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Come along and cheat with me. Cheating is good for the soul. Let go of those crazy Christmas baking expectations and make something so delicious, so easy and so fast that you will weep with relief.
I make no secret of the fact that I totally cheat with my butter tarts. I don’t even pretend that I attempt to make my own shells. I buy pre-made, unsweetened no-name brand from Superstore. Which, by the way, are the only ones I have found without hydrogenated oil in them, so thank you Loblaws, for that little blessing. I honestly don’t know what I would do without those tart shells. I make- no word of a lie people– hundreds of butter tarts every Christmas season.
I bake around 4 dozen for my husbands work. This does not include the 5 dozen I have to send for their Potluck every year, that’s just his immediate co-workers who demand tarts every Christmas season.
I bake around 12 dozen for gifts. I bake for teachers, the wonderful lunch ladies at my kid’s school and my work.
I bake around 3 dozen for our own Christmas Day eating.
I think I’m around 300 tarts right there.
I have definitely considered trying to make my own shells, but never will it be for my huge tart making spree. It’s not even feasible. I will make my own for us personally, but for this massive baking need, you simply have to use pre-made shells.
The other thing is that I use margarine in most. People prefer the margarine taste. I cannot convince my family otherwise and my husbands work would freak right out if I changed anything on them.
Superstore No Name non-hydrogenated margarine is the ticket. It makes people flip out over the taste.
I have committed more baking cardinal sins with making my butter tarts (BUTTER tarts!) than in any other single recipe on my site.
But people love them. People have paid me to make them yearly for them – with margarine for that exact taste they want- and my husband knows when I use butter and turns up his nose at them.
I secretly make myself a batch every year with butter. I certainly have an affinity for the buttah.
So, feel free to sin along with me. These are fast and easy. Literally, it does not get faster than this and you end up with butter tarts to give away or to grace your Christmas dinner dessert table.
Ingredients Needed
1 cup of brown sugar
1/2 cup of raisins
1/3 cup or margarine or butter, melted
1 egg
2 tablespoons of cream
1 tsp vanilla
15-18 unsweetened and unbaked tart shells
Kick the tires and light the fires to 375 degrees
Melt your margarine, then add in the vanilla,egg, cream and brown sugar. The lovely part about these is they are SO easy and fast to make. Throw it all in, mix the ever-livin’ devil out of it, and you are good.
Now add in your raisins, and half a cup is the bare minimum I use. I find that sometimes there is too much liquid and not enough raisins by the time I reach the end, be brave and just add in what you need at that point.
Put your tart shells, still frozen, on the tray and fill a good 3/4 of the way. I say still frozen because I have found when they are defrosted the filling leaks through the pasty, not ruining them, but making them softer. A good frozen tart shell will hold the contents in, and cook at the same time.
Bake in a 375 degree oven for 15-18 minutes, until the rims of the tarts are beautifully browned.
So go ahead.
Cheat. A lot.
You’ll feel all the better for it.
Love,
The Cheatin’, Mistreatin’, Butter Tart Eatin’ Magpie
How To: Make Butter Tarts
- Prep Time
- 4 minutes
- Cook Time
- 15 minutes
- Total Time
- 19 minutes
- Course
- Dessert
- Cuisine
- Canadian
- Servings
- 16
- Calories
- 173
- Author
- Karlynn Johnston
Ingredients
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 1/2 cup raisins
- 1/3 cup margarine or butter melted
- 1 egg
- 2 tablespoons cream
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 15-18 unsweetened and unbaked tart shells
Instructions
- Kick the tires and light the fires to 375 degrees.
- Melt your margarine, then add in the vanilla, egg, cream and brown sugar. The lovely part about these is they are SO easy and fast to make. Throw it all in, mix the ever-livin’ devil out of it, and you are good.
- Now add in your raisins, and half a cup is the bare minimum I use. I find that sometimes there is too much liquid and not enough raisins by the time I reach the end; be brave and just add in what you need at that point.
