Quintessentially Canadian and sinfully sweet, these gooey butter tarts are impossible to resist.

It’s simple, really. Everything’s better with butter – especially delicious desserts. When combined with sugar to create a rich filling baked in flaky pastry shells, butter is an irresistible temptation. We know it’s the new year and you’ve made your resolutions, but this divine treat is worth the indulgence just this one last time. Go ahead and dig in – your secret is safe with us (we promise!).

 

Ingredients

For the pastry

• 1-¼ cups all-purpose flour
• ½ tsp salt
• 1 tbsp granulated sugar
• ½ cup unsalted butter, chilled and cut into cubes
• 4 to 8 tbsp ice water

For the filling

• ¼ cup unsalted butter, softened
• ¼ cup packed brown sugar
• ¼ tsp salt
• ½ cup corn syrup
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• ½ tsp pure vanilla extract

 

Directions

1 Preheat the oven to 400°F. Using a food processor, blend the flour, salt and sugar until combined. Add the butter cubes and process until the mixture is crumbly. With the processor running, slowly pour in 4 tablespoons of the ice water until the dough just holds together. Add the remaining water if necessary. Do not overprocess. Roll the dough into a ball and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

2 To prepare the shells, roll out the dough to 1/8" thick on a lightly floured surface and cut out 16 4" circles. Fit the circles into muffin tins and refrigerate while you’re preparing the butter filling.

3 To make the filling, whisk together the butter, brown sugar, salt, corn syrup, egg and vanilla in a bowl.

4 Remove the muffin tins from the refrigerator and divide the butter mixture evenly among the tart shells. Bake the tarts for 15 to 20 minutes; the filling will be lightly browned but still bubbling. Let cool for 10 minutes, then remove from the tins and place on racks to cool completely.

Bake time: 20 minutes.
Makes 16 butter tarts.

Tip: You can add ½ cup of raisins to this recipe. Just soak the raisins in warm water for 30 minutes, then sprinkle them into the shells before pouring in the butter mixture.

DIY decor: Package your tempting tarts with a sweet note or poem by simply writing onto parchment paper with a food-safe food colouring marker.