[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":420},["ShallowReactive",2],{"recipe:butter-tarts":3,"recipe:country:canada":185},{"slug":4,"title":5,"nativeName":6,"pronunciation":7,"countrySlug":8,"region":9,"emoji":10,"summary":11,"intro":12,"story":13,"whyThis":14,"tips":19,"substitutions":26,"variations":39,"serveWith":49,"storage":51,"faq":52,"equipment":68,"baseServings":73,"prepMinutes":74,"cookMinutes":75,"restMinutes":76,"difficulty":77,"course":78,"diet":81,"mainIngredients":83,"ingredients":89,"instructions":135,"nutrition":161,"images":167,"keywords":177,"publishedAt":183,"updatedAt":183,"authorSlug":184},"butter-tarts","Butter Tarts (Runny Brown Sugar Tartlets)","Butter tarts","BUH-ter tarts","canada","Ontario","🧁","Small Ontario pastry shells filled with butter, brown sugar and egg that bake into a wobbling caramel centre — the runny-versus-firm question is a genuine national argument.","A butter tart is a single-crust pastry shell about the size of a muffin, filled with a mixture of butter, brown sugar, syrup and egg that bakes into something between caramel sauce and custard. Hot from the oven the filling is liquid; cooled, it settles into a glossy, sticky centre that should slump slightly when you bite through the crust. The taste is straightforwardly rich — burnt sugar, butter, a little vanilla, and enough salt in the pastry to keep it from being sickly. Ontario treats these with a seriousness that surprises outsiders: there are butter tart festivals, competing regional trails, and two long-running arguments about whether the filling should be runny or set and whether raisins belong in it at all.","The butter tart is one of the few genuinely Canadian pastries, and it emerged from Ontario kitchens rather than from any imported tradition. Its ancestors are visible enough — English treacle and border tarts, Scottish sweet pastries, French-Canadian sugar pie — but the specific combination of a small pastry shell with a brown-sugar-and-egg filling took its recognisable form among settler communities in Ontario, and the earliest published Canadian recipes date to the early twentieth century. Claims of a precise inventor or an exact founding date should be treated with suspicion; what is documented is that by the 1910s the recipe was circulating in Ontario community cookbooks as an established local thing.\n\nThe modern arguments are more interesting than the origins. The first is texture: some households want the filling to stay runny, so that biting one is a hazard that requires leaning forward, while others bake theirs until the centre sets to a firm, sliceable caramel. Both camps consider the other wrong, and the difference comes down to a few minutes in the oven and how much egg is in the mix. The second argument is raisins — the classic addition, defended fiercely by traditionalists and rejected just as fiercely by people who then propose pecans, walnuts or nothing at all. There is no resolution and there does not need to be one.\n\nWhat sustains the tart is its place in Ontario social life. Small-town bakeries and church sales sell them by the dozen, several towns run butter tart festivals with judged competitions, and there are marked driving routes in Ontario's cottage country built around bakeries that make them. Nothing about the recipe is technically demanding: cold pastry, a filling whisked in one bowl, a hot oven and a careful eye. What separates a good tart from a bad one is entirely in the details — pastry that stays crisp under a wet filling, and a filling pulled out at the exact moment the centre still moves.",[15,16,17,18],"The filling ratio is set for a properly runny centre, with the exact adjustment for anyone who wants it firm instead.","The shells are chilled hard and filled only to two-thirds, which is what stops the classic boil-over and welded tin.","Explains the visual cue for when to pull them, since the difference between runny and rock-solid is about ninety seconds.","Treats raisins as an open question rather than pretending one side of a real Ontario argument does not exist.",[20,21,22,23,24,25],"Chill the lined tin in the freezer for 15 minutes before filling. Cold pastry sets in the oven before the