Maple butter tarts

I missed making pancakes on Tuesday as I do every year, but I've got all your my favourite pancake toppings in a tart shell. Butter tarts are a Canadian staple, or at least an Ontario one. They are available in every convenience store, grocery store and bakery. The best are homemade, of course, and everyone loves the ones they are used to. The ones I like best are from a great little sandwich shop in Toronto. The only problem is that they are huge! I made mine a bit daintier so you can have 2.
Butter tart recipes usually call for corn syrup, but I'm not a fan, so I replaced it with maple syrup. The result was gooey but not runny tarts. Golden syrup would be another great substitute for corn syrup. Most butter tarts have raisins in them, but there was no chance of that happening over here. I love them plain, and also with nuts or wild blueberries. I made all kinds for you. Well, for me, but you know what I mean. So what do butter tarts taste like? Deliciously sweet, and a bit like pecan pie without the pecans.

This is my kind of research

Another great thing about butter tarts is that they are very easy to make. You use a homemade flaky pastry and the filling can be made in single bowl with a wooden spoon. You can even use pre-made tartlet shells. Just don't tell me if you do. 

The wild blueberry version

Yup, they're good

Makes 12--2.5" tarts

Butter pastry:
1 cup all-purpose flour
½ cup unsalted butter, cubed and chilled
½ teaspoons salt
3-7 tablespoons ice water

1. Combine flour and salt in the bowl of a food processor and pulse to combine. Add butter and pulse until the largest pieces are the size of peas and some pieces are tiny.
2. Add 3 tablespoons of water and pulse again. Squeeze a handful of the crumbs together to see if it holds. If not, add the water in small increments. You do not want the dough to come together in a ball in the processor. Once the dough holds together without too much effort, flatten it into a disc and wrap in plastic. Refrigerate for a few hours.
3. Let dough sit at room temperature for a few minutes, then roll on a lightly floured surface to ¹⁄₈" thickness. Cut circles using a 4.5" round cutter. Place in standard (½) cup muffin tin. Chill for 30 minutes.

Maple butter filling:
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
½ cup brown sugar
1 egg, at room temperature
½ cup maple syrup (medium/amber), at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract or paste
¼ teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons lemon juice
¼ cup small wild blueberries, nuts, raisins (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 400℉ and place a rack in lower third of oven. Cream butter and brown sugar and add egg. Mix well, then add syrup, vanilla, salt and lemon juice and combine.
2. If you are using any nuts, raisins or berries, add a few to each pastry shell. You only want enough to barely cover the bottom of the shell. Add syrup mixture, filling only ¾ full. Don't be tempted to fill them to the top, as they'll bubble over and you'll never get them out of the pan.
3. Bake for 13-15 minutes, until filling is bubbly and puffy and pastry is golden. Cool on a rack for 5 minutes, then run a knife around each tart and carefully remove. You must remove them when they are warm, or else they will weld themselves to the pan. Cool and enjoy slightly warm or at room temperature.

Macadamia nuts are amazing in these