Butter Tarts

Before Christmas I love sitting down with my mom's book of 

hand written recipes to decide which ones I'll be making.

Every year without fail I make these butter tarts.

Each pretty pastry shell is filled with golden raisins

and topped with brown sugar buttery goodness.

Ingredients for filling:

• 2 tbsp butter, room temperature
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 cup golden raisins, plumped

Method:

1. Beat very soft butter, brown sugar and egg together until creamy.
2. Add salt and vanilla.
3. Pour boiling water over raisins. Allow to stand for 5 minutes. Drain well.
4. Do not add to filling. Once you have the pastry shells made, place raisins into each shell. This will keep them uniform.

Pastry: this is Lovella's favorite pastry recipe that came from our friend Dorothy, but you can use your favourite pastry recipe. 

• 5 cups flour
• 4 tbsp brown sugar
• 2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 pound lard
• 1 egg
• 1 tbsp white vinegar
• water

Method for Pastry:

1. Measure flour, sugar, salt and baking powder into a large bowl.
2. Cut in cold lard until you lard is broken up into pea sized pieces.
3. In a glass measuring cup beat 1 egg well. Add vinegar and then enough cold water to make 1 cup.
4. Pour water mixture over flour mixture and stir, incorporating all the dry ingredients. Use your hands to pull the dough together into a ball. 
5. Sprinkle some flour on your counter or pastry mat. Roll out 1/3 of the dough fairly thin. Using a cup or fluted cookie cutter, but out rounds and place into lightly greased tart tins.
6. To ensure that each tart gets the approximately the same amount of raisins, I spoon the raisins into the bottom of each unbaked shell. (About 5-8 raisins, depending on the size of your shells.
7. Pour the butter tart filling over each raisin filled shell.
8. Bake at 375º for 18-20 minutes. Let rest in pan for 5 minutes then remove to cooling rack.

This filling recipe makes 2 dozen tarts. I often double or triple the recipe as they freeze well for several months. You will have left over pastry. Shape into discs or line a pie plate or two. Wrap well and freeze.