Avon Holiday recipe loop 2014

Grandma wismer's buttertarts

I have been so looking forward to sharing this recipe on the Avon Holiday Recipe Loop 2014! This a favourite in my family and we only make them around Christmas. Buttertarts are a classic Canadian treat; they are heaven for the lips and hell on the hips. ;0) They are a baked pastry filled with a sugary mixture. Nuts are optional (walnuts and pecans are the most popular choices), although some people claim that it is not a true buttertart if there are nuts. We do both in my family. I have two cousins who are deathly allergic to nuts, so if we know we will be sharing with them, the nuts stay far away!


I will be sharing a homemade pastry recipe as well, although this can also be made with premade tart shells from the store. I am not endorsing any particular brand; if any are mentioned, it is just because it is the brand I use. The pastry recipe is just off the back of the Tenderflake box, although my family has been making it this way for years. The buttertart recipe comes from my maternal great-grandmother. I have not tasted any other buttertart recipe as good as this one, but I am biased. ;0) Pictures are included in the instructions because I am a visual person and like to see what the end result is supposed to look like.


This recipe may seem complicated, but it is actually quite easy and doesn't take too long to make. There are just a lot of detailed instructions for making it with homemade pastry. Once the pastry is made and ready, the actual tarts take only about 30 minutes in total.

Pastry

Ingredients:
5 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 1/4 teaspoon salt
1 pound lard (455 grams) at room temperature
1 egg
4 tablespoons brown sugar (or 2, if you want to reduce the sugar)
1 tablespoon vinegar
water



Directions:

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In a large bowl, sift together flour, salt and baking powder.






Cut in the lard and mix thoroughly until somewhat crumbly. You can use a pastry blender, a fork or your hand. (I use my hand because it seems more efficient)





It should look like this, but with better resolution. ;0)







In a measuring cup, stir egg and add brown sugar and vinegar. Once that is all stirred together, add water until it reaches the one cup mark and mix again.






Add the liquid mixture to the bowl and mix until there is no more dry flour left in the bowl.







It should look like this.





Cover with wax paper (I use the paper the lard was wrapped in, lard side down) and refrigerate overnight. Also freezes well, after refrigeration stage.

Grandma Wismer's Buttertarts

Ingredients:
1 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1 cup raisins
1/2 cup chopped nuts (optional; I use walnuts)
1 tablespoon butter
Needed: muffin trays

*one recipe will make about three dozen tarts and use about half of the homemade pastry recipe.

Directions:

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Combine all ingredients into a bowl. Mix well. It should look like this.





If you have made your own pastry: Pastry should be a room temperature. I find working with 1/4 of the pastry at a time to be easiest. On a lightly floured surface, knead dough until it is soft, warm and malleable (it makes me think of a baby's bum or warm play-doh, that's how it should feel like). Using a rolling pin (or a handy wine bottle, the more empty the better ;0) ) roll the pastry out until it is about 1/8 - 1/6 of an inch thick. It cannot be too thin, as the pastry will then not be strong enough to hold the mixture. Use more flour as needed if the pastry is sticking to the rolling pin.

Use a cutter (or something with a sharp enough edge) 4-5 inches in diameter. This is what I used. It is 4 inches and was a little on the small side, according to my family.


Use the cutter to cut pastry circles. Depending on how thin you rolled it and how much pastry you used at one time, you will get a variety of circles at a time. Roll the leftover dough into a ball then repeat the process until you have enough to fill the muffin trays.


If you are using premade tart shells from the store: follow the instructions on the box to prepare for baking. 
Place the pastry circles in the muffin tray. I grease it first to ensure they will remove easily after baking, but it is not always necessary. Ensure the pastry forms a small bowl to hold the mixture and that the sides are slightly crimped. Drop mixture into each bowl, approximately 1 or 2 teaspoons per bowl. IMPORTANT! Do not overfill the pastry bowl. The mixture will expand while baking and if if bakes to the tray, it is pain to clean later because the sugar really solidifies to the tray.



Bake at 375 F for 15 minutes or until golden brown. I take them out slightly before golden brown because the hot muffin tray will continue to bake the pastry. Over baked pastry can be really dry.






Cool before attempting to remove from the muffin tray. They should pop out easily when you do remove them. Cool some more on a tray. Enjoy same day or freeze for a later date. The day I did this, I did a double recipe and got six dozen tarts that are now in the freezer waiting for Christmas.

That's it, that's all! I hope you enjoy them and that they become a regular on your holiday menu.

But don't stop here! There is more holiday deliciousness up next with Cara Connelly and her Save the Date Gingerbread Cookies!

Take some time to explore my site as well by using the navigation at the top of this page and find out more about me.

However you celebrate, have a wonderful and safe holiday season! :0)