- Put your tart shells, still frozen, on the tray and fill a good 3/4 of the way. I say still frozen because I have found when they are defrosted the filling leaks through the pastry, not ruining them, but making them softer. A good frozen tart shell will hold the contents in, and cook at the same time.
- Bake in a 375 degree oven for 15-18 minutes, until the rims of the tarts are beautifully browned.
Nutrition Information
All calories and info are based on a third party calculator and are only an estimate. Actual nutritional info will vary with brands used, your measuring methods, portion sizes and more.
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Ashley Meek says
Perfect timing on your post, my husband just asked if I could make some.
Rosaline Linhart says
that old five roses cook book has been in our family since 1948 when we got the first copy…its amazing
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chas says
what type of cream do u use?
Sarah M says
I am very disappointed that in order to share these with my family, I have to make my own tart shells. In Canada, they seem to be everywhere, in the US, they’re nowhere. Ah well, just a small sacrifice to be able to share this Canadian classic with my American in laws.
The Kitchen Magpie says
Well I DO want the whole recipe here for everyone, that part just got left out in the cut and paste somehow!
The Kitchen Magpie says
You are so welcome!
Debbie Robinson Woloshyn says
Awesome! Going to try these as a last minute Christmas dessert! Thank you for posting so many awesome recipes!!
Kathleen Klohn says
Thanks! Although if I’d just looked at the link you had it did say brown sugar.\U0001f633
Ruth Cadman says
Seeing as it’s Christmas, I need to come over and make Mince Pies with you xxx
Happy Gourmand says
I love this recipe, it’s a favourite! But how can you call them Butter Tarts if you use margarine? 🙂
The Kitchen Magpie says
Ack! Will fix!
Christine Covacci says
Always use your recipe, the best !!!!!!
Kathleen Klohn says
The directions say brown sugar but I don’t see it in the ingredients?
The Kitchen Magpie says
Mine was this morning but only around 5 dozen. They are SO fast with this recipe!
The Kitchen Magpie says
Yup! They will be pecan tarts and that’s dang delicious too!
Mary Markoulis says
Will the recipe work without raisins, or replacing the raisins with pecans?
Debbie Flynn says
Just made 70 Buttertarts last night
Bonnie Hale says
Hi There,
Had great success with these. Used GF pie crust and your recipe for the insides – DELICIOUS. I am curious…..when you are giving them for gifts do you have some suggestions for packaging/wrapping them.
Thanks.
Bonnie
CandaceMiddleton says
Can I use milk instead of cream?
The Kitchen Magpie says
Thanks! You too!
Keyko Davidson says
I love your blog! Merry Christmas to you and your family!
The Kitchen Magpie says
Do it!
The Kitchen Magpie says
hahha! You know what, I love them in a beautiful homemade pastry. BUT this time of year is so busy for everyone, what working person has the time to make the fiddly ones? Even I don’t and my job is cooking up recipes LOL!
Keyko Davidson says
I like the cheating idea… as I will never forget when my nephew looked at my butter tarts and said “They don’t really look right”…
Keyko Davidson says
Butter tarts… such a part of Christmas for this first generation American from Canadian roots… I might just have to make some today!!!
Carrie B says
Just made 4 dozen of these today. Two dozen I made with raisins and the other two dozen I made with pecans. LOVE them. They are now safely tucked away in the freezer for Christmas. Thank you so much for sharing this recipe.
thekitchenmagpie says
@Carrie B You are so welcome!
kim ngo says
SOOOOO GOOD
thekitchenmagpie says
@kim ngo Glad you liked them!
Karlynn says
I use no name Superstore ones, they have no hydrogenated oil in them. Tenderflake would work as well, any unsweetened premade tart shells will work.
Megan says
could you please tell me the store/brand of tart shells you use? megan@buhlerfamily.org. I am searching for some and have only been able to find what I am looking for in Canada. I live in Salt Lake City, UT though so that’s not very convenient. Thank you!