On a recent trip to Ireland, we stopped at a gas station, looking for things to help us pass the time as we drove from Dublin to Galway, east coast to west coast, it takes TWO hours. We picked up a five euro CD set of the Rat Pack classics, some mixed nuts, and a little package that said “Fitness.”  This Irish cookie seemed like a great car snack. In Poland we often see cereals or bread labeled at Fitness. I assumed the little package would have some kind of whole grain cookie or crackers, but I wasn’t wearng my glasses.
In better light, I could see that the package said “Fifteens.” What on earth?  The little bars had pink and white marshmallows and maraschino cherries – not exactly the fitness snack I’d been expecting, but we enjoyed them nevertheless.
Subsequent stops at Irish gas stations offered us homemade fifteens. We’d really stumbled onto something here.
I had to google the name to look for a recipe. Apparently, this is a Irish cookie that everyone’s Irish granny used to make. When you see the ingredients, you’ll know where the name comes from. I’m already planning my next batch which I will bill as gourmet fifteens – brandy soaked cherries, homemade marshmallows, and maybe some chocolate.
Ingredients
15 marshmallows (pink and white), quartered
15 glace cherries, halved
15 Digestive biscuits, crushed
150 ml sweetened condensed milk (about 2/3 cup)
desiccated coconut
Directions
- In a bowl, combine the marshmallows, cherries, and biscuit crumbs
- Stir in enough sweetened condensed milk to make everything stick together with a paste like texture
- Sprinkle plastic wrap or foil with coconut
- Scrap the dough onto the coconut covered wrap and shape into a log or a flat rectangle
- Making sure all sides of the dough are covered in coconut, wrap tightly and refrigerate for several hours
- Slice into fifteen cookies
evil cake lady
wow, super fascinating! are they really sweet? i think a gourmet version would be amazing.
Lois B
ECL – yep, they’re pretty sweet. 🙂 I think my gourmet version might be a little less so.
Jenn [knittybaker]
Lois, I’ve never heard of this before. And here I always thought Fifteen is just a number :).
Lois B
Jenn – I know; it really surprised me and my English friend too!
Mrs. Munchkin
Holy cow! I am in! They sound amazing!
Lois B
Mrs M – Can you find digestives in Moscow?
Renee Lewan-Hesse
What is a “digestive Biscuit”?
polishhousewife
It’s a British cookie, very plain unless you find the chocolate covered variety (my favorite). It’s sort of a cross between a vanilla wafer anda a graham cracker. You might find them on Amazon or in Cost Plus World Market if you have one nearby.
Bev
As soon as I read the Fiteen – I had to see what it was – never heard of a cookie called that either , then as soon as I read the ingredients , I could everyone making their own marshmellows to !!! Was the first thing I thought of 🙂
Anyway – they arwe on my list now , not sure if I will get to them this Christmas – but will definitely be trying them .
polishhousewife
They’re nice; I like them a lot. It’s usually something you have with a cup of tea.