Lucy & Mary's Perfect Butter Tarts
I am about to reveal to you a long-held family secret. Many years ago, my paternal grandmother Lucy lived down the street from my maternal grandmother Mary. Lucy shared this recipe with Mary, and Mary has since perfected it. I am given to understand that butter tarts are not popular in the US, and especially not in the southern states. This is an easy recipe, and in Canada these are often enjoyed during the winter holidays. They aren't complicated, and they're a sure crowd-pleaser when you bring them to potlucks and functions.
They can be prepared as tarts or as a whole pie, but the recipe I have is for the tarts.
To begin, you will need to make or purchase the tart pastry. Since Mary has arthritis, she no longer makes her own pastry, but she suggests you use lard pastry for the traditional taste. I'm not a meat-eater, so I'll go for the butter kind. Here is a simple pastry recipe,but as the filling in these tarts is pure sugar, I'd recommend you leave the sugar out of the pastry. The insides will be plenty sweet, and the pastry will balance the flavour giving you an enjoyable treat, and not a frosted sugar bomb. Unless you like that sort of thing.
Filling
1 cup brown sugar
few grains salt
1 tsp vanilla
1 egg
1/4 cup butter (melted)
Optional fillings: pecans, raisins
In a bowl, beat the egg a little. Add brown sugar, salt and vanilla, mix. Add warm, melted butter and beat until frothy. This is the secret part of the recipe. You'll probably need an electric beater or a mixer for this, because you want the mix to be really nice and frothy. If you're using nuts or raisins, put them in the tart cups, about 6 raisins or 1 large pecan is good. As I am allergic to both nuts and grapes, I just have them plain, and they are fantastic. Fill the cups about 2/3 full. If the mixture starts to settle while you are pouring, whip it again until it's frothy.This step is very important, or all the sugar will settle to the bottom instead of being distributed evenly. You may have to whip it several times (singing Devo optional). EDIT: ensure you are careful pouring the mixture into the tarts. Wipe up any spills on your tray before baking. The sugar mixture will burn quickly into a rock-hard crust you need a chisel to remove.
Bake at 375 for about 20 - 25 minutes. Check periodically to ensure the mixture isn't bubbling. If it is, lower the heat a little.
EDIT: Mary bakes the tarts on the bottom rack of the oven for the first ten minutes, them moves them to the top rack for the last ten. She usually makes dozens at a time so this allows for continuous baking.
These freeze well, and Mary has a large collection of metal cookie tins that she shares her butter tarts in. She just puts them in the tin and stacks the tins in the freezer. They're even great to eat while still a little frozen. You can make scads of them and stash them away for a special occasion or that horrible day at work.
I brought these camping at Folk Fest one year, and passed them around the fire. A friend said they were the best #@%@!% butter tarts he'd ever had. I said I'd be sure to pass that on to Grandma Mary, but I'd leave out the #@%@!% part. He said "No, tell her that part, she needs to know how much I love them!". I brought them to work and they disappeared in under an hour. I've had a few people ask for this recipe, so here it is. Use your powers for good, young padwans. These tarts will bring you much of it.