Eclairs and memories

 


As all my friends are doubtless aware, today is "National Eclair Day." I was unable to find a fine bakery to provide me with the best of this delicacy, so I had to settle for frozen mini eclairs. Better than nothing!
This is another important day for me to reminisce. My mother taught me to appreciate good desserts; I guess I can blame my "sweet tooth" on her, at least in part. When we traveled with her to Europe, we were usually more excited to see a "Konditorei" - a German pastry shop - than a gelato shop. They have amazing selections of beautiful and artistically-prepared delicacies, including sweet rolls, cakes, tarts, strudels, cookies, chocolates, and more!
But chocolate eclairs in particular figured prominently in my youth. When I was allowed to pick a treat during family visits at Roe's Bakery in Payson, it was always a debate for me between the whipped-cream-filled "alligator jaws" (which sometimes won because they were larger) and an eclair. To this day I love the puffy, hollow pastry filled with sweet creamy custard or even vanilla pudding, topped with a generous layer of chocolate.
So today I #GiveThanks for my genetic love for pastries (thanks Mom!), and for the sweet memories of childhood that are evoked by each eclair I consume. Aren't those little personal memory associations a gift??

COMMENT POSTED FROM ONE OF THE ORIGINAL OWNERS OF ROE'S BAKERY: Karen Leifson Wilde My cousin Renee Hill just forwarded this to me. I told her it makes my heart so happy! And it does! Thanks David for putting us in the running with European bakeries! Our Alligator Jaws were scratch made. Garth would fill them as full as he could. They really did look yummy with all that cream. I liked the Eclairs best myself. I loved the custard. I have to say that it was really hard to close the bakery. It had been in the family for 78 years. We hated being the ones to make the decision. But when Walmart came in we knew We couldn’t compete with a loaf of bread for $1.00. It was an amazing experience. Payson customers were the best. Especially the older ones. I loved them! Thanks for the memories!

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