The Great Canadian Butter Tart

What could be easier to help invoke that holiday feeling than delicious butter tarts?  It seems a Christmas baking tray just wouldn’t be complete without these toothsome little treats.  Hubby says he’s never met a butter tart he didn’t like, but in his opinion, this recipe is particularly fine.   Recipes abound, of course, some old and handed down for generations and some new;  I’m always on the lookout for the “perfect” one.  Try this one and see how it measures up.

I’m including the filling recipe only, as pastry is a personal choice.  You can’t beat homemade, hand-formed shells, but good quality store-bought pastry won’t diminish the finished product in any way!

Butter Tarts

1/4 cup butter, softened

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla paste

3/4 cup maple syrup

raisins

Prepare shells.  Sprinkle 5-6 raisins in each shell.  Cream butter and brown sugar.  Stir in vanilla, and then eggs, adding one at a time, mixing well after each addition.  Stir in maple syrup and combine thoroughly.   Spoon some filling in each shell, taking care not to overfill.  Bake at 375 degrees F for about 14 minutes, or until pastry is golden brown and filling is puffy and bubbling.

I doubled the recipe and made 40 preformed 3″ shells, using a scant 1/8 cup of filling in each.