The Best Classic Canadian Butter Tarts Recipes

Steps:

• Fill a cup with ice and water. Sift the flour and salt into a bowl. Cut in the shortening to make pea-size pieces. Add the tablespoons of ice water from the cup until dough holds together. Form the dough into a ball. The dough is now complete. Put it into a plastic bag or wrap it up and refrigerate for at least 15 minutes.
• Roll the dough between two sheets of waxed paper. Cut the shells using a large glass or your smallest pot. You should have about 12 shells when finished. Put these shells into a greased muffin or tart pan.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C)
• Put walnuts and coconut on baking pan and roast for 5-10 minutes, until brown. Remove from oven and set temperature to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C).
• Fill the bottom of each tart shell with about 10 raisins each.
• Whisk together sugar, egg, butter, vanilla and hot water. Add coconut and walnuts. Pour mixture into tart shells, filling 2/3 full and no more.
• Bake in 450 degrees F (230 degrees C) oven for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown. Let cool before attempting to remove. Makes 12 tarts.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C). Place tart shells on a baking sheet; sprinkle raisins evenly into the bottom of each tart shell.
• Whisk together butter, brown sugar, maple syrup, vanilla extract, and salt in a bowl; whisk in egg. Pour mixture into tart shells; sprinkle each tart with walnuts.
• Bake in the preheated oven until pastry is light brown and filling is bubbly, about 12 minutes. Cool on a wire rack, about 10 minutes.

Steps:

• Prepare muffin pans by rolling out pie dough and cutting 4-inch (approx) circles; fit dough circles into muffin cups; set aside in fridge until ready to fill.
• In a small bowl, place raisins and cover with hot tap water; let stand on the counter for 30 minutes.
• In a large bowl, using a wooden spoon, mix together the soft butter, brown sugar, salt and corn syrup; stir well until sugar is dissolved and butter is creamed.
• Add egg and vanilla and mix well.
• Drain raisins.
• Retrieve tart shells and divide raisins equally into all shells; then divide butter mixture into all tarts.
• Bake at 400F for 15-20 minutes; filling will be lightly browned but still bubbling.
• Canadians fall into two camps about butter tarts and are quite loyal to their favourite type: runny or firm.
• I like runny-- the type that dribbles when you bite into one; if you like firm, bake them for the full 20 minutes, even adding another minute or two if you wish.
• Let cooked butter tarts cool in pans for 10 minutes after removing from oven; then remove and place on racks until completely cool.

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.