The Best Classic Canadian Butter Tarts
The Best Classic Canadian Butter Tarts. There's a reason why we have a national obsession with these sweet, buttery, caramel-y tarts. particularly at the Holidays!
I've sampled butter tarts in many places across the country and this thick pastry version is my favourite. Don't do the raisin debate, just leave them out if they are not your thing. Everyone should be able to enjoy them as they like them.
UPDATE The Best Canadian Butter Tarts is our newest recipe video!
Butter Tarts.
Butter tarts are one of my all time favourite sweet treats and have been for many years. I don't often make them because, to be absolutely frank, I would not rest until I had eaten all of them!
Of course, Canadians love these tarts and I have had some fine examples in other parts of the country. I think the nod goes to Quebec for the best I've had though.
I can't tell you the numbers of these I've eaten over the years, driving along the north shore of the St. Lawrence River and stopping into little bakeries along the way to sample the local versions of this perfect little pastry. Here is my favourite version.
There is a great deal of debate about whether the filling should be firm or slightly runny. Most butter tart aficionados I know across Canada comedown on the runny side of the debate.
If you prefer the filling firmer, add an additional egg to the mix, and modify the corn syrup and brown sugar amounts as found in the NOTE added to this recipe. You may also want to bake them for just a few minutes longer.
Butter Tarts Update.
UPDATE 2020: There is a considerable debate and sometimes geographical differences in what the preferred consistency of the centre of a butter tart should be. In a recent poll 60% of people said they preferred a runny centre as opposed to a firmer set one.
The argument for a firmer set centre is that it's less messy and easier to eat on the go. As with any recipe, I believe you should have them however you like them.
To that end, I've updated the NOTE in this recipe to include instructions to tweak the recipe for a set but still soft and delicious centre. I wouldn't turn down either one to be honest.
Please note that the photos of the set butter tarts below are made without raisins by request of my son... but let's not start another debate about that! Just get on with making them how you like.
Love butter tarts, like me?
Be sure to check out our new recipe for the ultimate Canadian version, Maple Butter Tarts.
Updated November 2022.
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The Best Classic Canadian Butter Tarts
The Best Classic Canadian Butter Tarts - there's a reason why we have a national obsession with these sweet, buttery, caramel-y tarts. I've sampled them in many places across the country and this thick pastry version is my favorite. Don't do the raisin debate, just leave them out if they are not your thing. Everyone should be able to enjoy them as they like them.
Ingredients
For the Pastry
- 2 ¼ cups flour, pastry flour is best to use but all-purpose will do
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup shortening, Very cold and cut in cubes
- ½ cup butter, Very cold and cut in cubes
- 6 tablespoon ice water, approximately, enough to bring the dough together
For the Filling
- ½ cup lightly packed brown sugar
- ½ cup corn syrup
- ¼ cup butter, melted
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup raisins, substituting, pecans, walnuts or chocolate chips also make good variations
Instructions
To prepare the pastry
- Pulse the cold butter and shortening into the flour sugar and salt using a food processor until the shortening or butter is reduced to pea sized pieces.
- Sprinkle the water over the surface and toss with a fork until the water is just incorporated into the dough. Do not over work the dough; handle it only enough so that the dough stays together.
- Form the dough into two rounds about an inch thick.
- Wrap in plastic wrap and let rest in the fridge for about a half hour.
- Roll out on lightly floured surface. Cut into rounds with 4 inch cutter. Fit into muffin cups. Chill in the fridge or freezer while you prepare the filling. Cold pastry heading into a hot oven will always be flakier.
To make the filling
- Combine all filling ingredients except raisins.
- Mix well.
- Sprinkle raisins in a single layer in the bottom of the pastry lined muffin cups.
- Fill ⅔ full with syrup mixture.
- Bake on bottom shelf of oven at 425 degrees F for 12 to 15 minutes.
- Cool completely on a wire rack and remove tarts from from pans.
Notes
There is considerable debate about whether the filling in a butter tart should be runny or firm. Preferences vary, especially geographically but if you want a firmer, less runny filling simply add an additional egg, increase the brown sugar to ¾ cup and decrease the corn syrup to ¼ cup.
The nutritional information provided is automatically calculated by third party software and is meant as a guideline only. Exact accuracy is not guaranteed. For recipes where all ingredients may not be used entirely, such as those with coatings on meats, or with sauces or dressings for example, calorie & nutritional values per serving will likely be somewhat lower than indicated.
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Rock Recipes a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites. Our product recommendations are almost exclusively for those we currently use or have used in the past.
Nutrition Information
Yield
12Serving Size
1 large butter tartAmount Per Serving Calories 363Total Fat 21gSaturated Fat 11gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 8gCholesterol 51mgSodium 255mgCarbohydrates 42gFiber 1gSugar 23gProtein 3g
The nutritional information provided is automatically calculated by third party software and is meant as a guideline only. Exact accuracy is not guaranteed. For recipes where all ingredients may not be used entirely, such as those with coatings on meats, or with sauces or dressings for example, calorie & nutritional values per serving will likely be somewhat lower than indicated.
These are almost like pecan pies without pecans!!!! I'm going to bookmark this recipe.
For anyone who doesn't like raisins or pecans, sub chocolate chips, it's a winner with the kids!
I can't get over how flaky the pastry was!! These are waaaay better than the store-bought kind! I made 1/3 pecan tarts for me, 1/3 raisin for my husband, and 1/3 plain for my son - everyone was happy 🙂
Isn't that the truth! The Butter tarts from the store have little to no raisins,and never have walnuts.Also there is nothing like fresh baked anything.
