This is a recipe my mother had in Scotland. I have saved it since I was a teenager because the tarts are so good.
Hi. I am the poster of this recipe. It cracks me up how many people say they are runny, as if that's a negative! Butter tarts cooked correct are supposed to be runny.....that's the sign of a good butter tart! Otherwise you may as well have raisin pie:)
Read MoreI tried out this recipe and it wasnt bad. It would have been helpful to know how much filling to put in each tart shell as they rise a lot..which meant it came spilling over making me lose half my filling. I did try this recipe several ways to see what worked best.. I tried the recipe with Crisco and 2 eggs and it came out tasting eggy..yuck! Then i tried it with butter and 1 egg..This i found, was the best modification..Its not too runny and its nice and buttery..I find butter more flavourful than Crisco
Read MoreHi. I am the poster of this recipe. It cracks me up how many people say they are runny, as if that's a negative! Butter tarts cooked correct are supposed to be runny.....that's the sign of a good butter tart! Otherwise you may as well have raisin pie:)
This is an excellent recipe but I gave it a few tweaks. I found the quantities for 24 made enough for 36. I substituted butter for shortening (after all they are "butter" tarts!) and substituted 'golden syrup' for corn syrup which gives it an even more buttery flavour. I also added an extra egg (for the 24 amount) making it three eggs instead of two, so they wouldn't be too runny. I then baked them at 350 defrees F for approximately 20 minutes. I also increased the butter and the golden syrup slightly. I found they browned too much at 400 degrees because of the butter in them. They turned out beautifully. I have an excellent recipe handed down from my English/Scottish great grandmother, but it was hard to measure with the old weight measurements so combining this recipe with mine helped tremendously. Thank you.
Don't let the fact that there is no butter in these tarts, or the "English" slant disuade you from trying this recipe. My shot at this came out perfect first crack. I cut back the raisins because 3/4 of a cup seemed like a lot. Next time, I'll follow the recipe. For a good tart shell I used "Best Pie Crust Ever" and cut circles with a plastic funnel. The tarts turned out tasting homemade and yummy. Some things are worth making yourself if the effort isn't too high, it doesn't take too long, and you get better than store-bought results. These tarts are a great example of this. Thanks, Priscilla, I'm hanging on to this recipe.
These are the best butter tarts I have ever eaten!!! I whipped the mixture until it had the consistency of pudding and left out the raisins (hubby doesn't like them) and they came out better than bakery fresh. Thanks so much for sharing.
Hi im 13 years old and me and my mom made some of these fabulous butter tarts they are absolutely amazing!! And i thought i would hate them because i hate raisons! So try this recipe i guarantee you will enjoy them!! By the way we doubled the recipe and this made 36 - 3 inch tarts.
These butter tarts were very good, just remember not to fill too much because they overflow. My husband and kids loved them and they didn't last too long. Made some with raisins and some with pecans. Had enough batter for almost 18.
This recipe was amazing! I added an extra egg as per previous review saying that it would make it less runny and only added raisins to half of the batch since I am not a big raisin fan. I also baked it at 350 degrees for 20 min. It tasted just as good as the ones sold at the store if not better. I thought that no one in my house would really eat it and I might end up throwing some of it out since many people in my house are very health. They were so good that within 2 days they were all gone, I will definitely try this recipe again.
I tried out this recipe and it wasnt bad. It would have been helpful to know how much filling to put in each tart shell as they rise a lot..which meant it came spilling over making me lose half my filling. I did try this recipe several ways to see what worked best.. I tried the recipe with Crisco and 2 eggs and it came out tasting eggy..yuck! Then i tried it with butter and 1 egg..This i found, was the best modification..Its not too runny and its nice and buttery..I find butter more flavourful than Crisco
I tried this recipe for the first time and it was fantastic! These tarts don't last long around my house and everybody raved about them. I've found that it takes a lot of work to make all of the shells by hand so I bought some prepared shells from the grocery store. One box of 12 shells suits this recipe perfectly. The second time I made them I doubled the recipe and used 3/4c of raisins and 3/4c of chopped pecans and again everybody raved! Be careful not to cook them too long so that they don't boil over in the oven.
Wonderful tasting! The only thing I would note is to divide it into more than 12 tart shells as it tends to be too full and boils over. Perhaps 13 or 14 tart shells.
These are the yummiest butter tarts. Better than any I've ever had. I don't like raisens so I made them plain. They're just a little too runny. Not sure how to fix that but it's not a big deal once you taste them.
I tried to make these with real butter instead of shortening and they didn't come out too well. The flavor was great, but the consistency was poor. Also, as the recipe states, it's critical to make sure not to over cook.
