Butter Tarts!

The butter tarts worked! Especially the second batch. I had some great help from Child #4 (no long-handled wooden spoon was involved this time) who is, apparently, a talented baker. Who knew?

First, I started with a tart shell. Here's the recipe from The Fannie Farmer Cookbook:

1 cup flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 pound cold butter, in small pieces
1 egg yolk
2 Tablespoons ice water

In a food processor, process the flour, salt and butter quickly. Through the funnel, add the egg yolk and ice water and process until the dough balls up. Wrap in foil and place in fridge for 20 min. Then roll out, cut circles with a cup and press into mold. Prick bottom of tarts with a fork and bake unfilled at 425 for 7 min. (The recipe says 12 min., but that was too long.)

These are the molds that worked best. I tried a muffin tin, but the tarts ended up being just that little bit too shallow. These silicone molds were the perfect deepness to get a slightly runny tart.

And now (drum roll) for the buttertart recipe. The one I used is from a Mennonite cookbook: Food That Really Schmecks.




1 cup brown sugar
1 cup raisins
1 egg, beaten
2 Tablespoons butter (not margarine!), melted
1 Tablespoon water (or less if you use a large egg)
1 teaspoon vanilla

Beat egg. Add brown sugar. Beat again. Add remaining ingredients. Fill shells 1/2 full. Bake at 450 for 15 min. (I only baked for 12 min., so start checking the tarts early).

Here is a photo of the finished product. On the left is the drier, muffin-tin tart. On the right is the deliciously runny, perfect-with-a-cup-of-tea-or-coffee-or-even-hot-chocolate tart. Yummy!