Indulge in the delectable symphony of flavors that is Nana's butter tarts, a cherished Canadian treat. These bite-sized pastries boast a rich, buttery filling enveloped in a flaky, golden crust. Each bite reveals a velvety smooth interior, punctuated by the sweet burst of raisins and the subtle tang of pecans. The filling, crafted with brown sugar, corn syrup, eggs, and butter, achieves a luscious consistency that melts in your mouth. The delicate pastry crust, made from a blend of flour, butter, and sugar, encases the filling perfectly, providing a delightful textural contrast. This recipe collection offers two variations of Nana's butter tarts: the classic and a gluten-free version. The classic recipe stays true to tradition, while the gluten-free adaptation caters to those with dietary restrictions, ensuring that everyone can savor these delectable treats.
Let's cook with our recipes!
CANADIAN BUTTER TARTS
My Grandmother Maude's Famous Heritage Canadian Butter Tarts Recipe from 1869 is true to the traditional version using dried currants instead of raisins.
Provided by Valerie Lugonja via Maude Morrical
Categories Dessert
Time 57m
Number Of Ingredients 8
Steps:
- Ingredients and Instructions for Tenderflake Pie Pastry with my notes and variations is here.
- Beat eggs; add sugar, syrup, vinegar, vanilla, and butter; mix well to combine thoroughly
- Stir in currants
- Preheat oven to 350°F
- Roll pastry and cut with fluted cookie cutter
- Place each pastry cutout into mini-tart shell mold ; fill each shell ¾ full with filling (if too fill, filling will boil over and tart will stick to pan and appear unappealing)
- Bake 8 - 12 minutes at 350°F until pastry is golden; watch carefully after 8 minutes
- Cool for 5 minutes in pan on cooling rack; use a butter knife, or dull knife to loosen each tart from pan as some filling usually creates a little sticking
- Place each on cooling rack; pack carefully in tightly sealed labeled and dated container until needed, placing parchment or plastic wrap between layers
- Freezes beautifully up to 3 months
NANA'S MINI FRUIT PIES
My Nana did everything from scratch, this recipe is an homage to her and to pass on doing things "from scratch" can be easy.
Provided by Joey Ortez
Categories Fruit Desserts
Time 1h40m
Number Of Ingredients 4
Steps:
- 1. in your food processor, add 2-1/2 cups flour and 1/4 tsp salt. cut ice cold sweet cream butter into dice sized pieces and add them. Pulse till butter is in tiny pieces (about 10 pulses). SLOWLY drizzle in the ice water until dough forms a ball, you may need more or less than the designated amount depending on your measuring skills haha!
- 2. Pull dough ball out of processor, knead only once or twice and make it into a smooth rectangle about 1 inch thick. Dough should NOT be sticky at all. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill for at least one hour; you can chill overnight if you have the time.
- 3. While dough is chilling, you can prepare your own pie filling, or use canned filling.
- 4. Pull dough from fridge, roll out onto a lightly floured surface until about 1/8" thick. I use a plastic drinking cup to cut approx. 4" circles.
- 5. Spray Pam or hand butter your favorite cupcake pan, then take each circle and lay it over the cupcake hole in the pan; pinch 4 corners inward (see photo), then the dough should line the cupcake hole just like a liner would. Fill with your desired pie filling, then bake for about 35 to 40 minutes at 375 or until the crust is golden.
- 6. Completely cool your pies before serving with ice cream or whipped cream! We like using bavarian cream filling mixed with bananas, or even pumpkin pie filling right out of the can works good too. You can even use this shell to make mini quiche pies!
NANA JANE'S RAISIN TARTS
My father was in the Army so I never knew my Nana, but I have stories my mother told me about her and some of her recipes. These tarts are the favorite of the cousins.
Provided by Susan Beauregard @BeauPeep
Categories Fruit Desserts
Number Of Ingredients 5
Steps:
- Put the raisins into a saucepan and cover with water. Boil for five minutes. Drain well. Add the butter and stir until melted. Add sugar and stir. Add the eggs and mix well. Put aside while preparing the tart shells.