wet filling can soak into it, which is the whole trick to a crisp base.","Fill the shells no more than two-thirds full. The filling puffs dramatically as it bakes and any overflow welds the tarts to the tin.","Do not overbeat the filling. Whisk just until combined — beaten air makes it souffle up and then crater as it cools.","Bake on the bottom rack. The base needs direct heat from below, or the crust stays pale and the filling overcooks waiting for it.","Pull them when the edges are set but the centre still wobbles like loose jelly when you nudge the tin. It carries on cooking for several minutes out of the oven.","Run a thin knife around each tart while the tin is still warm, then cool them in the tin. Sugar that cools completely in place will glue them down permanently.",[27,31,35],{"original":28,"swap":29,"note":30},"Corn syrup","Golden syrup, maple syrup, or an extra 60 g brown sugar dissolved in 2 tbsp water","Maple gives the most Canadian result and a slightly thinner set. The syrup is there to stop the sugar crystallising, so do not simply leave it out.",{"original":32,"swap":33,"note":34},"Raisins","Chopped pecans or walnuts, or nothing at all","All three are traditional in different Ontario households. Soak raisins in hot water for ten minutes first, or they draw moisture from the filling and turn hard.",{"original":36,"swap":37,"note":38},"Homemade pastry","Store-bought all-butter shortcrust, cut into 10 cm rounds","A perfectly honest shortcut. Whatever you use, get it very cold before filling — that matters more than whether you made it.",[40,43,46],{"name":41,"description":42},"Firm-set butter tarts","Add a second egg and bake five minutes longer. The centre sets to a sliceable caramel custard, which is how roughly half of Ontario insists they should be.",{"name":44,"description":45},"Maple butter tarts","Replace the corn syrup entirely with dark maple syrup and cut the brown sugar by a quarter. Less sweet, more distinctly Canadian, slightly looser in the middle.",{"name":47,"description":48},"Butter tart squares","The same filling poured over a pressed shortbread base in a square tin and cut into bars — a church-sale staple that makes twenty-four in one go.",[50],"Strong black coffee or plain tea. The tarts are sweet enough that anything else on the plate is competition.","Butter tarts keep 3 days at room temperature in a tin, and the filling firms up noticeably after the first day — a runny tart on Monday is a soft-set one by Wednesday. Do not refrigerate them: cold turns the filling hard and the pastry damp. They freeze well for 2 months, wrapped individually; thaw at room temperature and refresh in a 160°C oven for 5 minutes, which brings the pastry back and loosens the centre again. Unbaked lined shells can be frozen for a month and filled straight from the freezer.",[53,56,59,62,65],{"question":54,"answer":55},"Should butter tarts be runny or firm?","Both are traditional and Ontario has never settled it. Runny tarts have less egg and come out of the oven while the centre is still visibly wobbling, so the filling stays saucy. Firm tarts use an extra egg and a few more minutes and set into a sliceable caramel custard. Bakeries in the same town will disagree, and festival judging categories often separate the two so that neither camp has to lose.",{"question":57,"answer":58},"Do butter tarts have raisins?","Sometimes, and it is a genuine dispute. Raisins are the classic historical addition and plenty of Ontario families consider a tart without them incomplete. Others find they interrupt the texture and prefer pecans, walnuts or a plain filling. If you use raisins, soak them in hot water for ten minutes and drain them well, otherwise they pull moisture out of the filling and end up chewy and dry.",{"question":60,"answer":61},"Why did my filling boil over and stick to the tin?","The shells were filled too full. The filling expands considerably in the oven before settling back down, so two-thirds full is the maximum. Overbeating the filling makes this worse by whipping air into it. Butter the tin thoroughly even if it is non-stick, and run a knife around each tart while the tin is still warm — sugar that has cooled hard in place is close