These are SO good! I need easy and amazing recipes and this is one. My husband ate 8 in a sitting and he is not big on sweets. Don't put too much in each cup or they will overflow.
These are very good, but very runny, I will try baking them longer to thicken them. The flavour is great, it's hard to believe they are made with shortening instead of butter.
EXCELLENT! Wow, these tasted incredible, and soooo easy to make. Thanks for sharing.
This was my first attempt at making any type of butter tart and I must say, I was amazed at the results. I stuck to the recipe for the most part, only making the following changes: I made my own pastry dough and blind baked shells for 12 minutes at 400 degrees in my mini muffin pan. After removing the weights, I let them cool a bit while making the filling. I used an extra egg to ensure that the filling wouldn't be too runny, and it wasn't. I took the advice of others and baked the tarts (in the muffin pan) for 20 minutes at 350 degrees. They came out perfect. Next time I make these, I'll try some without the raisins and perhaps with chopped pecans or walnuts.
these were snapped up so fast, i barely had a chance to get one myself. so amazingly good!! would definitely make again!
These butter tarts are the best I've ever tasted. I am the worst baker in existence but every year around this time I get the baking urge, put on my apron and give baking another try, usually with disastrous results. I made them with Ruth's Grandma's Pie Crust (recipe on this site which is also a phenomenal recipe); together they turned out the best butter tarts I could ever imagine. We ate them hot from the oven; I don't know if we can wait till the rest cool. I can't believe I actually made them, they were so good! The substitutions I made were using a no sugar pancake syrup with Splenda instead of corn syrup because we're diabetic and the brown sugar was enough sugar for us thank you very much. LOL I also substituted butter for the shortening and used the two eggs so they wouldn't be runny. I whipped the entire mixture till it was frothy, used raisins and pecans, baking them at 350 degrees F for 20 minutes. I really liked this recipe because they were not overly sweet; though I'm not sure if that was because I substituted a no sugar syrup. At any rate, this recipe is a keeper and one I will pass along to my girls (and my son). Thank you ever so much 2doulas for sharing your amazing recipe with us. I know I'll have to make an extra batch tomorrow to freeze.
These are great! However just a helpful tip: besure that the shortening is at room temperature otherwise there will be clumps. and clumps are bad.
Great Butter Tart Recipe. I took the advice of the others and used butter and added an extra egg. I also put them in the mini tart shells - you can make close to 60 mini Butter Tarts with those. They were so yummy that my husband ate 6 in one sitting! They are easy to make and taste delicious!I look forward to making them again!
This is a mouthwatering Butter Tart, its original, same recipe I have except mine doesnt use corn syrup. I'm so pleased with it, its on our Easter table this year. Thank you!
I am determined to get this recipe right. It would be helpful if the poster of the recipe could recommend a crust to use with it. I have tried to make it 4 times now, with limited success. I haven't given up, and I will add 1/2 egg in the next attempt in an effort to reduce the runny-ness. And I mean this wholeheartedly: A butter tart is not supposed to have liquid syrup running out of it. I used the flaky butter crust recipe for the crust and made 6 larger tarts instead of 12 small tarts. I have discovered by trial and error that I must bake this crust twice. Bake for 15 minutes, cool, store in fridge overnight, bring to room temperature, bake another 20 minutes, and the crust becomes perfect. It's so inconvenient.
I'm so very excited to make this recipe! I'm a huge fan of raisin tarts in Canada. This recipe sounds just how they make them there! Those tarts in Canada (Ontario) taste like a pecan pie but using raisins instead! Yum!!!
True English Butter tarts!!! Made 2 batches for a back sale and trying so hard not to eat them :)))
These were good and had a nice consistancy. I would suggest adding a few tsp. vinegar to cut the sweetness.
These tarts are so yummy!! I left out the raisins because the hubby does not like them. The only complaint I have is that they are a bit greasy.
Excellent butter tarts! Not too sweet, just perfect! Thanks for sharing. I couldn't find my gran's butter tart recipe and I'm sure this one must be it. An appsolute must try!
These were ok. Way too sweet for my taste. There was enough here to fill 18 2" tart shells. When these were done and cooled, there were little pools of shortening on the bottom of the tart tins and small cooled pools of it on top of the tarts. Didn't look very appealing. I will try another recipe next time, this was my first crack at making butter tarts.
They turned out wonderful. Nice and runny like ther are supposed to be.Next time thou I will have to roll my pastry thinner.(My error) They are still very tasty.
Good taste, but I made it exactly as it said and they were really, really runny. Will try again, but alter to make 'thicker'.
