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On St. Patrick’s Day, everyone is Irish…so share a little luck (and sweet green goodness) with Shamrock Smiley Cookies! These seasonal favorites are available in our restaurants and online store now, so get yours while you can.
With this jovial holiday coming up, we got to thinking about St. Patrick’s Day, Shamrocks, and all things Irish. Our curiosity turned up a few fun facts about the holiday and its icon, so we thought we’d share. Read on for green enlightenment:

• The very first St. Patrick's Day parade was not in Ireland. It was in Boston in 1737.
• There are 4 towns in the U.S. named after a shamrock: Mount Gay-Shamrock, West Virginia; Shamrock, Texas; Shamrock Lakes, Indiana; and Shamrock, Oklahoma.
• According to the Guinness Book of World Records, the highest number of leaves found on a clover is 14.
• One estimate suggests that there are about 10,000 regular three-leaf clovers for every lucky four-leaf clover.
• Legend says that each leaf of the clover means something: the first is for hope, the second for faith, the third for love and the fourth for luck.

Looking for more ways to get in the spirit? How about serving those Shamrock Smiley Cookies with a glass of green milk? Or, even better, a minty green St. Patty’s Day Shake at Eat’n Park!

If you’ll be celebrating at home, get the kids together to help with this authentic Irish Soda Bread. It’s quick and easy – especially because you don’t need to wait for the dough to rise. The recipe was actually born out of necessity, since yeast won’t leaven the soft wheat grown in Ireland.

Enjoy!

Irish Soda Bread
From FamilyFun Magazine

Ingredients:

• 2 cups white flour
• 2 cups whole wheat flour
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 tsp. baking soda
• 1 tsp. salt
• 4 tbsp. butter, chilled
• 1 cup raisins
• 1 1/2 cups buttermilk or plain yogurt

Instructions:

1. Heat the oven to 350 degrees. In a bowl, combine the dry ingredients.
2. Cut in the butter until it is pea-sized. Stir in the raisins and buttermilk or yogurt. Turn the dough onto a floured surface, knead 1 minute, and shape into a disk.
3. Cut an "X" in the top and bake on a greased baking sheet for 45 to 50 minutes. Makes one 8-inch-wide loaf.

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