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Make tarts shells using store-bought pie dough or your own dough. Cut circles to fit muffin tins. (Hint: cut strips of parchment paper to put under the tart shells. Use the paper to help lift the baked tarts out of the muffin tins.) You can use phyllo dough or phyllo dough tart shells. Fill the unbaked shells almost to the top with the raisin filling. Bake about 15-20 minutes. These tarts freeze well!
NANA'S CRESCENTS OR SAND TARTS
Steps:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- With an electric mixer or by hand, cream butter and sugar in a large bowl. Add vanilla and then stir in flour and chopped nuts until combined. Roll tablespoon-sized pieces of dough into crescent shapes. Repeat until no dough remains. Arrange on an ungreased baking sheet and bake for 20 to 30 minutes, until cookies are lightly golden.
- While cookies are in the oven, put 2 cups powdered sugar in a large resealable bag. Remove cookies from baking sheet and add them to the bag of powdered sugar. Carefully turn cookies in sugar while they are still hot. Remove cookies from bag and shake lightly to remove excess sugar.
GRANDMA'S BUTTER TARTS
This was my Grandma's recipe and has been a family favorite for years. Every time she would make these we would practically inhale them. Now, I make them on all the holidays. My family absolutely raves about them. They get gobbled up so fast that I always have to make a couple batches! Note: I don't put raisins and nuts in the filling mixture at first. I add them to each individual tart after I've poured in the mixture. About 5-8 raisins and a sprinkle of nuts to each tart. Also, to get a really flakey crust, keep all ingredients and utensils cold. I put my bowl, rolling pin, pastry whisk, and the flour I will use in the freezer prior to making and I keep the butter and shortening in the fridge until ready to use
Provided by ProudMamaT
Categories Tarts
Time 1h15m
Yield 12-18 tarts, 6 serving(s)
Number Of Ingredients 13
Steps:
- Preheat oven to 425°F.
- Filling:.
- Mix all ingredients until well blended; set aside.
- Pastry:.
- Cut butter and shortening together using a fork or pastry whisk utensil.
- Slowly add salt and flour to the butter and shortening cutting it in until the mixture looks like small crumbles.
- Add cold water one tablespoon at a time until the dough sticks together.
- Roll out the dough to about 1/8 inch thick.
- Use a wide mouthed glass (I use a pint glass) to cut out circles.
- Place circles into an ungreased cupcake pan.
- Pour filling into the crusts, about a quarter of the way full. Be careful not to over fill as the mixture will bubble up and make the tarts stick to the pan.
- Bake in oven at 425°F for about 12-15 minutes or until crust is golden brown.
- Good luck and enjoy!
Nutrition Facts : Calories 837.8, Fat 50.3, SaturatedFat 21.4, Cholesterol 98.8, Sodium 442.2, Carbohydrate 94.3, Fiber 2.5, Sugar 44.7, Protein 7.7
CANADIAN BUTTER TARTS
With comforting notes of butterscotch and caramel, Canadian butter tarts are the perfect easy dessert for when you want something small and sweet.
Provided by Ken Haedrich
Yield Makes about 12 servings
Number Of Ingredients 9
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.
AWARD-WINNING BUTTER TARTS
Butter tarts are a Canadian tradition. Waaaay back in the 1970s, a national contest here in Canada concluded that these butter tarts, originating from Wilkie's Bakery in Orillia, Ontario, were the best. I certainly think so and it's the only recipe I use. Add a sprinkle of toasted walnuts when you add the raisins, if you wish, or use only walnuts if you don't like raisins.
Provided by Lennie
Categories Pie
Time 1h5m
Yield 16 serving(s)
Number Of Ingredients 8
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.
Nutrition Facts : Calories 84.1, Fat 3.2, SaturatedFat 1.9, Cholesterol 19.2, Sodium 41.1, Carbohydrate 14.4, Fiber 0.2, Sugar 8.6, Protein 0.6
Tips:
- Use real butter for the best flavor and texture.
- Don't overmix the dough, or the tarts will be tough.
- Be careful not to overfill the tart shells, or the filling will bubble over.
- Bake the tarts until the filling is just set, or they will be dry.
- Let the tarts cool completely before serving, or the filling will be too runny.
Conclusion:
Nana's butter tarts are a classic Canadian dessert that is loved by people of all ages. They are easy to make and can be tailored to your own taste. Whether you like them with raisins, nuts, or both, you are sure to enjoy these delicious treats.
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