Tarte au Sirop d'Érable (Maple Syrup Pie)

Having an end-of-November birthday is kind of depressing when you’re a university student – everyone is too busy with final projects and papers to spare a couple hours to celebrate with you. Or they’re watching the Grey Cup.

Anyway, in 2009 I was going to school in Montreal, and when my birthday rolled around I decided to book a hotel, get on a train, and have a holiday in Quebec City by myself.


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Ode to a Hometown

For my very first post, I thought it would be fitting to make something in tribute to my first home: Red Deer, Alberta. Not really the type of place that inspires confectionary creativity; our official cookie was chosen in a mid-nineties attempt to contrive some kind of "Red Deerian" culture. New Yorkers have their black-and-white cookies, Paris has its macarons... and we have the Caramel Surprise. I know. It needs a new name.

I'm not really sure how they represent Red Deer, but they're delicious (which is all that really matters, right?): a soft, chewy chocolate cookie filled with caramel and topped with chopped pecans. Yum.


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