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    Home » Recipes » All Recipes

    Maple Butter Tarts

    Published: Jun 17, 2021

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    Maple Butter Tarts!

    Originally published December 7, 2010. Updated on 6/17/2021

    A plate of maple butter tarts.

    Butter Tarts are a uniquely Canadian favourite, and this is my recipe for Maple Butter Tarts. FYI: I am decidedly PRO RAISIN! 🙂

    As I'd mentioned back in my Poutine recipe post, my coming out of the closet as an immigrant has had quite the positive effect on this blog.

    You now have my poutine recipe, a wild original recipe for Pumpkin Spice Nanaimo Bars, as well as my original (was still closeted at the time!) recipe post for Mocha Nanaimo Bars.

    Well, today I'd like to introduce you to another delicacy from my homeland - Butter Tarts!

    A plate of maple buttertarts.

    Maple Butter Tarts

    Yep, these are the goodies mentioned in Len's "Steal my Sunshine" (in the radio version, anyway, not this video!).

    They've been around forever, and you can get them anywhere in Canada... Tim Horton's.. gas stations.. even boxes of factory-made ones, sort like Little Debbie stuff.

    Because they've been around forever, there are about a million versions of it. Some use brown sugar, some use white... most use corn syrup, I use maple... you get the idea.

    A plate of maple butter tarts.

    What is a Butter Tart?

    Butter Tarts are one of Canada’s national dishes, and beloved pretty much across the country.

    There are entire festivals - many of them! - dedicated to this particular pastry, too!

    It’s a fairly standard pie / pastry crust, filled with a sugar, syrup, and egg mixture, baked. The filling ends up something like a pecan pie filling, only a bit less firm

    Corn syrup or maple syrup can be used for the syrup part, clearly maple is the appropriate choice, IMHO.

    Then, there’s the matter of raisins. This is a matter of serious debate in Canada.

    Some people think that there shouldn’t be anything aside from the syrup mixture, or that nuts are the only acceptable addition.

    These people are WRONG. LOL.

    IMHO, it’s not a butter tart without raisins.. And the more, the better! None of this 2-3 raisins nonsense in the mass-produced grocery store butter tarts.

    A plate of maple buttertarts.

    Cover image for the "More Than Poutine" cookbook.

    This recipe is one of many fantastic Canadian recipes in my cookbook, "More Than Poutine: Favourite Foods from my Home and Native Land”.

    "More than Poutine" is a Canadian cookbook like no other - written by a Canadian living away, it includes both traditional home cooking recipes, as well as accurate homemade versions of many of the snacks, sauces, convenience foods, and other food items that are hard to come by outside of Canada!

    Order your copy here on this site, through Amazon, or through any major bookseller!

    A plate of maple buttertarts.

    More Canadian Comfort Food!

    Whether you’re a Canadian in the US or not, we could all use some comfort food these days. Here are some Canadian Favourites!

    Back Bacon / Canadian Bacon
    Beep
    Canadian Popcorn Seasoning Recipes
    Clodhoppers
    Confetti Bars
    Dill Pickle Dip
    Doughnut Holes - Timbits!
    French Canadian Pea Soup
    Halifax Meat Paste Egg Rolls
    Homemade Deep N Delicious Cake
    Homemade Wunderbars
    How to Make Peameal Bacon and Back Bacon
    Montreal Bagels
    Persians Recipe
    Poutine, My Way!
    Puffed Wheat Squares
    Replica Swiss Chalet Sauce
    Tiger Tail Ice Cream

    Looking for even more Canadian recipes? Check out our full Canadian Recipes list!

    A plate of maple buttertarts.

    Share the Love!

    Before you chow down, be sure to take some pics of your handiwork! If you Instagram it, be sure to tag me - @CelebrationGenerationCA - or post it to My Facebook Page - so I can cheer you on!

    Also, be sure to subscribe to my free monthly email newsletter, so you never miss out on any of my nonsense.

    Well, the published nonsense, anyway!

    A plate of maple butter tarts.

