Moms Butter Tarts Recipes

Steps:

• 1. PASTRY: In large bowl, whisk flour with salt. With pastry blender or 2 knives, cut in butter and lard until mixture resembles coarse crumbs with a few larger pieces.
• 2. In liquid measure, whisk egg yolk with vinegar; add enough ice water to make 1/3 cup. Sprinkle over flour mixture, stirring briskly with fork until pastry holds together. Press into disc; wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate until chilled, about 1 hour. Make-ahead: Best if refrigerated for up to 3 days.
• 3. Preheat oven to 350˚F.
• 4. FILLING: In a large bowl beat the eggs well. Add sugar, maple syrup, and melted butter and beat again, then add the raisins, currants, vinegar, salt, and vanilla extract and mix vigorously.
• 5. Roll out dough to 1/4"-inch thickness on a floured board, use a 3"-inch pastry cutter to cut out circles of dough. Spray nonstick baking spray into tart tins or muffin pans, then place circles of dough in the pans working the dough with you fingers to it reaches to top of the pans.
• 6. Fill the pastry shells 2/3 full with the sugar-maple syrup-raisin mixture and bake until the pastry is light brown, about 20 minutes.
• 7. Hire an armed guard to help you distribute the tarts - believe me you'll need one after people get their first taste.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375°F.
• Prepare pastry dough; cut in circles and line 3-inch tart pans with pastry circles.
• Combine balance of ingredients.
• Spoon mixture into unbaked pastry lined pans, filling each no more than 2/3 full (if the filling bubbles over it makes one heck of a mess!). Bake for 20 minutes or until filling has cooked and pastry is golden.
• Notes: This can be made without the raisins or nuts, but they are very plain.
• I generally make these with a combination of nuts and raisins.
• Craisins can be substituted for the raisins.
• For Jam Tarts: Line tart pan cups with pastry.
• Fill cups 1/2 full with your choice of jam.
• Bake at 400°F for 20 minutes or until pastry is golden.

Steps:

• Prepare and refrigerate the pie dough.
• Roll the dough as you would for most pies, about ⅛-inch thick or a tad thinner. Don't worry about keeping it nice and round like you normally would.
• Using a 4-inch-diameter cookie or biscuit cutter, cut the dough into as many circles as possible. Line each cup of a standard 12-cup muffin pan with one of the circles, gently nudging it down into the bottom creases of the pan. Try not to stretch the dough as you work; it can help to use something blunt, like a narrow jar, to nudge the dough. The top edge of the dough circle should come to about the middle of the cup. Gather the scraps and reroll the dough if you need additional ­circles. Chill the pan in the freezer for 20 to 30 minutes.
• Adjust one oven rack so it is in the lower position, and preheat the oven to 425°F (220°C). Combine the sugar, maple syrup, and butter in a mixing bowl. Whisk briefly. Add the egg, vinegar, vanilla, and salt, and whisk again.
• Set the muffin pan on your work surface. If you're using the fruit or nuts, put a few pieces in as many of the shells as you wish, but don't crowd them. Use a ladle or ¼-cup measuring cup with a handle to divide the filling evenly between the shells.
• Bake for 15 to 18 minutes, until the filling bubbles and darkens somewhat.
• Transfer the pan to a rack and cool for 5 minutes, then carefully run a butter knife around the edge to loosen each tart. Let the tarts cool in the pan, then remove. Store, refrigerated, in a single layer in a covered tin or container, but let them come to room temperature before serving.

Steps:

• Beat butter and brown sugar with wooden spoon till creamy.
• Add corn syrup and beat till blended.
• Add the eggs and vanilla and beat till well blended.
• Add the currants and mix in well.
• Place tart shells on baking pan, and fill each shell 3/4 full.
• Bake in 375 degree oven till shells browned and filling is bubbly and gooey.
• Let cool before trying to eat one!