Dutch Thanksgiving

Reasons I don't generally go home for Thanksgiving:

1. It's six hours and three time zones away by plane

2. We're European, it's not really a family tradition

3. Most of the food is not on mom's Atkins diet

Lucky for me I have generous friends and am usually adopted by someone else's family on a temporary basis. For the past two years, it has been by AH, a classmate. Her family, back in the day, were Dutch and oma (grandma) in particular finds my authentic Dutch self charming. Last year she had me read a Dutch cookbook and indicate which foods were familiar. So this year I baked some Boterkoek and brought it with me. It's super simple and looks fairly plain, but let's face it, anything that's 25% butter is going to be tasty. I like mine with a hint of almond flavouring.

Try something Dutch:

1 cup butter, softened

1.5 cups granulated sugar

2 eggs

1 tablespoon almond extract

2.5 cups all-purpose flour

1.5 teaspoons baking powder

Mix butter and sugar. Add eggs, 1 at a time. Add remaining ingredients. Press into two 8" pie or tart tins. Bake for 30 minutes at 350 degrees Fahrenheit. For best texture, leave uncovered for 12-24 hours. Thereafter, store in an airtight container.