to impossible to remove cleanly.",{"question":63,"answer":64},"Why is my pastry soggy on the bottom?","Warm pastry meeting wet filling. Freeze the lined tin for 15 minutes so the shells are properly cold, and bake on the bottom rack of a fully preheated oven so the bases get direct heat and set before the filling soaks in. Using a metal tin rather than silicone also makes a real difference, since metal conducts heat to the base far more effectively.",{"question":66,"answer":67},"What is the difference between a butter tart and a pecan pie?","They share a family resemblance — both are sugar-syrup-and-egg fillings in pastry — but a butter tart is smaller, made in individual shells, built on brown sugar and butter rather than being defined by nuts, and is often deliberately left runny. Pecan pie is a full-size pie with a nut layer that sets firmly. Butter tarts are also less sweet-heavy per bite because the pastry-to-filling ratio is much higher.",[69,70,71,72],"12-hole muffin tin","10 cm round cutter or a glass","Rolling pin","Mixing bowl and whisk",12,35,20,60,"medium",[79,80],"dessert","snack",[82],"vegetarian",[84,85,86,87,88],"butter","brown-sugar","eggs","flour","raisins",[90,95,98,102,105,109,113,116,119,123,127,129,131],{"ref":87,"qty":91,"unit":92,"name":93,"group":94},280,"g","plain flour","For the pastry",{"ref":84,"qty":96,"unit":92,"name":97,"group":94},170,"cold unsalted butter, in 1 cm cubes",{"qty":99,"unit":100,"name":101,"group":94},1,"tsp","fine salt",{"qty":99,"unit":103,"name":104,"group":94},"tbsp","granulated sugar",{"qty":106,"unit":107,"name":108,"group":94},70,"ml","ice water, plus more if needed",{"ref":84,"qty":110,"unit":92,"name":111,"group":112},85,"butter, melted and cooled to just warm","For the filling",{"ref":85,"qty":114,"unit":92,"name":115,"group":112},200,"dark brown sugar, packed",{"qty":117,"unit":107,"name":118,"group":112},120,"corn syrup or golden syrup",{"ref":86,"qty":99,"unit":120,"name":121,"note":122,"group":112},"piece","large egg, at room temperature","use 2 for a firm-set filling",{"ref":124,"qty":99,"unit":100,"name":125,"note":126,"group":112},"apple-cider-vinegar","cider vinegar","cuts the sweetness and keeps the sugar from crystallising",{"qty":99,"unit":100,"name":128,"group":112},"vanilla extract",{"qty":130,"unit":100,"name":101,"group":112},0.5,{"ref":88,"qty":132,"unit":92,"name":133,"optional":134,"group":112},80,"raisins, soaked in hot water and drained",true,[136,141,144,148,152,157],{"title":137,"text":138,"timerSeconds":139,"tip":140},"Make and chill the pastry","Rub the cold butter into the flour, salt and sugar until the mixture looks like coarse crumbs with flat flakes of butter still visible. Add ice water a spoonful at a time and press together until it just holds. Flatten into a disc, wrap, and refrigerate for at least an hour.",3600,"Those visible butter flakes become the layers. A smooth, uniform dough has been worked too much.",{"title":142,"text":143},"Line the tin","Roll the pastry to 3 mm and cut twelve 10 cm rounds. Press each into a buttered muffin hole so it comes about three-quarters of the way up the sides, without stretching the dough — stretched pastry shrinks back down as it bakes.",{"title":145,"text":146,"timerSeconds":147},"Freeze the shells","Put the lined tin in the freezer for 15 minutes while the oven heats to 200°C with a rack in the lowest position. The shells should be rigid and cold to the touch before the filling goes in.",900,{"title":149,"text":150,"tip":151},"Whisk the filling","Whisk the melted butter, brown sugar, syrup, egg, vinegar, vanilla and salt together until just smooth and glossy — about 20 seconds. Stop as soon as it is combined; whisking air into it makes the tarts rise and then crater.","The butter should be warm, not hot, or it will start cooking the egg in the bowl.",{"title":153,"text":154,"timerSeconds":155,"tip":156},"Fill and bake","Drop a few soaked raisins into each cold shell if using, then pour in the filling to no more than two-thirds up the sides. Bake on the bottom rack for 16 to 20 minutes, until the pastry edges are golden brown, the filling is puffed and bubbling at the rim, and the centre still wobbles loosely when you nudge