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You are here: Home / Food / Recipes / What do you do with pie scraps? You make a Sugar Dog!

What do you do with pie scraps? You make a Sugar Dog!

February 24, 2017 by Deanna Tousignant 25 Comments

When I was a kid my mom used to make these homemade tourtieres each year around Christmas. My favourite part of the whole process was waiting around to see how much leftover pie dough there would be. I’d be hoping my mom would make us kids a “sugar dog” or two. I always worried she would forget. Or that she would somehow use up every last bit of dough in making her meat pies.

She never forgot. She always scraped up all the tiny leftover pieces of pie dough, rolled them out flat, and then coated the dough in cinnamon, brown sugar and butter. She’d roll it up into this long lean wiener dog shape, curl it into a vague “c”, toss it in a pie pan and put it in the oven to brown.

I have fond memories of eating sugar dogs as a kid. I remember some years she let me help her spread the sugar. I remember eating tiny lumps of hot fresh from the oven dough. I remember carefully cutting it up and sharing it with my brother and sister. Never waiting long enough to let it cool, shoving my sugar covered fingers into my mouth and pretending I hadn’t just burnt them.

So obviously this year, when I finally convinced my mom to share her tourtière recipe with me, we had to make sugar dogs. It was a must. I probably should have been thinking about sharing the experience with my kids, but I wasn’t. I was just thinking about me. My mom and I were the only ones in the house. I briefly experienced that same sense of unease I would get as a kid. Would my mom (help) me make a sugar dog? Was my mom going to think I was nuts for wanting one?

Of course my mom was only too happy to use the pie scraps to make us a treat. “Of course we’ll make a sugar dog.” she said, just like she had said it dozens of times when I was a kid. We rolled out the dough, spread the butter and sugar and popped in into the oven with our pies. Then we sat and ate warm lumps of sugary dough, drank cups of hot black coffee, and played Scrabble, while waiting for our meat pies to finish cooking. Which, I’ve got to say, is a pretty fantastic way to spend an evening.

This is the part where I should share the recipe with you, tell you exactly how to make sugar dogs. But there’s really not that much to it. I’ve pretty much already covered it. — Flour your surface. Take the leftover pie dough, lump it together, then roll it out flat. Spread butter over the dough (margarine will work in a pinch, but it really should be butter). Be generous with the butter. Spread cinnamon and brown sugar everywhere, over every inch of that dough. Be generous with the sugar. Then roll the dough up into a long worm (or a wiener dog!). Curl it into a C so it will fit into the pie tin. Put it in a pie plate and toss it in the oven. Bake at 350° until it just starts to turn brown (about 20 minutes).

We used premade frozen crust. It was still yummy.

Mmmm. Sugar dogs.

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Filed Under: Food, Recipes Tagged With: childhood memories, Recipes

Comments

  1. Dianne says

    February 25, 2017 at 3:45 am

    When I was little my mom did the same thing…rolled out leftover dough, spread on the butter, added brown sugar and sprinkled on the cinnamon.. She rolled it up to form a long tube and then carefully cut 1/4 inch slices. She laid them out on a cookie sheet and baked them. We called them ‘Pinwheels’.
    I’m so glad you shared this with us. It brought back some wonderful memories.

    Reply
  2. Pam says

    February 26, 2017 at 3:30 pm

    It is one year to the week that I lost my mom.
    Your post reminded me that she would bake the extra pie crust and slather it with butter and let me eat it. thank you.

    Reply
  3. Jennifer says

    March 9, 2017 at 11:57 am

    My mom made these for me when I was little! Only she would cut them into little two-bite size pieces so we could see the swirl pattern. This brought back so many memories. It’s now been 8 years since passed to the week. Thank you for reminding me to make these with my young children.

    Reply
  4. Debbie White Beattie says

    March 19, 2017 at 1:20 am

    Apparently this recipe is really widely spread because I remember my grandma and my mom making these for me but the most important thing is how much I loved eating it every time she made this recipe for me.

    Reply
  5. kristen visser says

    March 22, 2017 at 3:40 pm

    oh my gosh ! i know have a craving for this! they look absolutely tasty and what a great idea to do. so easy to put together. I need to give this a try <3

    Reply
  6. Ernest Martin says

    March 22, 2017 at 3:41 pm

    Looks delicious. Now if I ever go to the point of making my own dough. 🙂

    Reply
  7. Heidi P says

    March 25, 2017 at 9:23 pm

    Oh my goodness, would never have thought of doing this, but just may try it. These look so delicious and I bet the kiddies would love to help make them.

    Reply
  8. Treen Goodwin says

    May 19, 2017 at 8:11 am

    I never thought of this , great idea , thanks for sharing , mom always cooked the extra pie crust in ball in the oven and we liked to eat it like that , i will def be trying this next time 🙂

    Reply
  9. Anne Taylor says

    May 22, 2017 at 1:56 pm

    Ahh, this brings back memories of my mom. When she had extra crust bits she would twist cheese in them and bake them. Delicious!

    Reply
  10. Judy Cowan says

    May 23, 2017 at 9:49 am

    Love making these with the leftover pastry, always a yummy treat!

    Reply
  11. Elizabeth Matthiesen says

    May 23, 2017 at 10:04 pm

    What a superb idea, I’d love sugar dogs I’m sure. My mum used to use the left over pastry by stuff it with dates and rolling it up. I have no idea if there was a name for this but I loved them as a kid, not had one in probably 40 yrs. 🙁

    Reply
  12. DebH says

    May 25, 2017 at 2:31 pm

    Have never heard of these but they look yummy!

    Reply
  13. Leeanne c says

    May 29, 2017 at 1:29 pm

    What a great idea to use left over dough. Perfect little dessert.

    Reply
  14. Veronica says

    June 6, 2017 at 11:57 pm

    This looks so yummy! I love recipes like this that make a special treat with leftovers.

    Reply
  15. Elaine Buonsante says

    October 26, 2017 at 1:47 am

    Did your article above bring back memories for me…my sister and I also anxiously awaited pastry scraps with cinnamon and sugar when my Mother was making pies.

    Reply
    • Deanna says

      October 26, 2017 at 5:28 pm

      The best, right? Making it myself wasn’t *quite* the same, but it’ll have to do. 😉

      Reply
  16. lori galbraith says

    November 6, 2017 at 7:23 pm

    Yum, such a great idea for the scraps.

    Reply
  17. Wanda Tracey says

    November 11, 2017 at 9:05 pm

    I have yet to try this and can’t wait.It sounds like a delicious way to use up the extra crust.Thanks for tip.

    Reply
  18. Tammy Dalley says

    November 12, 2017 at 9:05 pm

    What a great idea! Thanks for sharing

    Reply
  19. l p says

    December 7, 2018 at 3:46 pm

    thanks for the idea.

    Reply
  20. andrea amy says

    December 7, 2018 at 11:43 pm

    I have never heard of this and always trash the left over bits! I’ll definitely do this next time! Thanks.

    Reply
  21. Donna L. says

    December 14, 2018 at 1:31 am

    Great idea, thanks.

    Reply
  22. Shirley O says

    July 12, 2019 at 3:29 pm

    What a great idea and they look so tasty.

    Reply
  23. kathy downey says

    July 20, 2019 at 10:27 am

    I remember those on Saturday morning when grandma was baking,it was a special treat for us!

    Reply
  24. Micheline says

    July 22, 2019 at 9:48 pm

    This looks delicious, I have not had the pleasure of trying them. This is the first time seeing these.

    Reply

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