Maple Sugar Brown Butter Tart Food

MAPLE BUTTER TARTS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Place tart shells on a baking sheet; sprinkle raisins evenly into the bottom of tart shells.
• Beat brown sugar and butter together in a bowl until smooth; whisk in eggs, maple syrup, flour, vanilla extract, and salt. Fill each tart shell 3/4 full with maple syrup mixture.
• Bake in the preheated oven until filling is set and shells are golden, about 16 minutes. Turn the baking sheet halfway through the baking time for even baking.

CANADIAN MAPLE BUTTER TARTS

Steps:

• Roll out pastry and cut into 12 circles.
• Fit pastrys into muffin or tart cups.
• Sprinkle raisins and or walnuts in the bottom of each tart.
• Beat together eggs, maple syrup, brown sugar, butter and salt.
• Pour into tart shells, about 2/3 full.
• Bake at 375 F for 20-25 minutes, until set.
• Cool 5 minutes and remove from pan.
• In some places you can find pre made tart shells in the freezer section along side pie shells.

MAPLE BUTTERMILK TART

Steps:

• For the crust: Pour the flour, cornmeal, sugars and salt into the bowl of a food processor fitted with a metal blade and process to combine. Scatter the butter over the top and pulse with the dry mixture to coat, and then continue pulsing until cool and almost sandy, about eight 3-second pulses. Drizzle the yolk over the top, and pulse again until the ingredients are moist and barely starting to clump, about another 8 pulses. The dough should just hold together when you squeeze it in your palm. If not, add 1 teaspoon of cold water and pulse briefly.
• Turn the dough out onto a lightly-floured work surface. Smear out the dough across the work surface using the heel of your hand until it begins to come together. Gather the dough back together and shape it into a disc. Wrap in plastic and chill for 1 hour.
• Let the dough warm up slightly before rolling it out (if you roll it while it is cold, it will crack). Roll the dough on a lightly-floured work surface with a rolling pin into a 1/8 to 3/16-inch-thick circles, 10 to 11 inches in diameter. Fit the dough into an 8-inch tart pan with a removable bottom. Don't worry if it cracks a bit; you can patch it with some of the trimmings. Press the dough firmly into the bottom of the pan where it meets the sides, and then roll the rolling pin across the pan to cut off the overhang. Press the dough firmly against the sides of the pan and back up to the top using your fingers (sometimes the rolling pin pushes the dough down the sides of the pan a bit). Chill in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Position the rack on the lowest rung of the oven and put a baking sheet on top. Line the chilled crust with a 10-inch coffee filter and weight it down with dried beans or rice. Place on the hot baking sheet and bake until the sides begin to turn golden brown, 15 to 20 minutes. Remove the shell from the oven, carefully remove the beans and filter and then return to the oven until completely golden brown and baked through, another 10 to 15 minutes. Reduce the heat to 325 degrees F. Let cool before adding the filling, about 10 minutes.
• For the filling: Pulse the maple sugar, flour and salt in a food processor until combined. Add the melted butter and pulse to combine, and then add the buttermilk and vanilla and pulse to combine again. Add the eggs and pulse until just combined-don't over-mix. Strain into the tart shell. Bake the tart until the sides are set (they may puff slightly) and the middle still jiggles slightly when you tap the pan, 30 to 35 minutes. Cool on a rack for at least 45 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature, garnished with cookies as desired.

MAPLE SUGAR TART

Steps:

• Make pastry:
• Whisk together flour and salt. Blend in butter and shortening with your fingertips or a pastry blender (or pulse in a food processor) until mixture resembles coarse meal with some small (roughly pea-size) lumps. Drizzle evenly with 2 tablespoons water and gently stir with a fork (or pulse in food processor) until incorporated. Gently squeeze a small handful: If it doesn't hold together, add more water, 1 tablespoon at a time, stirring (or pulsing) after each addition until incorporated and continuing to test. (Do not overwork dough, or pastry will be tough.)
• Turn dough out onto a work surface and divide into 4 portions. With heel of your hand, smear each portion once in a forward motion to help distribute fat. Gather dough and form it, rotating on work surface, into a disk. Chill dough, wrapped in plastic wrap, until firm, at least 1 hour.
• Preheat oven to 350°F.
• Roll out dough into a 12-inch round and fit into tart pan. Trim excess dough, leaving a 1/2-inch overhang, then fold overhang inward and press against side of pan to form a stronger edge. Prick bottom all over with a fork. Line bottom and side of pastry with foil and fill with pie weights.
• Bake in middle of oven 20 minutes, then carefully remove foil and weights and bake until golden, 10 to 15 minutes more. Remove shell from oven but leave oven on.
• Make filling while pastry is baking:
• Slowly bring sugar and cream to a boil in a 2- to 3-quart heavy saucepan over moderately low heat, stirring, until sugar is dissolved, then boil until thickened, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat and add nuts, then cool slightly.
• Whisk eggs in a bowl, then gradually whisk in nut mixture.
• Pour filling into warm baked pastry shell, then bake tart in middle of oven until filling is set, 25 to 30 minutes.