By Mary Lagroue
Intern
Eunice youths tasted a slice of local culture as they learned to make sweet dough pies.
On Tuesday, campers at the Jean Lafitte National Historical Park and Preserve Prairie Acadian Cultural Center summer camp learned about Acadiana through pie-making and other hands-on activites.
Park guide Angelle Bellard began the lesson by asking the campers about the history of pies. Hands shot up. The first pies tasted no better than clay, they said, until people began filling them with meat.
Bellard then asked whose grandmothers have made sweet dough pies. Several campers raised their hands.
Sweet dough pies are a staple dessert for many Cajun and Creole families. The exact origins of sweet dough pies are, however, unknown. Recipes are handed down from generation to generation.
“I’m still trying to get my grandmother’s, but this is my mom’s recipe,” said Bellard, who grew up in Swords. “Sweet dough pies are something that I grew up eating and making.”
Sweet dough pies are often filled with sweet potatoes, figs or other localally grown fruits, Bellard said. The pies are baked, never fried.
Bellard explained that people in Acadiana have long made sweet dough pies with seasonal fillings. Bellard planned to fill the pies with local figs. Because fig season came early in Louisiana, campers learned that canned sweet potatoes are a suitable shortcut no matter the season.
The campers seemed as excited about canned sweet potatoes as they could have been about figs.
“Can we bring these home today?” one camper asked.
The campers learned to flatten the dough into a circle, fill it with sweet potato puree and fold the dough in half to resemble a crescent moon. The pies were to be baked for seven to 10 minutes, while the campers attended a lesson about homemade toys.
Kaylee Babineaux’s grandmother bakes sweet dough pies about once a month. Her favorite fillings are strawberry and peach.
“Me and my grandma always bake,” Babineaux said. Babineaux traced the recipe to her great-grandmother. “Her and my mom used to always bake.”
Teagan Champagne and several other campers had never made sweet dough pies before. After the demonstration, Champagne was quick to recite the recipe. “If you know how to do it, it’s very easy,” she said.
Kaiden Lombrado and Olivia Thibodeaux said they first made sweet dough pies at the summer camp last year. Lombrado said making the pies was his favorite part of the camp.
In the past, campers learned how to make other regional foods like a coconut candy called boule rouge. Bellard introduced the sweet dough pie recipe to campers when she started working at the center last year.
“We want to hand down the tradition, plus it’s delicious,” Bellard said.
All activities at the summer camp promote Acadian culture or cultures that have influenced it.
Sweet dough pies are popular throughout Acadiana. Yam Country Pies, for example, sells sweet dough pies in Opelousas.
On the fourth Saturday of October, Grand Coteau hosts the Sweet Dough Pie Festival on the grounds of St. Charles Borromeo Church. About 10,000 pies are sold at the festival.
Janice Fox, who serves on the board of directors for the Grand Coteau Cultural Foundation, said the festival promotes local culture.
