SHER'S TARTE AU SUCRE (sugar pie)

SHER'S JOYEUX NOEL 

TARTE AU SUCRÉ

also known as Christmas Sugar Pie

A traditional French Canadian dessert for the Christmas season. It's on the sweeter and more decadent side of desserts, so a little goes a long way. Serving it up with Maple flavored ice cream or drizzled pure Maple Syrup makes the pie even more luscious to the taste buds. 

This is a winner for dinner after Midnight Mass along with Tourtiere!  

INGREDIENTS

• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 5 tsp all purpose flour (this cuts the sweetness)
• 2 eggs
• 2 tbsp milk (I use 1%, but any will suffice )
• 1/2 cup melted butter (I use Imperial sticks as they are pre-measured)
• 1 cup - 1/2 cup of finely chopped walnuts (pecans work very well too)

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees (f) or 165 degrees (c)
2. Mix first 5 ingredients on medium speed with hand mixer until smooth
3. Add melted butter and nuts (the nuts are optional) and blend for 3 minutes
4. Pour into unbaked pie shell (I use a top crust as well, but you can certainly make it without a top crust). Cut a slit into the top crust for air
5. Bake for 35-40 minutes or until it's set
6. Top with Whipped Cream or Maple flavored Ice Cream

* nuts are optional

** you can easily turn this pie into miniature tartlets (similar to butter tart)

Joyeux Noel! 

Mega Fruit Muffins

SHER'S BC FRESH FRUIT MEGAMUFFINS

INGREDIENTS

3 1/2 c. flour
1 cup sugar [1]

 5 tsp. baking powder
1 1/2 tsp. salt
2 beaten eggs [2]
1 1/2 cup milk [3]
1/2 cup shortening

1/4 cup blueberries [4]

1/2 cup diced apples [5]

1/2 cup diced peaches [6] optional

1 tsp cinnamon

Stir together flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt; make a well in center. Combine eggs, milk, and shortening, and add all at once to dry ingredients, stirring just until moistened. Fill greased or paper-lined muffin tins two-thirds full. Bake at 375 degrees for 25-30 minutes. Makes 9-12 Texas muffins or 18-24 muffins.

You can also use chopped walnuts, coconut, almonds, dried cranberries, raisins as well as changing up cinnamon for nutmeg or all spice to make it seasonal.

Freezes well.

LINKS

http://www.bchoney.com

http://www.msbfarm.ca/

http://www.peachfest.com/

http://www.findfamilyfun.com/applefarm.html

http://www.haneyfarmersmarket.org/

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[1] can substitute honey instead of using sugar * 1/2 cup of BC fresh honey

[2] free range Maple Ridge organic

[3] I use 1%

[4] Fraser Valley fresh

[5] BC fresh gala or empire work best

[6] Okanagan fresh