Git for Teams

Appendix A. Butter Tarts

In Git, branches can be used to maintain variations in code. These variations might be a work in progress, or they may be a completely different direction. These branches can feel similiar to variations of family recipes. This appendix contains two variations of a recipe from my family of a classic Canadian dessert: butter tarts. (For the non-Canadians reading this, the inclusions are what make this dessert controversial. It’s like rebasing; but worse.)

Austin Butter Tarts

This is my mother’s recipe, passed down to her from her grandmother, Granny Austin. It is always made with currants, and never anything else.

Pastry

• 2-½ cups flour

• 1 cup shortening

• Pinch salt

• Ice water (enough to bind)

  1. Cut shortening into flour.

  2. Add ice water (approximately ½ cup).

  3. Mix with fork.

  4. Roll out.

  5. Prick and bake in a muffin tin, unfilled, at 450° F for 12 minutes.

Filling

• 1 cup sugar

• ½ cup soft butter

• 3 eggs

• 1 cup currants

• 2 tablespoons sweet or sour cream

  1. Mix together the filling ingredients.

  2. Bake in the pastry-filled muffin tin at 400° F for about 25 minutes.

van der Heyden Butter Tarts

This is my aunt’s recipe, passed down to her from her mother, Pat van der Heyden. It is usually without additions, but can have roasted nuts, chocolate chips, or raisins.

Filling

• ⅔ cup softened butter

• 3 cups brown sugar

• 3 cups corn syrup

• 12 eggs

Cream together butter and sugar. Add corn syrup, then eggs. Mix well together. Using ...