Canadian Butter Tarts

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Canadian Butter Tarts
https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1019129-butter-tarts?regi=1&join_cooking_newsletter=true®ister=facebook

There may be no more perfectly satisfying treat than a Canadian butter tart. It is small and sweet, bracingly so, with hints of butterscotch and caramel. And each bite delivers three textures: flaky crust, chewy top, gooey center. Today there are numerous variations. Runny or firm? Raisins or plain? This recipe can be adapted to please all partisans.

YIELD 1 dozen, TIME 45 minutes, plus chilling and cooling

INGREDIENTS

FOR THE PASTRY:
1 ½ cup/191 grams all-purpose flour, more for dusting
Pinch of fine sea salt
½ cup/113 grams cold unsalted butter or lard (103 grams), cubed
¼ cup/60 milliliters ice water
1 large egg yolk
1 teaspoon white vinegar

FOR THE FILLING:
¼ cup/36 grams raisins (optional)
1 cup/220 grams packed brown sugar, light or dark (see Note)
½ teaspoon fine sea salt
¼ cup/57 grams unsalted butter, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 large egg

PREPARATION

1. Make the pastry: In a large mixing bowl, combine flour and salt. Using a pastry blender or your fingertips, rub butter or lard into flour until mixture is in pea-size pieces.

2. In a small bowl, mix water, egg yolk and vinegar until well combined. Add liquid to the flour mixture, using a fork to combine. Add 1 tablespoon more water if it looks dry.

3. Knead dough several times by hand to bring it together and shape into a flat square. Wrap with plastic and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.

4. Once chilled, roll out the dough into a 16-inch-by-12-inch (40.5 centimeters by 30.5 centimeters) rectangle about 1/8- to 1/4-inch (3 to 6 millimeters) thick. Flour the work surface and rolling pin as you work with the dough.

5. Use a circular 4-inch (10 centimeter) cookie cutter (or a clean 28-ounce/496 milliliter can) to cut 12 pieces. Reroll dough if needed to cut more circles, but try to cut as many pieces on the first pass. With your fingertips, press each circle into the cup of a standard muffin tin, so that the edge of the dough is flush with the pan. Refrigerate while while you make the filling.

6. In a bowl, cover raisins with hot tap water to plump. Heat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C).

7. Make the filling: In a bowl, mix brown sugar and salt, and then beat the butter into the sugar by hand until smooth. Add vanilla and egg and mix until combined. Do not use an electric mixer; it will add too much air to the filling.

8. Drain the raisins and place seven or eight raisins in each chilled tart shell.

9. Divide the filling evenly among the tart shells, filling each one about halfway. Place muffin tin on a baking sheet. Bake 13 to 15 minutes for a runnier tart and 17 to 19 minutes for a firmer one.

10. A few minutes after removing the tarts from the oven, run a knife or offset spatula around the edge of each tart to loosen. Let cool completely in the tin. To remove, run a butter knife or offset spatula around and under each tart to pop it out of the tin.

Tip
For a runnier tart, use 1/3 cup maple syrup, corn syrup or golden syrup plus 2/3 cup brown sugar.

--Butter tarts from "Canadian Cook Book" called for 1 c. sugar, 1/4 c. butter, 2 eggs, 1 c. currants or seedless raisins, 2 tbsp. lemon juice or 1/2 tsp. vanilla. Fill each pastry with mixture, bake for 10 mins. at 450F, then reduce to 400F for about 15 mins. or more. The recipe never gave the baking time so keep an eye on the tarts since ovens vary.

--Use currents instead of raisins (and more of them!) and rum extract instead of vanilla, and add a bit of cream.

--The contests were the two camp cooks. One batch of tarts was runny, the other was firm. The cooks confessed to using the same recipe. It turned out that the firm tarts had the sugar and butter thoroughly beaten together and the egg beaten into that. The runny tarts had the filling ingredients mixed in one go.



Butter Tart Squares
https://static01.nyt.com/images/2018/01/17/dining/17TartsRex2/merlin_132008144_f83a872c-426f-4124-9b84-568f8bae1229-articleLarge.jpg

YIELD 25 squares, TIME 45 minutes, plus chilling, 127 calories per serving

The Junior League of Toronto called this recipe “a ‘no fuss’ treat for butter tart lovers.” Canadian butter tarts are gooey, sugary delights enjoyed year-round. For these squares, rather than make individual pastry shells, you simply pour the butter tart filling over a shortbread base. Once baked, it can be cut into squares like a bar cookie.

INGREDIENTS

FOR THE CRUST:
1 ¼ cup/159 grams all-purpose flour
¼ cup/55 grams packed brown sugar, light or dark
Pinch of fine sea salt
½ cup/113 grams cold unsalted butter, cubed

FOR THE FILLING:
⅓ cup/76 grams unsalted butter, softened
2 tablespoons heavy cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ cup/72 grams raisins, roughly chopped (optional)
1 cup/220 grams packed brown sugar, light or dark
1 large egg, beaten
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour

PREPARATION

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C). Make the crust: In a bowl, combine flour, brown sugar and salt. Using a pastry blender or your fingers, cut in butter until well combined and crumbly. It will be dry and sandy. Press flour mixture evenly into a 9-inch (23-centimeter) square pan and bake for 15 minutes.

2. As the crust bakes, make the filling: In a bowl, mix butter, cream, vanilla, raisins (if using), brown sugar, egg and flour until combined. Spread to edges over partly baked crust.

3. Return to oven and bake 14 to 20 minutes more or until golden brown (squares made with dark brown sugar will be a deeper shade of amber). A few minutes after removing it from the oven, run a knife or offset spatula around the edges to loosen any sugar that is stuck to the pan. Let pan cool to room temperature, then chill in a refrigerator. Once cold, use a sharp knife to slice into squares, approximately 1 3/4 inch (4.5 centimeters).