that's what the ganache is for!

Apple Coffee Cake

Apples work wonders in this easy coffee cake. They add sweetness as well as making the cake moist and tender. We love it with Granny Smith and Honeycrisp apples, but your favorite baking apple will do the trick!

Baileys Brownies

Just when you thought brownies couldn't get any better, we added booze in the form of a Baileys fudge frosting. You're welcome.

Baileys Coffee Slushies

This super-boozy shake uses cold brew ice cubes, so it won't get diluted no matter how long it takes you to get to the bottom of the glass.

Perfect Apple Crumble

We love apple pie, but sometimes we're not so into making crust. Apple crumble is much easier to make and, in our opinion, even better. This comfort food is as beloved in Ireland as it is in the U.S., so make it for St. Patrick's Day and feel extra lucky.

Copycat McDonald's Shamrock Shake

Because the original McDonald's Shamrock Shake is only available for a limited time, we made our own so we can enjoy it year-round. Another perk? Being able to add booze.

Baileys Truffles

White and semisweet chocolate chips make these truffles very decadent. Our favorite part about them? They taste just like all our favorite Baileys cocktails, but you can eat more than one.

Andes Brownies

These are the ultimate indulgence, for St. Patrick's Day and beyond. Fudgy brownies, a peppermint buttercream, and a luscious ganache layer combine into a mint chocolate lover's dream come true.

Mini Baileys Cheesecakes

These mini cheesecakes might be small, but they're bursting with creamy, chocolaty flavor. We're hooked. The perfect bite sized treat for your festivities! Wanna supersize them? Try our classic Baileys cheesecake.

Baileys Cupcakes

Don't ask us how, but cake mix + eggs + veggie oil + Baileys = perfectly moist, rich chocolate cupcakes. And we didn't stop there: These lil guys get the extra boozy treatment with Baileys making its way into the batter and the frosting.

Guinness Brownies

Like our Guinness cake, but in perfectly share-able brownie form. You're going to flip over the ganache. This is the perfect treat to bring to that St. Patrick's Day party.