Butter Tarts
Yield
One dozen tarts.
Notes
- For a runnier tart, use 90 g maple syrup, corn syrup or golden syrup and 180 g brown sugar.
- Brown the butter for a nuttier, deeper flavor.
Ingredients
- One pie shell (half of Pie Crust)
- ¼ cup/36 grams raisins (optional)
- 270 g packed brown sugar, light or dark
- 1 tsp fine sea salt
- 80 g (~5 tbsp) unsalted butter, melted
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 large eggs
Steps
- Roll out the dough into a 16-inch-by-12-inch rectangle about 1/8- to 1/4-inch thick. Flour the work surface and rolling pin as you work with the dough.
- Use a circular 4-inch cookie cutter (or a clean 28-ounce 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 shells for at least 30 minutes while you make the filling so that they retain their shape in the oven.
- Preheat oven to 425 ºF (220 ºC).
- If using raisins, place in a bowl and cover with hot tap water to plump.
- Mix brown sugar, salt, and melted butter by hand until smooth. Add vanilla and eggs and mix until combined. Do not use an electric mixer; it will add too much air to the filling.
- Drain the raisins and place seven or eight raisins in each chilled tart shell.
- Divide the filling evenly among the tart shells, filling each one about halfway. Place muffin tin on a baking sheet. Bake 13-15 minutes for a runnier tart and 17-19 minutes for a firmer one.
- 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.