Traditional Pets de Sœur (Québec Sugar Shack Pastry Made with Pie Dough)
Pets de Sœur – A Classic Québec Sugar Shack Treat
Some desserts are carefully planned.
Others are born out of thrift, creativity, and a little bit of kitchen mischief.
Pets de Sœur belong firmly in the second category.
This traditional Québec pastry was never meant to be a proper recipe. Instead, it was the clever way grandmothers used up leftover pie dough after making tourtière, sugar pie, or fruit pies. Rather than letting scraps go to waste, they rolled the dough thin, spread it with butter and brown sugar, and baked the little spirals in a simple caramel sauce.
The result is something magical:
crispy edges, gooey caramel centers, and the unmistakable taste of old-fashioned sugar shack baking.
And of course, there’s the name.
Children across Québec have giggled at it for generations. My kids and grandchildren wait for these when they are baking with me.
“Pets de Sœur” literally translates to Nun’s Farts, a mischievous name that somehow stuck and became part of our culinary folklore.
Today they remain one of the simplest and most beloved treats of Québec kitchens.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
• A true Québec sugar shack classic
• Made with simple pantry ingredients
• The perfect way to use leftover pie dough
• Crispy caramelized edges with a soft center
• Ready in about 25 minutes
These little pastries prove that some of the best desserts come from the simplest ideas.
Ingredients
For about 8 small pastries
1 pie crust worth of pie dough scraps
3 tablespoons butter, softened
½ cup brown sugar
¼ cup maple syrup or water
Optional: pinch cinnamon
How to Make Pets de Sœur
Preheat the oven
Set your oven to 375°F (190°C).Roll the dough
Roll the leftover pie dough into a thin rectangle, about ⅛ inch thick.Add the filling
Spread the softened butter over the dough and sprinkle evenly with brown sugar.Roll the dough
Roll the dough tightly into a log, just like cinnamon rolls.Slice the spirals
Cut into pieces about 1 inch thick.Prepare the baking dish
Pour the maple syrup (or water) into the bottom of a small baking dish.Arrange the pastries
Place the spirals cut-side up in the dish.Bake
Bake for 20–25 minutes, until the pastries are golden and the sugar has turned into a rich caramel sauce.
Serve warm. Or have for breakfast with coffee or a lovely snack with tea in the afternoon.
Richelle’s Kitchen Tip – Use Pets de Sœur as a Pie Topping
One of my favorite ways to use leftover dough is to bake Pets de Sœur directly on top of a pie.
This works beautifully with custard-style pies, where the filling starts quite liquid and slowly sets in the oven.
Try placing a few spirals gently in the center of:
• Sugar pie (tarte au sucre)
• Pumpkin pie
• Maple custard pie
• Buttermilk pie
As the pie bakes, the little spirals caramelize while the custard sets underneath.
It creates a beautiful dessert and turns leftover dough into something truly special.
Serving Suggestions
Pets de Sœur are best served:
• Warm from the oven
• With a drizzle of maple syrup
• With strong coffee or tea
• As part of a traditional sugar shack meal
FAQ
Why are they called Pets de Sœur?
The name literally means “Nun’s Farts.”
Like many traditional recipes, the origin is playful folklore that has survived for generations in Québec kitchens.
Can I make these without leftover dough?
Yes. Simply prepare your favorite pie dough recipe and roll it thin before adding the filling.
Can I freeze them?
They are best eaten fresh but can be frozen and reheated gently in the oven.
The Curious History of Pets de Sœur
Few desserts in Québec have a name that makes people smile quite as quickly as Pets de Sœur.
The name literally translates to “Nun’s Farts”, a playful and slightly mischievous title that has been part of Québec culinary folklore for generations. While it sounds humorous today, the name is actually linked to a long tradition of convent baking in Europe.
Food historians believe the name likely comes from older European pastries made in convent kitchens. Similar sweets existed in France, Italy, and Spain, where nuns often prepared simple fried or baked dough desserts for their communities. In several of these languages, pastries associated with convent kitchens also carried playful names referring to “nun’s farts,” possibly because the dough would puff or bubble during cooking.
Some culinary historians point to an Italian connection, where convent pastries with similar names and techniques were prepared centuries ago. When French settlers arrived in Québec, many recipes and culinary traditions were carried across the Atlantic, including the habit of transforming simple dough into sweet treats.
In Québec kitchens, the recipe evolved into something wonderfully practical. Instead of making a separate dough, cooks simply used leftover scraps from pie or tourtière pastry, rolled them with butter and brown sugar, and baked them in a small dish where the sugar melted into caramel.
What began as a way to avoid wasting dough became one of the most beloved little desserts of Québec’s sugar shack tradition.
Today, Pets de Sœur remain a reminder of the resourceful cooking that shaped traditional Québec cuisine: simple ingredients, no waste, and a bit of humor at the table.
In many Québec families, including mine, Pets de Sœur were simply the reward for helping roll pie dough — the sweet little pastries that appeared when the real baking was done.
Pets de Sœur – A Classic Québec Sugar Shack Treat
Pets de Sœur belong firmly in the second category.
This traditional Québec pastry was never meant to be a proper recipe. Instead, it was the clever way grandmothers used up leftover pie dough after making tourtière, sugar pie, or fruit pies. Rather than letting scraps go to waste, they rolled the dough thin, spread it with butter and brown sugar, and baked the little spirals in a simple caramel sauce.
Ingredients
- 1 pie crust worth of pie dough scraps
- 3 tablespoons butter, softened
- ½ cup brown sugar
- ¼ cup maple syrup or water
- Optional: pinch cinnamon
Instructions
- Preheat the oven
- Set your oven to 375°F (190°C).
- Roll the dough
- Roll the leftover pie dough into a thin rectangle, about ⅛ inch thick.
- Add the filling
- Spread the softened butter over the dough and sprinkle evenly with brown sugar.
- Roll the dough
- Roll the dough tightly into a log, just like cinnamon rolls.
- Slice the spirals
- Cut into pieces about 1 inch thick.
- Prepare the baking dish
- Pour the maple syrup (or water) into the bottom of a small baking dish.
- Arrange the pastries
- Place the spirals cut-side up in the dish.
- Bake
- Bake for 20–25 minutes, until the pastries are golden and the sugar has turned into a rich caramel sauce.
- Serve warm. Or have for breakfast with coffee or a lovely snack with tea in the afternoon.
