Prize Butter Tarts

I love butter tarts - there, I've said it. Aloud. To you.

The ones I like best are the ones where the brown sugar is dissolved completely so there is no grainy sugar texture; gooey with just the right amount of runniness.  Everyone has their favorite family recipe and this one is mine.

99% of the time I can find someone who makes anything I can make 100 times better than I could make it. Hahah, now that's a sentence! I keep trying though, but these tarts, to me... are as good - if not better - than any I've found. The only improvement on what is written here is when the filling is paired with a homemade crust, but I had a bunch of tart shells in the freezer...and really, I'm thinking you won't mind, since you can't really taste what I made...so...you'll have to trust me and make them for yourself! :)

The recipe I love is from the 1970's Five Roses Flour cook book and it must of held the test of time because it was in their 1938 cook book also. The only difference is that the cooking temperature changed to 375 F instead of starting at 450 F and being turned down to 350 F.   I go the easy route and bake at 375 for the entire time. Just easier than babysitting the tarts in the oven...but you are free to try the other way too.

The ingredients are simple and most likely you have everything in your cupboard right now to get started. I doubled the recipe and used raisins instead of currents ...and added some walnuts, but that's just my preference.

I've seen other recipes that do not mention melting the butter, which could be the issue I've encountered with grainy tasting tarts. The 1938 recipe below doesn't state melting the butter but the newer version does. I'm not sure if they meant to use room temperature butter or every housewife just knew to melt it. I personally think the latter; in 1938 I'm pretty sure you left the house being able to cook and bake,  unlike nowadays.

Mix everything together, except the raisins/currents, making sure the brown sugar is blended and well dissolved.  I'm using darker brown sugar, so the mix doesn't look all that appealing, but it is yummy none-the-less.

Stir in the raisins/currents and nuts (if you want them).

Line your baking sheet with parchment paper or grease your muffin tins if you are making your own pastry.  Fill the tart shells 2/3 full. A single batch of the butter tart mixture should make 12 tarts.

Bake 375 F for 20 minutes or 450 F for 8 minutes and then reduce the temperature to 350 F and watch over them until they are nicely browned.

Let cool on the pan for a few minutes and then move to a baking sheet to cool a bit more. Careful, they have to cool a bit or the hot melted sugar can burn! After a sufficient amount of time - try not to eat more than one!

Prize Butter Tarts
Five Roses Flour - 1938 (pg 144)

INGREDIENTS

• 1/2 cup butter
• 1 cup sifted brown sugar
• 2 Tbsp milk of cream
• 12 cup currents
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1 tsp vanilla
• Pastry shells

DIRECTIONS
Mix ingredients together and place spoonfuls of the mixture in patty tins which have been lined with rich pastry or cookie dough. Bake in a hot oven (450 F) for 8 minutes; reduce temperature to 350 deg F. and bake until pastry is delicately browned.

To make Taffy Tarts, use the same mixture with currents omitted.