the tin.",1080,"A firm, still centre means they will set hard. Trust the wobble.",{"title":158,"text":159,"tip":160},"Loosen and cool","Set the tin on a rack and immediately run a thin knife around each tart to break the sugar seal, then leave them in the tin for 20 minutes to firm up before lifting them out. Serve just warm or at room temperature.","Lift them too early and the soft base tears; wait too long and cooled sugar cements them in place.",{"calories":162,"protein":163,"carbs":164,"fat":165,"fiber":99,"sugar":166,"estimated":134},340,3,45,17,32,[168,171,173,175],{"src":169,"alt":170},"\u002Fimages\u002Frecipes\u002Fbutter-tarts\u002Fhero.jpg","Golden butter tarts on a wire rack, one bitten open with glossy caramel filling running out",{"src":172,"alt":170},"\u002Fimages\u002Frecipes\u002Fbutter-tarts\u002Fhero-16x9.jpg",{"src":174,"alt":170},"\u002Fimages\u002Frecipes\u002Fbutter-tarts\u002Fhero-4x3.jpg",{"src":176,"alt":170},"\u002Fimages\u002Frecipes\u002Fbutter-tarts\u002Fhero-1x1.jpg",[178,179,180,181,182,88],"butter tarts","ontario","brown sugar","canadian dessert","pastry","2026-08-20","dishroute-kitchen",{"items":186,"total":193,"page":99,"limit":418,"hasMore":419},[187,213,243,250,279,306,329,354,374,397],{"slug":188,"title":189,"nativeName":190,"countrySlug":8,"region":191,"baseServings":192,"prepMinutes":193,"cookMinutes":75,"difficulty":194,"course":195,"diet":198,"mainIngredients":199,"images":201,"keywords":205,"publishedAt":183,"updatedAt":183,"authorSlug":184},"canadian-bannock","Bannock (Pan-Fried Canadian Flatbread)","Bannock","Across Canada",6,10,"easy",[196,197],"bread","side",[82],[87,84,200],"milk",[202],{"src":203,"alt":204},"\u002Fimages\u002Frecipes\u002Fcanadian-bannock\u002Fhero.jpg","Golden pan-fried bannock rounds in a cast-iron skillet, one torn open showing the soft steaming interior",[206,207,208,209,210,211,212],"bannock","frybread","indigenous","first nations","metis","quick bread","flatbread",{"slug":214,"title":215,"nativeName":216,"countrySlug":8,"region":217,"baseServings":218,"prepMinutes":219,"cookMinutes":220,"difficulty":194,"course":221,"diet":223,"mainIngredients":227,"images":231,"keywords":235,"publishedAt":183,"updatedAt":183,"authorSlug":184},"bloody-caesar","Bloody Caesar (Canadian Clamato and Vodka Cocktail)","Caesar","Alberta",2,5,0,[222],"drink",[224,225,226],"pescatarian","dairy-free","nut-free",[228,229,230],"tomato","clams","lime",[232],{"src":233,"alt":234},"\u002Fimages\u002Frecipes\u002Fbloody-caesar\u002Fhero.jpg","Tall Caesar cocktail over ice with a celery salt rim, leafy celery stalk and lime wedge",[236,237,238,239,240,241,242],"bloody caesar","clamato","canadian cocktail","vodka","celery salt","calgary","brunch drink",{"slug":4,"title":5,"nativeName":6,"countrySlug":8,"region":9,"baseServings":73,"prepMinutes":74,"cookMinutes":75,"restMinutes":76,"difficulty":77,"course":244,"diet":245,"mainIngredients":246,"images":247,"keywords":249,"publishedAt":183,"updatedAt":183,"authorSlug":184},[79,80],[82],[84,85,86,87,88],[248],{"src":169,"alt":170},[178,179,180,181,182,88],{"slug":251,"title":252,"nativeName":253,"countrySlug":8,"region":254,"baseServings":255,"prepMinutes":256,"cookMinutes":76,"restMinutes":257,"difficulty":77,"course":258,"diet":261,"mainIngredients":262,"images":268,"keywords":272,"publishedAt":183,"updatedAt":183,"authorSlug":184},"halifax-donair","Halifax Donair (Spiced Beef with Sweet Garlic Sauce)","Halifax donair","Nova Scotia",4,30,240,[259,260],"main","street-food",[],[263,264,265,266,228,267],"ground-beef","condensed-milk","garlic","onion","oregano",[269],{"src":270,"alt":271},"\u002Fimages\u002Frecipes\u002Fhalifax-donair\u002Fhero.jpg","Open pita loaded with seared spiced beef slices, diced onion and tomato under white sweet garlic sauce",[273,274,275,276,277,278],"halifax donair","donair sauce","nova scotia","spiced beef","street food","canadian",{"slug":280,"title":281,"nativeName":282,"countrySlug":8,"region":283,"baseServings":284,"prepMinutes":164,"cookMinutes":285,"restMinutes":286,"difficulty":287,"course":288,"diet":289,"mainIngredients":290,"images":295,"keywords":299,"publishedAt":183,"updatedAt":183,"authorSlug":184},"montreal-smoked-meat-sandwich","Montreal