Faith and begorra St. Patrick’s Day is just about upon us! Today’s recipe is the making of Blarney Stones. I thought maybe this fabulous delicious cake was indigence to our area, but after searching the internet for a couple of hours, I found a few (very few) recipe sites with a recipe for them. Look in your old cookbooks. Bet you can’t find a single Blarney Stone recipe. I also tried to find a history of the Blarney Stone cake, but couldn’t find anything on that either. Does any one of you know how it got started? Anyway, I settled for second best. The history of the Blarney Stone, itself in Ireland.
The Blarney Stone is a stone set in the wall of the Blarney Castle tower in the Irish village of Blarney. Kissing the stone is supposed to bring the kisser the gift of persuasive eloquence (blarney). The castle was built in 1446 and its walls are 18 feet thick. Thousands of tourists a year still visit the castle. The origins of the Blarney Stone’s magical properties aren’t clear, but one legend says an old woman cast a spell on the stone to reward a king who had saved her from drowning. Kissing the stone while under the spell gave the king the ability to speak sweetly and convincingly. It is tough to reach the stone-- it is between the main castle wall and the parapet. Kisser have to stretch to their back and bend backward (and downward), holding iron bars for support. No wonder it is so difficult to be eloquent and persuasive. Not many of us could manage this maneuver.
This recipe was given to me by my good friend, Mary Mize. I think it is the best I have ever eaten (and I have eaten a lot cause I really like them.)

Blarney Stones

1 cup milk, scalded
¼ cup butter
4 eggs
1 ¾ cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 ¾ cup flour
1 T. baking powder
½ tsp salt

Icing:
2 lbs powdered sugar
2 sticks oleo
Milk or light cream
1/8 tsp lemon extract
4 oz cream cheese
½ tsp vanilla
2 packages salted peanuts

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Generously grease 13 x 9 pan. Heat milk. Add butter to milk and set aside. In a large mixing bowl combine eggs, sugar and vanilla. Beat 1 ½ minutes at high speed until thick and lemon colored. Add dry ingredients. Beat 1 minute at low speed. Add milk mixture. Pour into pan and bake for 30-35 minutes or until cake springs back when lightly touched in center. Let cool on rack. Cut into 2 ½-3 inch squares. Place in freezer.
Icing: Allow oleo and cream cheese to soften. Mix gradually. Add sugar and flavorings and enough milk to mix well and frosting is of spreading consistency. Remove the frozen cakes from freezer and frost all sides of cake pieces. Chop nuts fine and roll the cake pieces in the chopped nuts.
Now all of this sounds easy, but frosting these little gems on every side is a challenge. I am sure those of you who make them every year have a way that works for you. If you like to do cooking with your grandchildren, this would be fun for them. I ended up using two pair of kitchen tongs after decorating myself with icing on the first cake. I know why these are so expensive in the stores. Time, wow!!!
Enjoy!