A taste of tradition - Dutch

Dutch butter letter

By TINA PALACEK

Dutch butter letter was a pastry that was only made during the holidays by my family because it was considered a special treat. My grandparents were immigrants from Holland who became dairy farmers in northern New Jersey. They were hardworking, proud people who embraced their new country. My grandparents were very proud to become American citizens, but they didn’t want to forget, or have their families forget, their Dutch ancestors and traditions. They taught their children and their grandchildren to be proud of their heritage, and butter letter always stood out as a special treat associated with Holland.

I first made butter letter with my grandmother standing beside me to make sure I did it right; and many years later I enjoyed baking the same dessert with my daughter to help carry on a family tradition. Butter letter is considered a special dessert; since Christmas is an important holiday for my family, it makes sense that Christmas would be the perfect opportunity to make this family-loved pastry.

INGREDIENTS:

Crust:

4 cups flour

1 cup ice water

¼ teaspoon salt

1 pound butter or margarine

1/8 teaspoon baking powder

Filling:

3 cups sugar

1 pound almond paste

3 eggs (save the white of one egg for brushing top of pastry)

PROCEDURE:

For crust, mix together baking powder, salt and flour for crust. Cut in butter or margarine. Add ice water and stir in until it can be gathered together in a ball suitable for rolling.

For filling, mix almond paste and eggs until free from lumps. Add sugar and mix again.

Divide crust dough into four balls. Roll out each ball into strips, rectangles about eight by 13 inches. Cut in half.

Roll out the filling to nearly the same size as the crust and put paste on crust. Put a little water on each end to seal the crust and keep filling inside while baking. Then roll up crust; you can form the rolled pastry into the shape of a letter or leave it as a long bar.

Brush top of pastry with egg white and pierce with fork. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes, or until golden brown.