North Dakota duo Tigirlily Gold spotlights Turtle Lake family’s scotcharoo recipe

TURTLE LAKE, N.D. (KFYR) – North Dakota natives Kendra and Krista Slabaugh are making quite a name for themselves in Nashville.

The sister duo has performed around the world.

But Tigirlily Gold has never forgotten their North Dakota roots.

They talk – and sing – about their home state whenever they can.

A recent video from Krista pays tribute to one of North Dakotans’ favorite desserts.

Brittany Sathren’s mom is never far from her thoughts.

“I think of her every day,” said Sathren.

Those thoughts are always a little stronger when she’s in the kitchen.

“We spent countless hours in the kitchen baking,” said Sathren.

That is especially true when she’s making her mom’s famous scotcharoos.

“Everyone always wanted my mom’s scotcharoos,” said Sathren.

Sathren’s mom, Karen Lelm, died in 2009 after a nearly nine-year cancer fight.

“There was just a short time where she wasn’t doing some sort of chemo or radiation,” said Sathren.

Lelm was 50 years old.

“She fought hard,” said Sathren.

Sathren has followed in her mother’s footsteps in the kitchen and on the West River Telephone board.

“She took pride in her baking, and she took pride in being on the West River board,” said Sathren.

Lelm’s scotcharoos are well known around Turtle Lake.

“They were popular,” said Sathren.

The bars have also gone a little viral, thanks to Tigirlily Gold.

Krista Slabaugh pulled Lelm’s recipe from the West River Telephone cookbook and shared it, along with a video of herself making the bars on social media.

“Of all the recipes you can pick and living in Nashville, Tennessee and being as popular as they are, it’s cool that she was making my mom’s recipe,” said Sathren.

The video received nearly 2,000 likes and hundreds of comments, including one from Lelm’s sister, Connie Neumiller.

“I thought, ‘I wonder if they’ll sign the cookbooks,’” said Neumiller.

Neumiller got two cookbooks autographed and took a picture with Tigirlily Gold.

“That was the first time I’ve seen them in concert,” said Neumiller.

Neumiller said the attention would have made her sister smile.

“She would have been pretty proud of this,” said Neumiller.

For Neumiller and Sathren, it is a reminder of Lelm, whose legacy — and whose scotcharoo recipe — live on.

Sathren said her mother’s caramel bars were just as popular as her scotcharoos but added that no one other than her mother has been able to master that recipe.

North Dakota duo Tigirlily Gold spotlights Turtle Lake family’s scotcharoo recipe.(Brittany Sathren)

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