    A plate of maple butter tarts.
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    5 from 3 votes

    Maple Butter Tarts

    Butter Tarts are a uniquely Canadian favourite, and this is my recipe for them. FYI: I am decidedly PRO RAISIN! 🙂
    Prep Time20 mins
    Cook Time25 mins
    Total Time45 mins
    Course: Dessert, Snack
    Cuisine: Canadian
    Servings: 12 Tarts
    Calories: 286kcal
    Author: Marie Porter

    Equipment

    Muffin Tin

    Ingredients

    • 12 pre made tart shells, pie crust, or 1 batch pastry crust (recipe follows)

    Pastry Crust:

    • 1 ¼ cups All-Purpose Flour
    • ½ teaspoon Salt
    • 1 tablespoon Granulated Sugar
    • ½ cup Unsalted Butter chilled
    • ⅛ to ¼ cup Ice Water

    Filling:

    • ½-1 cup Raisins
    • ⅓ cup Unsalted Butter softened
    • 1 cup Light Brown Sugar packed
    • ¼ cup Maple Syrup
    • 3 Large Eggs whisked

    Instructions

    • Preheat oven to 375 F (190 C)

    Pastry Crust:

    • Combine flour, salt, and sugar in a food processor. Chop chilled butter into small cubes, add to flour mixture, and process 15-20 seconds, until it resembles fine gravel.
    • While running processor, stream ⅛ cup of ice water into the flour mixture, just until dough holds together when pinched. If necessary, add more water.
    • Dump dough out onto a work surface, gather into a disk shape. Wrap with plastic wrap, chill for 1 hour.
    • Lightly flour your work surface, roll chilled dough out pretty thin – ⅛″ to ¼″, depending on your tastes – some prefer a thinner shell, some thicker. Cut 4″ rounds from the pastry – you’re aiming for 12.
    • Carefully transfer the pastry rounds to a muffin pan. I like to flatten the bottom against the tin, and work out from there, flattening the whole round to be flush with the muffin pan cavity – it holds the most filling! Feel free to get decorative about it – flattening the bottom of the dough against the muffin pan, gently ruffling the edges… it’s up to you! Chill the pan of prepared tart shells until ready to use.

    Filling:

    • Prepare tart shells recipe, if using. If using pre made pie crust, roll cut out and prepare tart shells per directions in the tart shells recipe below.
    • Divide raisins among tart shells – I personally like to have a fair amount of raisins in my buttertarts, so I use 1 cup. (½ cup is probably closer to average!). Set aside.
    • Combine butter, brown sugar, and maple syrup in a medium saucepan. Beat until smooth. Add in eggs, beat once more until well combined.
    • Heat mixture on medium, stirring constantly. Bring mixture JUST to a boil, remove from heat. Carefully pour mixture into prepared tart shells.
    • Bake for 15-20 minutes, until filling has set and the pastry is lightly browned. Remove from oven and allow to cool. These are usually served at room temperature, but some prefer them chilled! Makes about 12 tarts.

    Nutrition

    Calories: 286kcal | Carbohydrates: 38g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 14g | Saturated Fat: 8g | Cholesterol: 75mg | Sodium: 122mg | Potassium: 118mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 23g | Vitamin A: 453IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 36mg | Iron: 1mg

    A plate of maple buttertarts.

    Related posts:

    Close up view of a plate of 3 layered bars. The bottom layer looks like a brownie, the middle is a thick pink buttercream with bits of cherry visible, and the top is a smooth chocolate ganache. Cherry Nanaimo Bars A fluted dessert bowl with Canadian Candy Bar Salad - an off-white, fluffy whipped cream based dessert with chunks of apple and candy bar visible throughout. Canadian Candy Bar Salad A plate of Creme de Menthe Nanaimo Bars - a 3 layered bar. The top and bottom layers are chocolate, and the middle layer is a green buttercream. They are on a green plate, garnished with a sprig of fresh mint. Creme de Menthe Nanaimo Bars Mocha Nanaimo Bars Mocha Nanaimo Bars
    « Maple Butter Tart Liqueur!
    Spanakopita Spinach Tortellini »

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. admin

      December 07, 2010 at 9:40 am

      I have to share this comment from Twitter, it kinda made my day. From @geekylyndsay:

      "Butter tarts? You just outed yourself as Canadian. I mean I knew but you may as well put on your toque man"

      Reply
    2. Eric H.

      December 07, 2010 at 10:09 am

      5 stars
      This looks like a nice little dessert. I'm curious, though, what's accomplished by creaming the butter/sugar/syrup/eggs, if you are just going to melt all the fat to liquid right away?

      Reply
      • admin

        December 07, 2010 at 10:59 am

        It cooks FAST, so you want everything to be pretty smooth before you start heating it. Otherwise, it'll be lumpy, maybe have chunks of eggs, etc.

        Reply

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