The thing about being away from home is that every once in a while I start missing me some Canadian stuff. The other week I posted on Facebook that I was craving poutine, tourtiere, coffee crisps and butter tarts. And boy was I ever! I pretty much wanted to eat all four things at once. Sure there are a few places in Chicago to get poutine (which I have yet to try) but I’d be shocked if I could get my hands on a decent tourtiere. And coffee crisps? I doubt I’d be able to find them since no one really imports random Canadian chocolate bars. My friend Joel suggested that I just make butter tarts and it was totally one of those “I should’ve had a V8” moments. Why DON’T I make butter tarts!
And so I did.
A few years ago I made butter tarts using this Canadian Living recipe that turned out pretty good but I wanted to try something different. A bit of googling turned up this recipe from Saveur, which happens to be one of my fave food magazines, so I went for it… at around 10 p.m. I swear, I’m forever starting baking projects around bedtime that stretch past midnight. I’m not even sure why. Maybe it’s that point in the day when I’ve gotten through most of my to-do list or maybe I get my second wind? Not sure. But it’s probably not the best idea to bake so late and then consume treats at 1 a.m.
Butter tarts are shockingly simple to put together… if you don’t have an aversion to making pie crust. The original recipe says to make the pie crust by hand, but I’m a cheater and love making pie crust in the food processor. It makes life so much easier and you still end up with a flaky, delicious crust. I would love to hear a good argument against making pie crust in the food processor. Seriously.
I also switched things up by NOT using raisins and using walnuts instead. If you’ve spent any time with me talking about food with me then you probably know that I have a SERIOUS aversion to raisins. Waste. Of. Grapes. That’s one of my biggest beefs with butter tarts, they are often corrupted by those yucky little critters. I would normally include pecans but didn’t have any but DID have a big bag of walnuts so they found their way into the mix.
The rest of the prep basically involves mixing the filling ingredients and filling the shells and that’s it. Super easy.
While I don’t have a great memory of the last time I made butter tarts, I have to see these were probably better. As in, I would make these every week if that wasn’t such an obscene idea. They were sufficiently buttery and the maple syrup rounded out the flavours nicely by adding a bit of a twang to things. Well-played Saveur. Well. Played.
Butter Tarts
(makes 2-3 dozen)
For the tart shells:
5 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1 lb. vegetable shortening, cut into pieces
1 egg
1 tbsp. white vinegar
For the filling:
3 tbsp. unsalted butter, cut into pieces
2 cups packed brown sugar
1/2 cup pure maple syrup
1/4 cup corn syrup
4 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1.5 cups walnuts, chopped
1. For the tart shells: Combine flour, and salt in bowl of a food processor. Pulse a few times to combine. Add shortening and pulse a few times until the mixture forms very coarse crumbs. Whisk together egg, vinegar, and 1 cup cold water in a measuring cup and with the motor running add to the mixture in food processor. Continue to process until mixture forms a ball (doesn’t take long, a few seconds). Remove dough from food processor and press dough into a rough ball, then transfer to a lightly floured surface. Give dough several quick kneads with the heel of your hand to form a smooth dough, then shape into a ball. Wrap dough in plastic and refrigerate for 1 hour or overnight.
2. For the filling: Combine butter, brown sugar, maple syrup, and corn syrup in a saucepan over low heat; stir until butter melts and mixture is well combined. Set aside to cool for 3-4 minutes. Beat 1 of the eggs in a small bowl, then add to filling and mix well. Repeat with remaining eggs. Stir in vanilla and set aside.
3. Heat oven to 425°. Roll dough out on a lightly floured surface to a 1/4” thickness. Use a 4” round cookie cutter to cut out 24-36 rounds, gathering dough scraps into a ball and re-rolling as needed. Fit rounds into standard-size muffin tins, then fill each with a sprinkling of walnuts and about three-quarters full with filling. Bake until crusts are lightly golden and filling is barely set, 10-14 minutes. Cool tarts, then lift out of tins with a knife.
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oooh these look like my kinda butter tarts. I don’t dislike raisins but in a butter tart? no need. I love the idea of the walnuts. Yummo!
Tonya, it would be my pleasure to send you some Coffee Crisps, bubble wrapped for their protection. Send me your mailing address and I’ll make it happen!
Such a sweet offer! I may have to take you up on that!
Canadianfavorites.com panhandlepremium.com both bring in Canadian goods especially chocolate and chips. There are others too. It’s worth it on occasion
Thanks for the heads up!