Saturday, January 28, 2017

Butter Tarts and Celebrations

In celebration of Canada's 150th Birthday Year,
I've been gathering up some of my "uniquely Canadian" recipes.

Butter Tarts are quintessentially Canadian - right? eh?
As much as they are also considered a Canadian Mennonite tradition.

This is my attempt at making some butter tarts.

I will also try to make my sister Evelyn's butter tart recipe next time,
which is quite different from this one.

One can never have too many butter tart recipes!




Aunt Sarah’s Butter Tarts

Aunt Sarah (Gerber) Leis – Dad’s youngest sister, who just passed away in June of 2016. These were my favourites and I remember having these at Aunt Sarah’s while hanging out there with my cousin Doreen. The pastry is unusual, rich and almost cookie like made with brown sugar. My Mom had this recipe written out on a scrap piece of paper as “Tarts from Sarah L”.

Cream together ¾ Cup Lard and ½ Cup Brown Sugar. 
Add 1 egg and ¼ Cup Sour Milk
Mix into 2 ½ Cups Flour, ½ tsp. baking soda, and ¼ tsp. salt
Roll out and line tart tins – approx. 2 doz.
Filling:
½ Cup melted butter
½ Cup Brown Sugar
1 Cup corn syrup or maple syrup
2 eggs
Vanilla
Mix in order given. Fill tart shell and bake at 400F for 10 minutes. Reduce heat to 350F for another 15-20 minutes.
“She puts some raisins and pecans in each shell and then fills with filling”

Hint: I rolled the dough (which is quite hard to handle) into two logs and then refrigerated them for a good 1/2 hour. I was then able to cut each log into 12 equal parts/disks for easier rolling and handling. The shells were cut with a glass bowl which is 4 1/2 inches in diameter and it worked out well with less handling and waste.
The filling only filled 20 of the 24 shells? I have an idea that Aunt Sarah's tart tins were not quite as deep as mine.
I made them plain - without any raisins or nuts.


Another very Canadian celebration happened a few weeks ago.

Our friend Ali became a Canadian citizen!!
We felt so privileged to take part in this special ceremony and  it
made us so thankful to be a citizen of this fine country.
Ali was thrilled and had worked so hard to achieve this special reward!



This past weekend
a fancy customer appreciation dinner for the farmer's 
branch office was held at the beautiful
Langdon Hall in Cambridge - what a treat!
Well done Oak Tree Financial ...




Our menu included amazing beef tenderloin, trout, flavourful squash soup and the most interesting chocolate mousse dessert!
The appetizers were so pretty - dips for beet chips and veggies
and a cheese tray with piles of raw nuts and dried fruit - so delicious.
Canadian Cuisine at it's best!

I think there will be many more Canadian celebrations to come
during this special year 2017.

Happy Birthday Canada!





Till next time ...... do you have a favourite butter tart recipe?


8 comments:

  1. 150 years! Congratulations. I do not think I have made butter tarts before...don't tell. :)
    Langdon Hall looks fabulous. Glad you could go along. Hope your weekend is going well.

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  2. No, I do not. I have never even had a butter tart. I am probably one who should pass on any new treats. =D Happy Birthday all year long to Canada. I get a little excited to think about the tulips.

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  3. I love butter tarts especially home made but with our pecans not a fan of them lol ! 150 years for our Canada come July one of the best country's to live in and I am proud to have been born and raised here by my British parents and to be able to say I AM CANADIAN !!! Lovely post and photos ,. Thanks for sharing , Have a good week !

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  4. Congrats to your friend. The dinner looked amazing

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  5. What a treat indeed! The meal looks amazing...and the building is beautiful (especially in the snow!). And your butter tarts look yummy! I'm looking forward to this year of 150th celebrations for our country...and enjoying many all-Canadian things.

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  6. Way to celebrate, Rosella! I remember Canada being 100 the year I turned ten. Oh boy!!!

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  7. I don't ever remember having a butter tart---but they sound rich and scrumptious! Congrats to your friend on becoming a Canadian citizen. And such a lovely appreciation dinner, too.

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  8. I've never seen or had a butter tart. Looking at the ingredients, I'm sure I'd like it. Happy Birthday, Canada!

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