Butter Tarts To Die For Food

CANADIAN BUTTER TARTS

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.

AWARD-WINNING BUTTER TARTS

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.

TO-DIE-FOR BUTTER TARTS

Steps:

• Heat currants, maple extract, and 1 tablespoon water in a saucepan over low heat until currants are soft, about 5 minutes. Set aside to cool to room temperature, about 10 minutes.
• Preheat oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C). Spray 24 muffin cups or individual tart pans with cooking spray.
• Whisk flour and 1 teaspoon salt together in a large bowl. Cut in shortening and cold butter with a knife or pastry blender until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add ice water, 1 tablespoon at a time, tossing with a fork, until flour mixture is moistened. Do not add more water than you need: when you squeeze a handful of the moistened pastry mixture, it should form a ball. Divide dough in half and shape into balls.
• Roll out one half of dough on a lightly-floured surface. Cut tart shells out of dough with a 3 1/2-inch circular cutter, and press into prepared tins. Repeat with the remaining dough. Cover tins; set aside.
• Heat brown sugar, 2/3 cup butter, cream, and vanilla over low heat until smooth, stirring occasionally; remove from heat. Whisk a few spoonfuls of the warm butter mixture into beaten eggs, then whisk egg mixture into the butter mixture.
• Divide the currants, along with their liquid, into the bottom of the prepared tart shells. Fill each shell about 3/4-full with butter mixture. Place a pecan half on top of each tart.
• Bake tarts in the preheated oven for 8 minutes. With oven door closed, reduce temperature to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C); continue baking until filling is bubbly, about 10 minutes. Remove from oven; allow to cool for a few minutes before loosening tarts from pan with a knife. Remove tarts to cool completely on a wire rack.

BUTTER TARTS TO DIE FOR

Steps:

• Cut lard into cubes(about 1 inch) and freeze. Mix together flour, salt, and baking powder in the bowl of a food processor. After the lard is frozen, add to the food processor. Pulse until the flour mixture is crumbly and resembles small peas. Add the liquid mixture through the feed tube. Continue until the mixture forms a ball. Divide into four and form into flat disks. Chill for about 15 minutes. Roll out about 1/4 of the dough on a floured board until 1/8 inch thick. Cut to the appropriate size and line the tart tins. While I am making the filling, I place the lined tart tins in the freezer. You get flakier pastry if you keep it chilled before baking. Making the Filling: In a large saucepan, melt the butter. Add brown sugar, and syrup and mix together. Slightly beat the eggs, and gradually add to the mixture beating constantly. Add salt, and vanilla and mix well. Place a tblsp. of raisins in each tart shell. Add the syrup mixture til about 3/4 full. Bake in a 400° oven for about 15 to 20 minutes or until pastry is golden brown. Remove from oven and cool slightly before removing from tins. These do freeze well.(that's if they last long enough) NOTE: I believe that corn syrup is called karo syrup in the United States and is the same thing as corn syrup.

"CANADIAN BUTTER TARTS OF GRANDMA BROWNS" BY FREDA

Steps:

• 1. PASTRY: cheat and use refer store bought, or make your favorite, or this one. Blend Shortening/Lard and flour with pastry cutter, till you have created a uniform crumbly texture, about the size of peas.
• 2. in seperate bowl; mix egg, vinegar, & col water. Add to Shortening and flour mixture. Mix ONLY til mixed,. . "NO MORE". NOTE: This is the Key t a tender crust. DO NOT OVER HANDLE THE DOUGH! Roll into ball of dough. Place in freezer 10-15 min to chill. Roll out on lightly floured surface about the thickness of a CD case.
• 3. use wide mouth jar lid as cutter, or Cut 4" rounds of pastry dough and line tart pan or Muffin tins. Preheat Oven @ 400
• 4. FILLING: In Heavy saucepan, combine raisins,butter, sugar, syrup, & salt, over low heat til butter is melted and sugar is disolved. Do not let mixture get too hot. NOTE: Only heat to WARM stage. Remove from Heat.
• 5. Stir in Eggs, & vanilla.
• 6. Spoon filling into tart shells, filling 2/3 full.
• 7. Bake: 400 for 15 min. Reduce heat to 350 and bake 5 more minutes, or until pastry is a golden brown. DO NOT OVER BAKE DO NOT let filling bubble over or you will have trouble geting your tarts out of the pan. Cool 15 min before removing from pan.
• 8. HINT: centers will be slightly runny, but not too runny, so every bite you take will ooze down your chin, and these crusts flakey.I like runny--the type the dribbes when you bite into one. if you like your more firm, bake a full 20 min.

BUTTER TARTS TO DIE FOR

Steps:

• Pastry: Cut lard into cubes(about 1 inch) and freeze. Mix together flour, salt, and baking powder in the bowl of a food processor. After the lard is frozen, add to the food processor. Pulse until the flour mixture is crumbly and resembles small peas. Add the liquid mixture through the feed tube. Continue until the mixture forms a ball. Divide into four and form into flat disks. Chill for about 15 minutes. Roll out about 1/4 of the dough on a floured board until 1/8 inch thick. Cut to the appropriate size and line the tart tins. While I am making the filling, I place the lined tart tins in the freezer. You get flakier pastry if you keep it chilled before baking. Filling: In a large saucepan, melt the butter over low heat. Add brown sugar, and syrup and mix together. Slightly beat the eggs, and gradually add to the mixture beating constantly. Add salt, and vanilla and mix well. Place a tbsp. of raisins in each tart shell. Add the syrup mixture til about 3/4 full. Bake in a 400° oven for about 15 to 20 minutes or

CANADIAN BUTTER TARTS

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.

CANADIAN BUTTER TARTS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to fan 170C/ conventional 190C/gas 5. Roll out the pastry on a lightly floured surface so it's slightly thinner than straight from the pack. Then cut out 18-20 rounds with a 7.5cm fluted cutter, re-rolling the trimmings. Use the rounds to line two deep 12-hole tart tins (not muffin tins). If you only have a regular-sized, 12-hole tart tin you will be able to make a few more slightly shallower tarts.
• Beat the eggs in a large bowl and combine with the rest of the ingredients except the walnuts. Tip this mixture into a pan and stir continuously for 3-4 minutes until the butter melts, and the mixture bubbles and starts to thicken. It should be thick enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon. Don't overcook, and be sure to stir all the time as the mixture can easily burn. Remove from the heat and stir in the nuts.
• Spoon the filling into the unbaked tart shells so it's level with the pastry. Bake for 15-18 minutes until set and pale golden. Leave in the tin to cool for a few minutes before lifting out on to a wire rack. Serve warm or cold.