Looking for a great butter tart recipe that is not overly runny but still quite gooey in the centre with a little dripping syrup if the butter tart is tilted downward. Like many of the reviews I read, I felt butter would have been the better choice over shortening, so I added butter instead. One review, doubling the recipe, added an extra egg and having tried other butter tart recipes where it was really runny, I thought this was also a good idea, so I added an extra egg to a double recipe. Another person reduced the corn syrup in half and added maple syrup for the other half of the portion. I was concerned that the maple syrup would, again, make it too runny, so I added a 3/4 portion of the corn syrup and 1/4 portion of the maple syrup to add flavour. The oven temperature and baking time; many reviewers suggested 350 degrees F for 20 minutes. Being concerned with shrinkage of the tart shell as it tends to do that at higher temperatures, and also with the mixture boiling over, I baked it in my convection oven at 350 degrees for 10 minutes, then reduced the temperature to 325 degrees for a further 10 minutes. I really prefer a fully loaded butter tart with lots of filling which is why I chose to baked it that way I just mentioned as this way, I was able to fill each tart to 3/4 full. There was less shrinkage of the shell and it didn't boiled over. It does come right to the top but doesn't go over. I yielded 21 FULL tarts with a double recipe...delicious and gooey.
My husband is Canadian and for the last 4 years I've heard him whining about butter tarts. Thank heavens I finally found this recipe. It's easy to whip up and he says they are exactly like the ones back home!
These are PERFECT!! I gave this recipe to my mom last week and they're wonderful! She had frozen packs of tart shells (in 24's) and so she doubled the recipe and it was perfect. They were probably 3 inch shells. They taste absolutely like the bakery we had up the street when I was younger. She's going to try and modify the recipe and incorporate some pecans to give the tarts a slight crunch. Thank you!
WOW!!!! So read through the reviews first. I had frozen tart shells and wanted a treat for my children. I doubled the recipe for 24, omitted the raisins (as I didn't have any on hand), used regular corn syrup (on hand), beat till it was like pudding (as per one review) and baked at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. Well I just had one still warm from the oven and AMAZING!! This will be my recipe forever now and will make often since its so simple. Thank you for posting this!!!!!
I've made these a few times and I don't change a thing, except the baking time. I usually bake them for a bit longer so they aren't too runny.
This turned out fantastic, but like some others mentioned, I upped the eggs by half (3 eggs for 24, 1.5 eggs for 12, etc.) so that it wouldn't be as runny. I have also added pecans at times in place of raisins. Making a vegan version with Ener-G™ egg replacer worked for me, too!
Really good recipe, super easy. They were the best butter tarts I ever tasted. Instead of raisins I used a mix of dried cherries and chopped pecans, yum! They are a bit runny but that's what makes them so good.
This has been a fav. family recipe for years. Not a single year goes by without someone requesting it. The recipe is simple, and easy to follow. I add chopped pecans to mine, and boy what a hit. You have to try this recipe, it will knock your socks off.
Just enough "runny". Also makes good mini tarts. (cook 10 - 12 mins, 24 tart shells).
Substitute unsweetened coconut in place of raisins.
These turned out BEAUTIFULLY!! Buttery and smooth! I'm not a fan of raisins, so I like that I could just add a few currants or even some dried cranberries instead. Lovely!!
My family just loved the flavour of these Butter Tarts. I had to hide the rest for Christmas time. I doubled the recipe and it turned out just wonderful. Thank you for sharing your recipe.
loved these!!! i didnt use the whole 1/2 cup of corn syrup though. i used 1/4 cup corn syrup and 1/4 cup maple syrup. so good. i will be making these again
I used butter being Canadian that's must. Made 2 batches for my hubby's birthday last night. He gave a 4 out of 5. These tarts disappeared rather quickly. A guest arrived unexpectedly, she had 3 tarts with her cup of tea. She stated,"Those sure are good." I agree! I used tart tins and did not find the results runny. At 375 F 10 mins.
They were a smidgen too runny, I had trouble getting them out of the muffins forms, the homemade dough was so flaky and so some of the middle ran out, which was kind of messy. I also baked them at lower temp, since my stove has the habbit of suddenly turning up the heat and therefore burn things. So maybe next time I'll add and extra egg to make it a bit firmer. Other than that, great taste, at least that's what my husband says. And he knows his butter tarts. Definitely a keeper.
I would give these 10 stars if I could! Not only the BEST butter tarts but perhaps the best dessert I've ever eaten! Everyone who tried them fell in love...and had to eat several at a time! I love how the inside is kind of liquidy (compared to other butter tarts I've tried). The flavour is unbeatable! These things are highly addictive, I will now have to make them for every occasion!!!!
Awsome, every body loved them i made a 24 batch and instead of 2 tsp vanilla i used only 1 tsp vanilla and 1 tsp rum extract. They were delish!!!!
