Get ready for all your favourite spring activities and the Easter holiday. After Christmas and Thanksgiving, Easter is the third most popular family gathering of the year for Canadians. Although traditions for Easter can range from painting eggs to a simple family gathering, it is considered a time to ring in the changing of the seasons and gather with loved ones.
When gathering friends and family around the table, there’s always a challenge in finding the right combination of dishes that will please everybody. Our mix of recipes for 2018 combines Easter classics such a ham and carrots with a twist of lemon and caramelized pears, an often overlooked delicacy that brings out the promises of spring with fresh fruit and zest. By emphasizing the freshness of spring with fruit and ingredients such as mint, you can create a meal that perfectly blends the classics with the new, and offer dishes that are delicious and healthy. Your guests will be delighted by the familiar dishes they’ve known for years while being thrilled for the new flavours brought to each recipe.
This year for dessert, skip the chocolate eggs and go for a dessert that adds a touch of fruit with our lemon square recipe that will cater to your sweet tooth without being too overwhelming. For those who still wish for a taste of chocolate, we also have our double chocolate cookies made with fresh vanilla and cocoa.
No matter how you celebrate Easter, we have the perfect recipes to amaze your guests!
Whether a gourmand or a lover of subtle tastes, we’re confident each of your guests will find something they love and will be asking to bring the leftovers home.
- 2 cups sifted flour
- 1⁄2 cup powdered sugar
- 1 cup butter
- 4 large beaten eggs
- 2 cups white sugar
- 1⁄3 cup fresh lemon juice
- 1⁄4 cup flour
- 1⁄2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1⁄2 teaspoon fresh lemon rind (optional)
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For the base mix the butter into the flour and sugar.
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Mix with hands until it clings together.
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Press into a 13 x 9 x 2-inch pan.
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Bake at 350°F for 20-25 minutes or until lightly browned.
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For the filling, beat together eggs, sugar and lemon juice.
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Sift together flour and baking powder.
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Stir into egg mixture.
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Pour over baked, cooled crust.
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Bake at 350°F for 25 minutes.
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Cool and sprinkle with powdered sugar.
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Cut into bars.
- 1 1⁄8 cups butter
- 2 cups sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- 2 cups flour
- 3⁄4 cup cocoa
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1⁄2 teaspoon salt
- 2 cups bite size chocolate chunks
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Cream together the butter, sugar, then add the eggs and vanilla.
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Blend in the cocoa and add baking soda, salt and blend well.
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Add the flour into the creamed mixture and fold in the chunks
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Bake at 350°F for 8-9 minutes.
- 10 to 15 pound whole ham, or 5 to 7 pound half of a ham
- 1 cup maple syrup
- 1/2 cup cup packed brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons dry mustard
- 3 tablespoons cider vinegar
- Whole cloves
- 1 teaspoon of finely ground pepper
- 7 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 8 medium pears, such as Anjou or Bartlett, halved and cored
- 1/2 cup packed light-brown sugar
- 1/4 cup of maple syrup
- Salt
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Boil ham for 20 minutes
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Preheat the oven to 325°F. Place the ham on a rack in a shallow roasting pan. For a whole 10 to 15 pound ham, allow 18 to 20 minutes per pound; for a half, 5 to 7 pound, about 20 minutes per pound; or for a shank or butt portion weighing 3 to 4 pounds, about 35 minutes to the pound. In all cases, cook uncovered until the internal temperature reaches 160°F.
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To glaze the ham, remove it from the oven about 30 minutes before it is done, and increase the oven heat to 425°F. Remove all the rind but a collar around the shank bone. Slash the fat on the top of the ham in a diamond pattern and stud the fat at the intersections of the diamonds with whole cloves. Cover the surface with a mix of brown sugar, maple syrup, dry mustard, cider vinegar and fresh pepper.
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Return the ham to the oven, reduce the oven heat to 325°F again, and cook about 30 minutes. Place on a platter. Garnish with caramelized pears.
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In a large skillet, melt butter over medium-high. Add pears, one cut side down, and cook until browned, then reduce heat to medium and cook 3 minutes. Turn pears to other cut side and cook 4 minutes. Add sugar and 1 tablespoon water, swirling pan to combine. Turn pears skin side down and cook until sauce is thickened slightly, 2 minutes and add a pinch of salt.
- 1 pound small carrots, with tops on (about 2 bunches)
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh mint
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon rind
- Juice of 1 orange
- 1/2 cup of maple syrup
- Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
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Trim the tops off the carrots, leaving about 1/2 inch of the green stem attached, and wash thoroughly.
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Heat the olive oil and butter in a large sauté pan over medium heat until the butter melts. Add the carrots and cook, stirring from time to time, for about 8 minutes, until tender and have a little color.
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Stir in the orange juice, maple syrup and 1/2 cup of cold water, salt, and pepper. Cover, reduce the heat to low, and let the carrots simmer until nearly all of the liquid has cooked off, about 10 minutes. Season the carrots with more salt and pepper to taste, garnish with mint and lemon rind and serve warm.
Happy Easter!