No luck needed to make Irish liqueur cheesecake

St. Patrick’s Day is coming up soon, so if you’re planning a fun get-together with friends, family or co-workers, you may want to serve up a delectable dessert after a traditional dinner, such as corned beef and cabbage.

Irish cream cheesecake is an easy-to-bake recipe that most folks will appreciate. And the best part is, the recipe calls for Irish cream liqueur, some of which you can sip on while the cheesecake bakes.

If you sip too much and wind up about three sheets to the wind, don’t worry. You can sleep it off while the cheesecake sets in the fridge overnight.

The recipe is convenient because ingredients can be mixed in one bowl, poured straight into a ready-made graham cracker crust and baked in the oven for 25 to 30 minutes. So there are not a lot of utensils to wash afterward, and the empty pie tin can be tossed in the trash after guests leave.

Prior to preparing the recipe, be sure to let the cream cheese and eggs set out at room temperature for about an hour. Doing so ensures smoother mixing and even baking.

Disclaimer: The following recipe is not intended for children’s classroom parties. And it’s certainly not recommended for workplace potlucks. If you do take it to such places, may the luck o’ the Irish be with you. You’ll need it.

Irish cream cheesecake

1 shot of Irish cream liqueur
1/4 cup Irish cream liqueur
16 ounces cream cheese
4 eggs
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
1 9-inch ready-made graham cracker crust

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Set aside the shot of Irish cream liqueur and the graham cracker crust. Next, mix all other ingredients together in a medium mixing bowl. Then pour mixture into the pie crust, pop it in the oven and sip on the shot of Irish cream liqueur while pie bakes for 25 to 30 minutes, or until pie appears firm with just a slightly wiggly center. Refill shot glass and sip Irish cream liqueur as desired. Turn off oven, and cool pie on oven rack with oven door ajar for about another 20 minutes. Next, remove pie from oven and cool on pie rack. Place in fridge overnight. Serve next day with whipped cream and a drizzle of Irish cream on top.