Butter tarts are a staple during the holidays in Canada: buttery, flaky little shells are filled with a sweet, buttery filling and a few raisins.
A couple weekends ago was the annual Hockey Day in Canada: an entire day of NHL hockey with all of the Canadian teams playing each other. Down in NJ, we decided to celebrate the day by making lots of appetizers throughout the day, and a couple of Canadian treats. One round of apps included poutine (well, sort of, I couldn’t find cheese curds so had to settle for shredded…) And we made butter tarts.
I had never laid eyes on a butter tart until I started spending time in Canada over the holidays. Now, when we get there, I scan the kitchen for them. And my Canadian relatives never disappoint. My husband’s grandmother used to make them and now my mother-in-law whips them up. They have special pans and you can even buy pre-made crusts at some of the markets. Way down south in New Jersey, I had to make my own and use muffin tins. I left the crust a little thicker than what we have in Canada to make sure I could pop them out of the muffin pans without destroying them (or was it because I especially love crust…?)
The filling is a simple mixture of brown sugar, butter, vanilla and corn syrup. And precisely three raisins in each one. They’re a bit like a pecan pie without the nuts. My daughter helped make them and then we all gobbled them up while watching the Leafs – not a bad way to spend a Saturday night!
- 3¾ cups all-purpose flour
- 3 tablespoons white sugar
- ¾ teaspoon kosher salt
- ⅔ cup cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces
- ⅔ cup shortening
- ⅓ cup ice water
- 2 teaspoons distilled white vinegar
- 1½ cups dark brown sugar
- ½ cup dark corn syrup
- ¼ cup unsalted butter, melted
- 2½ teaspoons vanilla extract
- ½ cup raisins (approximately)
- To make the crust, pulse the flour, sugar and salt in the bowl of a food processor. Add the butter and shortening, a little at a time, until just combined. Whisk together the ice water and vinegar in a measuring cup then drizzle slowly into the dough. Divide dough into 2 discs and wrap each in plastic wrap. Refrigerate at least 2 hours.
- When ready to make the tarts, whisk together the brown sugar, corn syrup, butter and vanilla. The mixture will be very thick.
- Generously grease 24 muffin cups.
- Preheat oven to 400F.
- Roll out one piece of the dough to about ¼-inch thick. Cut out rounds slightly wider than the muffin cups. Press one piece of dough into each of the muffin cups. Re-roll the scraps until all dough is used. Repeat with second piece of dough. You should have enough for about 24 tarts.
- Drop 3 raisins into each tart shell. Divide the filling among the shells. You only need about 2-3 teaspoons of filling for each.
- Bake until the crusts are golden, about 10-12 minutes. Allow to cool in the pans. Then pop them out with a dull knife.
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