Monday 15 April 2013

Patsy ReCline’s Dingle Hoofers




Sometimes, fellow cakers send me cookbooks. I suppose it makes them feel like one more cross-eyed doll from the Island of Misfit Toys has found a child to love it. When Caker Cooking reader, Adam, emailed to say he had something I might be interested in, I figured it’d probably be another church lady cookbook to add to my collection.

The cookbook was filled with ladies, all right – only their names were “Dawn Valley Parkway” and “Tammy Wynotte.” A 1993 fund raising project for Casey House (an AIDS hospice in Toronto), But Can She Cook?, features drag queens in all their hairy-armed fabulousness posing alongside their favourite recipes.

I opted for Patsy ReCline’s Dingle Hoofers because a) I look good in cowboy boots, and b) I haven’t had a good dingle in I don’t know how long. Not only were Patsy’s Dingle Hoofers delicious (they're like a pie without the filling), they made me consider a whole new category of caker cooking: gayker cooking.

The book’s creator told me Patsy passed away before the cookbook was published, which is all the more poignant given its cause. Patsy, wherever you are, I hope the cowboys are cute, the air smells like a Saskatchewan wheat field and this is playing on repeat.

Thanks, Adam! And thanks to Christopher and George for letting me use their words and photography.

Pie dough (your favourite recipe) (See note)
Softened butter
Brown sugar
Cinnamon
Nutmeg (optional)

Dingle Hoofers are an old country finger snack that’s as fine as frogs’ hair. This recipe is handy as hip pockets on a hog, so keep in mind next time you’re hankering for a snack, you’ll eat ‘em up, Take your room temperature pie dough and roll it out until it is approximately 1/8” thick. Spread your softened butter on the dough, being sure you have covered the whole area. Now you can sprinkle on the brown sugar as liberally or sparingly as you like. Be careful not to overload this with mounds of sugar because you won’t be able to roll the dough without it breaking apart. Be sure to add the cinnamon for flavour. Roll your dough, then slice into bite size pieces. Flatten pieces slightly. Place on a greased cookie sheet and bake until golden brown (15-20 minutes) in a preheated 350° oven. Cool on your open window sill, but careful no rascals come by and grab ‘em!

Note: Uh, Pillsbury

Source: But Can She Cook?
Text by Christopher North
Photography by George Leet

16 comments:

  1. "I haven’t had a good dingle in I don’t know how long"
    I don't know if I believe this one. :)
    Glad you enjoyed the book.

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    1. Adam, thanks to you, I've gone out and bought a bright red wig, some spray tan and am now going by the stage name "Wynonna Juggs."

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  2. I've never heard these treats referred to as Dingle Hoofers - I know them as Pets de Soeurs (literal translation: Nun's Farts). Is there a French version of Caker Cooking?! Anyways, they are a delicious way to use up leftover scraps of pastry!

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    1. I prefer the name Nun's Farts over Dingle Hoofers. But that should come as a surprise to no one.

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  3. I have never seen a food blog post with a more enticing title than Patsy ReCline’s Dingle Hoofers. You made my day.

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    1. I think we can safely say this is the first time the words "dingle" and "enticing" have appeared in the same sentence.

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  4. My favorite recipe for pie dough? I'd say that would be the ready made Crisco crust from the frozen aisle. Do cakers make homemade pie dough? Maybe for a very special occasion!

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    1. I don't understand this term "homemade." Can you clarify what it means?

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  5. Skip the pie dough all together and use President's Choice puff-pastry in the frozen section. They puff up right purdy and yer guests will be impressed!

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    1. Now that sounds real fancy-like. I might have to give that suggestion a try.

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  6. We used to make this with the scraps of the pizza dough back when I worked at Pepi's Pizza in my teens. yum.

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    1. My god, just think of the millions you could've made if only you'd trademarked Pepi's Dingle Hoofers!

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  7. Oh. M. Gee. I was at the launch for that cookbook, at which Ms. Valley Parkway sang her little heart out. Good times, good times.

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    1. You were really there?? Amazing! I'm guessing there was a lot of big hair in the room.

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  8. I was a good friend of "Patsy Recline" in the last couple of years of his life. Real name: Michael Dobie. Passed away April 5, 1993 due to complications from AIDS.

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    1. We lost too many good people to that awful disease. No doubt Michael made some smiles as Patsy. Can't ask for much more than that sometimes.

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