Butter Tart Squares

July 1: Canada Day

Visiting some of Highlander’s relatives in Canada is always a treat—literally—especially when they serve treats from his country of birth. They want to remind him of his roots and share cultural cuisine with us since we are foodies. One distinctive dessert from Canada is butter tarts, a pastry invented in the pioneer era. We transformed the traditional tarts into squares for a sweet stacked snack to celebrate Canada Day.

Recipe

(Adapted from Robin Hood)

For the base crust

• ½ cup (1 stick) butter, softened
• ¼ cup brown sugar
• 1 cup flour

Directions

Line an 8×8-inch square baking pan with parchment or waxed paper, leaving a little overhang as the “handles” to lift the dessert out of the pan later. In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter with the brown sugar. Mix in the flour until it sticks together.

Press into prepared pan. Bake in a preheated oven at 350 degrees F for 15-20 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool completely. Make the topping.

For the topping

• ¼ cup (½ stick) butter, softened
• ¾ cup brown sugar
• ½ cup corn syrup
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 2 tablespoons flour
• ½ teaspoon baking powder
• ½ cup raisins
• ½ cup walnuts, chopped

Directions

In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter with the brown sugar. Mix in the corn syrup, eggs and vanilla.

Blend in the flour and baking powder. Sprinkle the raisins and chopped walnuts over the base crust. 

Pour the filling over the raisins and nuts. Bake in a preheated oven at 350 degrees F for 25 minutes or until the filling is set. Remove from the oven and cool completely. Lift the dessert out of the pan using the parchment or waxed paper “handles”. Cut into 16 squares.

Notes

• The raisins and walnuts are optional but we added them to the recipe. The raisins add a nice chewy texture and the walnuts counter the sweetness of this dessert.