I made these with butter of course! Have a nice flavour, not gooey like Canadian butter tart recipes but good overall. I got 22 3 inch tarts using 1 tbsp raisins in each tart and 1 tbsp of filling, they do really puff up.
Just made these. I like that they're very easy to make and easy on the budget. I distributed the batter between the 12 shells and they completely bubbled over while cooking and became too flat and shallow once cooled. I'm not sure if I did something wrong here but I sure wish I knew. If I were to fill the shells up even less next time, they'd be even more shallow, which would then look like they're less than half full. I was hoping to have these tarts come out like the ones I bought at a local farm recently. Tastes good and all but the overall appearance of them isn't exactly what I was looking for.
I only use the goo part of the Recipe but it's absolutely my favourite! I love it!
These tarts are amazing. I will never purchase butter tarts again! This is my first attempt at making butter tarts and I think they're just as good as fresh from the local farm. I didn't change the recipe at all except removing the raisins because I really don't like them, and the reception at home was very positive as well. My oven runs hot so I cooked them for about 14 minutes at 375.
These were amazing! First time I made butter tarts, thinking it'd be complicated. Easy steps and a spectacular end result!!! Followed recipe exactly and they were no runny, nice and soft. Will use again :D
This recipe was truly delicious. I found that I had to leave them in the full 15 minutes and they were still a bit runny,but still good. Other reviews helped also.
I am an amateur cook and I found this recipe very easy to make. Makes the perfect amount for 12 tarts and of course tastes great!
these were soooooooo good i made them for a christmas party and they were gone within the hour
These were good, but not as good as my regular recipe that I found in a local cooking magazine. They lacked the added flavour that my regular recipe has (rum and some vinegar and real butter). I will stick with my old recipe and won't make these again.
I've always loved butter tarts, and last night I wanted to see how difficult or easy they were to make. This recipe is a breeze, and they turned out great the first time. As I don't normally keep shortening, I used a quarter cup of melted butter, instead. I don't know that it made a difference. Also, I spooned out the mixture rather than pouring. It took longer, but I may have avoided making a mess.
I used butter instead of shortening, I added chopped walnuts and only 4 raisins per tart. Fabulous
They were good but they boiled over for me therefore there was less filling in each tart that I had anticipated. Perhaps I left them in the oven too long?
How can you go wrong with sugar and the more sugar! They are always a big hit! Take them all the time for a last minute potluck dessert.
mmmmm...Just ate one now still warm! Better than..! I have to say I was very skeptical of these. I am Canadian and usually the butter tart mix is thin and golden in colour. This was more like a cookie dough base, but I continued on. I had to use a little pancake syrup as I didn't quite have enough corn syrup. Just enough for 12 tarts ('used best ever pie crust', awesome) My husband laughed at me because he thought I must have left something out. They were white instead of the usual brownish colour,even re-read the recipe 3 times! Cooked for 15 minutes. Cautiously bit into one expecting the worst. WOW what a surprise! Sooo good and the maple syrup added a nice flavour too! A keeper to say the least:)
tastes great. This was a very easy recipe to follow. I cooked them for exactly 12 minutes. I used Crisco golden shortening which to me looks like butter.The tart shells were 3 inches not 2 inches. Only sold 3 inch shells at the store. The tarts were a little runny.
These butter tarts were delicious. I found a double recipe made 24 nice size tarts. The only problem I had was I thought the shells were slightly wetter than they should be. I'd make them again.
Really loved these tarts....here are the requests from hubby that implemented: 2/3 currants 1/3 raisins Used 9” pie round to cut out 10 tart shells Cooked at 350 for 20 min
Awesome recipe, I did alter the second batch by leaving out the shortening. I like the recipe with out. The filling was thicker without. Was a huge hit for my customers thanks.
This was my first attempt at butter tarts ever. They were the best butter tarts I've had, they definitely didn't last long in my house. Great recipe and many thanks :)
I have a better recipie in my packed boxes, however I love runny butter tarts. So good! These are definitely not out of the question. I did like them. When I was a girl my grandmother used to make them and the runnyness of the butter tarts took me away. I wonder if butter rather than shortening would be the thing I'm missing? I may just try that and see as the ingredients are like mine but for the butter.
Amazing! I used corn oil instead of shortening and an addional cup of brown sugar and 1/8cup of water instead of corn syrup. It's also thanksgiving so I added 1/4 teaspoon of both cinnimon AND nutmag.
These things are the tastiest things around!
This was a fantastic recipe. My only complaint was they disappeared so quickly I have to make another double batch 2 days before Christmas! The only change I made to this recipe was I baked them at 325 for about 22-25 minutes. Delicious!
Great recipe! I'm a newbie and my cooking/baking skills are at a Novice/Intermediate Level. They turned out great and even the wife liked it too!!!
