Crime, sweat, cravings were all part of the Sault’s newest calorie-burning – but also calorie-consuming – charity event.
The Crime Stoppers Run Against Crime! was held in conjunction with the Sault's first-ever Crime Stoppers Butter Tart Festival at Bellevue Park on Sunday.
Runners started at 10 a.m. with 5 and 10 km loops that went around the park and Topsail Island.
As soon as that wrapped up, everyone went to the picnic bench area and dug into the good stuff — four Algoma butter tart creators with over 20 different butter tart recipes between them competing to win the title as top butter tart creator in the city.
Louise Greco — ‘Guilty Pleasures’
Louise Greco served raisin, pecan, plain, and walnut butter tarts.
Tammy Peterson of 'The Queen's Tarts' at the Sault's first annual Butter Tart Festival on Sunday. Jeff Klassen/SooTodayGreco decided to start making more butter tarts after baking 140 of them at her daughter’s wedding this year.
“Everyone told me I should own my own shop,” she said.
Greco uses a recipe that combines her sister-in-law Mazie’s filling recipe with her mother’s crust recipe.
Her butter tart secret — she doesn’t use any corn starch or maple syrup, strictly sugar.
“Mine are more buttery than sweet,” she said.
Carrie Ford and Cheryl Wilson — ‘Carrie’s Tarts’
With Carrie Ford baking and her mother Cheryl Wilson packaging, Carrie’s Tarts served original, coconut, walnut, pecan, s’mores, raisins, and chocolate butter tarts.
Carrie Ford's S'mores butter tarts. Jeff Klassen/SooTodayFord has been going to craft shows for about a year with her tarts where she said she always sells out.
Her butter tart secret is to make sure the pastry is nice and flaky and that the filling is thick and not to runny.
“Everyone loves a butter tart, they are a classic,” she said.
Before Sunday’s event Ford posted on Facebook asking people to come out — ‘help take a bite out of crime (and butter tarts)’.
Marie Hunter
Marie Hunter made plain, raisin, and bacon butter tarts for the competition.
A close up of Marie Hunter's plain butter tart - it's her personal favourite flavour. Jeff Klassen/SooTodayHunter’s secret flaky Crisco-baked butter tart recipe was passed down to her by her mother’s neighbour, Barbara Wright.
“It could have been from the side of the package for all I know,” she siaid, “But it is a fabulous recipe.
Hunter said her butter tart skills have come in handy — bribing her boss at David Ellis Architects.
“I’m always late for work so I give him butter tarts and it keeps him sweet,” she said.
Tammy Paterson — ‘The Queen’s Tarts’
Tammy Paterson has been operating a full time butter tart-selling business for years at the Mill Market.
Tammy Peterson's competition pumpkin flavoured butter tarts. Jeff Klassen/SooToday“Someday we’d like to open a storefront,” she said.
Hunter makes over 30 flavours of butter tarts — some of the more ‘out-there’ ones are cookies and cream and mince meat.
For the Sunday competition Peterson only entered one flavour — pumpkin.
The best butter tart?
A panel of judges voted Louise Greco's raisin butter tarts as being their favourite at the festival.
"I think what was really interesting (about the event) was that there were so many flavours.They were all so good and it was a really really hard decision," said OPP Constable Monique Baker, who was on the panel of judges. "Her raisin butter tarts were like no other."
Baker said the combination of running and butter tarts worked really well.
"It was a great way to fuel up your body after a 10 km run," she said.