Butter Tarts - A Little Taste O' Canada

Did you know that the butter tart is a Canadian desert?  Butter tarts were common in pioneer cooking and can be traced back to the 1600's.  Traditionally, the tarts consisted of sugar, butter and pastry but today there are several varieties of butter tarts.  Some Canadians use pecans, walnuts or coconut to spice up their tarts, but raisins are most common.  Here is my recipe for Canadian Butter Tarts; the recipe makes exactly 12 tarts. 

It's always the best to use your own homemade pie pastry, but sometimes it's easier to buy a pre-made pastry.  I made the pastry ahead of time so it would be quick to make the tarts.  I used a glass to cut out circles of pastry and placed them into muffin cups.

Before you make the filling, place about 9 or 10 raisins in the bottom of each tart shell.

To make the filling, whisk together 1 cup of brown sugar, 1 egg, 1 tablespoon of butter, 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract and 1 tablespoon of hot water. 

Pour into tart shells to cover raisins (approx 2/3 full).

Bake at 450 degrees F for 10-12 minutes or until the crust is golden brown.  Let them cool completely before attempting to remove them from the muffin tray.

From experience, these won't last very long so you should almost always make a double batch!  For a truly Canadian experience, try your butter tarts with beer :) Haha

Proud to be a Canadian Cook,
Bri