Best St. Patrick's Day Food San Francisco

Luckily, these boozy treats don't come with a hangover

For most people, St. Patrick's Day is an excuse to eat corned beef and cabbage, and knock back pints of beer and drams of whiskey. But if you look beyond the green beer, you'll find an even sweeter way to celebrate. 

This year, Mission District bakery Kahnfections is rolling out several Irish-themed offerings, including Irish whiskey bread pudding, green macarons filled with either Baileys or whiskey buttercream, liquor-filled truffles, and Irish whiskey cupcakes.

You might have figured out from the selection that proprietor Judy Kahn is something of a boozy baker. She got her start baking rum cakes in high school, which became so popular she continued to sell them during the holidays while she was at college. Fast-forward to today, and you'll find Kahn using a whole bar shelf of different liquors in a variety of treats.

For St. Patrick's Day, her most popular dessert is a cupcake riff on the whiskey, beer and Baileys cocktail known as the Irish Slammer. The shamrock-topped sweets, which are made from a chocolate Guinness batter and topped with Baileys buttercream, also come with a surprise: an Irish whiskey-spiked ganache filling.

For those with less of a sweet tooth, Kahnfections' Irish soda bread is just the thing. Inspired by the soda bread from Amy's Bread in NYC, Kahn's tweaks involve swapping out regular raisins for sweeter golden ones that stay plump when baked, as well as leaving out the caraway seeds. Buttermilk adds richness and a slight tang for bread with a crunchy crust but a tender crumb. A toasted slice or two slathered with butter is so good it will make you dance a jig.   

Amy Sherman is a San Francisco-based writer and cookbook author who never says no to a warm doughnut. Follow her on Instagram at @cookingwithamy.