Mine always turn out runny...what am I doing wrong. They taste great, crust was easy and turned out perfectly. I know some are made to be runny and some are made to be thicker. Mine run down your chin though! Are these supposed to be that runny?
Your oven temps could be off, just bake a little longer. Once you find a time that you like mark your recipe notes
add another egg if they are too runny.
Or add another egg and a bit less corn syrup and a bit more brown sugar.
I like to soak my raisins in rum for 15-30 minutes before using, you can also sub out the vanilla with rum.
like your thinking!..my idea was adding a wee leftover Halloween bar..caramilk or peanut butter cup ..atop the hot baked butter tarts...more decadent again! melt perfectly!
Oh...my...God! Don't plant thoughts like that in my head. LOL!
Oh my gosh YES! We have an adorable little bakery that is world renowned for their large variety of the best butter tarts. Skor, butterscotch chip, Caramilk and peanut butter chocolate are some of my favourites!
I made these last year and found that the insides were just a little too runny (I like runny, gooey butter tarts more than the jelly-type ones), but these were even too runny for me. I'll try baking them for a few minutes longer to see if that helps. Everything else about them was perfection though! Thanks!
@Mrs B, You are a genius! I'm totally doing this.
How thin/thick do you roll the dough? My grandmother in Windsor used to make little tarts but I believe hers had pecans in them. Being a not so proficient cook - can anyone advise how to substitute pecans for the raisins? Would that change the cooking time? Thanks!!! I am eager to try these because we lost Grandma's recipe when she died - she had all her recipes in her head.
I roll it relatively thick because I love pastry. Pecans should not affect cooking time.
Love your recipes! Looking for some direction on how thick to roll the dough? Could you provide an approximate dimension?
I like a thick pastry for butter tarts.3/16 of an inch is good.
How many does this recipe make?
I get a dozen large but depends on the size of your pans. I've found muffin tins vary in size too.
Im from windsor to. I remember my gran making buttertarts amazing i havent made any yet. Any advice ladies for a first-time
are these mini muffin tins or full sized muffin tins?
Full size. God, I love butter tarts!! They are a weakness of mine.
@Barry C. Parsons, please tell me how to get the tarts out of the muffin tins without breaking the pastry and in one piece
I rarely have issues with this. I do use a little offset spatula sometimes to sort of scoop them out. Push down oe s=side and start to push under the bottom. The shell is usually sturdy enough. Perhaps try thicker pastry?
Do you mean golden corn syrup or white conr syrup or does it matter?
I use golden.
Yes my mom used golden brown sugar.She made the best butter tarts.She passed away a I never got her recipe;but this is so close to her tarts,except she put more raisins in hers.I miss my mom so much.everything she did was for her kids.
Hi Brian,
Your email touched me. I lost my Mum too and today I was hunting her butter tart recipe. She never wrote it down either! Lesson to the young ones! Get your Mum to write down her recipes or write them down yourself. You will thank me for this in coming years. My Mum always made her tarts with currants and they were really thick with them not gooey like these. All depends on what your Mum made,right? Anyway as I said at my Mum's funeral she lived her life for those she loved and those she loved will remember. Sounds like both are mothers were the same kind of ladies.
All the best, and Merry Christmas to you and yours,
Kate
Victoria BC
Should I spray my muffin pan before to prevent sticking ?
I don't generally find pastry sticks because of the fat already in it.
EXCELLENT!!!! It's a keeper.
My grandmother was born in Saskatchewan and made these for her boys all the time! Her version did not have the corn syrup in it, but these take me back to my childhood! Before my Dad passed this was a ritual for gift giving for his birthday, Christmas, Veteran's Day, etc! Totally awesome and simple recipe to make and share!
I'm from New Brunswick, and I often made butter tarts at Christmas.
I remember these from when we went to Amherstburg (sp?) Ontario (just across the river from Detroit Michigan) to visit my Gramma's cousins. We always stopped at a bakery in Windsor to get these and when I grew up and the cousins were no longer with us I could not find these anywhere. For whatever reason I never thought to look for a recipe. I am so very excited to find this one and cannot get to the grocery fast enough to get all the ingredients (which are not many). They are so very good whether out of oven warm, room temp or even chilled from refrigerator. How absolutely wonderful I can make these now for my grandchildren. Thank you so much. I believe I found this on a Pinterest em I just got at my office today. Oh Happy Day Oh Happy Day!!!!!!
Maggie in Michigan
I hope you enjoyed them!
Let us know how you made our with them
Hi there - I have made these butter tarts a few times now and they are to die for - just amazing - I love them runny. I have two questions: 1) Can I make the filling and keep it in the fridge until I am ready to fill and bake? 2) Can I freeze the butter tarts filled? Thanks!
Some of my older cheesecake recipes do need info updated. Yes, you can use the bain marie method for any cheesecake recipe.Some of my older cheesecake recipes do need info updated. Yes, you can use the bain marie method for any cheesecake recipe.
I prefer the less gooey ones, although if no choice I would not say no, ever. We used to get giant sized ones at a local restaurant almost plate size and extremely runny.
Butter tarts are the only thing I ever made where the crust came out good, even though same one I used for pie crust. So now, being also a bit lazy, I make butter tart bars instead. Usually with both raisins and walnuts. Brown sugar, no corn syrup.
They never keep longer than a day though. Too many butter tart lovers here. (Carleton Place, Ontario)