Butter tarts are one of my favorite Christmas traditions from my childhood. Mom always had them out on the counter and a few back-ups in the freezer for the whole holiday season. I was made aware when I moved to the US that these are totally a Canadian thing. For all you Americans, they can somewhat be compared to Pecan pie, minus the pecans. Actually you can use pecans, or walnuts but the most popular, and by far my favorite is raisins. This recipe is the one my mom has always used, and back in the 70s was voted "Canada's Best Butter Tart". I have to admit this attempt did not turn out as well as I had hoped, I think mostly because of my gas stove that cooks a bit hotter and a bit more unevenly. So a word of advice, keep a close eye on them! The recipe says 20 minutes or more, but I think mine could have been done in 15 for sure. I think if you like them runny, 15 is plenty!
Enjoy! And I hope some of you American's will give these a try, you won't regret it!
Award Winning Butter Tarts
Ingredients
-Pie Pastry, enough to fill about 16 spots in muffin tins. One box of Pilsbury roll out Pie Crust is what I used, but you can use pre-made tart shells or make your own crust, up to you!
-3/4 cup raisins
-1/4 cup softened butter
-1/4 cup packed brown sugar
-1 pinch salt
-1/2 cup corn syrup
-1 egg, lightly beaten
-1 tsp vanilla
Directions
- Place raisins in a bowl and cover with hot tap water and leave for 30 minutes.
- Prepare muffin tin by cutting out pastry to fit in cups. I used a reusable Saskatchewan Roughrider solo cup, but I am sure a regular solo cup would work. It was the only thing I had that was exactly the right size. Set aside in the fridge until you are ready to use them.
-In a large bowl using a wooden spoon mix together softened butter, brown sugar, corn syrup and salt until sugar is dissolved and butter is creamed.
-Add egg and vanilla and mix well.
-Drain raisins
-Take the tart shells out of the fridge and divide the raisins equally among the shells. Then divide mixture evenly into the shells but do not over fill! ale sure there is about 1cm of room between the mixture and the top so it doesn't boil over the top.
-Bake at 400 for 15-20 minutes. Check them at 12 minutes if you like them a bit runny. Once again, keep a close eye on them to get the pastry exactly how you like it.
-Let the tarts cool for 10 mins in the pan and then take them out and place on a cooling rack until they are completely cool.
-Enjoy! These are amazing!
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