Smoked Meat Sandwich (Cured Brisket on Rye)","Viande fumée","Montréal",8,480,10080,"hard",[259],[225],[291,292,293,294,265],"beef-brisket","coriander-seed","black-pepper","mustard-seed",[296],{"src":297,"alt":298},"\u002Fimages\u002Frecipes\u002Fmontreal-smoked-meat-sandwich\u002Fhero.jpg","Thick hand-cut slices of peppery cured brisket stacked between two slices of rye with yellow mustard",[300,301,302,303,304,305],"montreal smoked meat","viande fumee","brisket","deli sandwich","rye bread","curing",{"slug":307,"title":308,"nativeName":309,"countrySlug":8,"region":310,"baseServings":311,"prepMinutes":256,"cookMinutes":193,"restMinutes":312,"difficulty":194,"course":313,"diet":314,"mainIngredients":315,"images":319,"keywords":323,"publishedAt":183,"updatedAt":183,"authorSlug":184},"nanaimo-bars","Nanaimo Bars (No-Bake Coconut Custard Squares)","Nanaimo bars","British Columbia",16,150,[79,80],[82],[84,316,317,318],"cocoa","coconut","walnuts",[320],{"src":321,"alt":322},"\u002Fimages\u002Frecipes\u002Fnanaimo-bars\u002Fhero.jpg","Stacked Nanaimo bars showing a dark crumb base, pale yellow custard layer and glossy chocolate top",[324,325,326,327,328,181],"nanaimo bars","no-bake dessert","custard powder","british columbia","chocolate slice",{"slug":330,"title":331,"nativeName":332,"countrySlug":8,"region":333,"baseServings":255,"prepMinutes":334,"cookMinutes":335,"restMinutes":336,"difficulty":194,"course":337,"diet":339,"mainIngredients":340,"images":343,"keywords":347,"publishedAt":183,"updatedAt":183,"authorSlug":184},"peameal-bacon-sandwich","Peameal Bacon Sandwich (Cornmeal-Crusted Back Bacon Bun)","Peameal bacon on a bun","Toronto, Ontario",25,15,4320,[338,259],"breakfast",[],[341,342,294,85,265],"cornmeal","maple-syrup",[344],{"src":345,"alt":346},"\u002Fimages\u002Frecipes\u002Fpeameal-bacon-sandwich\u002Fhero.jpg","Kaiser roll stacked with thick cornmeal-crusted pork loin slices and yellow mustard, cut in half",[348,349,350,351,352,353],"peameal bacon","back bacon","toronto","st lawrence market","pork loin","breakfast sandwich",{"slug":355,"title":356,"nativeName":357,"countrySlug":8,"region":358,"baseServings":255,"prepMinutes":75,"cookMinutes":256,"restMinutes":256,"difficulty":194,"course":359,"diet":360,"mainIngredients":361,"images":364,"keywords":368,"publishedAt":183,"updatedAt":183,"authorSlug":184},"poutine","Poutine (Fries with Cheese Curds and Gravy)","Poutine","Québec",[259,260],[],[362,84,363,87],"potato","stock",[365],{"src":366,"alt":367},"\u002Fimages\u002Frecipes\u002Fpoutine\u002Fhero.jpg","Shallow bowl of crisp fries topped with pale cheese curds and glossy brown gravy poured over the top",[355,369,370,371,372,373],"cheese curds","quebec","fries","brown gravy","canadian comfort food",{"slug":375,"title":376,"nativeName":377,"countrySlug":8,"region":358,"baseServings":192,"prepMinutes":335,"cookMinutes":378,"difficulty":194,"course":379,"diet":381,"mainIngredients":382,"images":387,"keywords":391,"publishedAt":183,"updatedAt":183,"authorSlug":184},"quebecois-split-pea-soup","Soupe aux Pois (Québécois Yellow Split Pea Soup)","Soupe aux pois jaunes",135,[380,259],"soup",[225],[383,384,266,385,386],"peas","carrot","celery","smoked-pork",[388],{"src":389,"alt":390},"\u002Fimages\u002Frecipes\u002Fquebecois-split-pea-soup\u002Fhero.jpg","Deep bowl of thick yellow pea soup topped with crisp salt pork pieces and chopped parsley",[392,393,370,394,395,396],"soupe aux pois","yellow split pea soup","habitant","salt pork","winter soup",{"slug":398,"title":399,"nativeName":400,"countrySlug":8,"region":358,"baseServings":192,"prepMinutes":401,"cookMinutes":402,"restMinutes":76,"difficulty":77,"course":403,"diet":404,"mainIngredients":405,"images":409,"keywords":413,"publishedAt":183,"updatedAt":183,"authorSlug":184},"tourtiere","Tourtière (Québec Spiced Meat Pie)","Tourtière",40,95,[259],[],[406,263,362,266,407,408],"ground-pork","cloves","cinnamon",[410],{"src":411,"alt":412},"\u002Fimages\u002Frecipes\u002Ftourtiere\u002Fhero.jpg","Golden double-crust Québec meat pie with steam vents, one wedge cut to show the spiced pork filling",[398,414,415,416,417,278],"quebec meat pie","pork pie","reveillon","christmas",24,false,1787360074437]