Rating: 5 Pugs

Before I was celiac, I made butter tarts. A lot of butter tarts; in fact, they were famous amongst my family, friends, and co-workers. Once I went gluten free I stopped making them and everyone was disappointed. I had tried making gluten free pastry in the past but I didn’t like the texture until I came across President’s Choice Gluten Free All-Purpose Flour. The texture of my pastry is as if there was still gluten in it. This past Christmas was the first time I made butter tarts since my diagnosis of celiac. I gave them to 10 “gluten eating” people to taste. They all thought they were great, and could not tell they did not contain gluten. This is the first time I am giving out this recipe. Enjoy!

Gluten Free Butter Tarts

Crust Ingredients:
2 cups President’s Choice gluten free all-purpose flour mix
1 cup vegetable shortening (I use Crisco)
1 tsp. salt
1 tbsp. brown sugar (make sure it isn’t clumped)
2 tbsp. cold water
1 tbsp. vinegar
1 egg

Butter Tart Filling Ingredients:
2 cups brown sugar
3 eggs
2 tbsp. melted butter
1/4 cup carnation milk
1/8 tsp. salt
1 tsp. vanilla
(I do not put raisins in my tarts, but you can add 1/2 cup of raisins if you like)

Pastry Instructions:
Mix flour, salt, and brown sugar together in a mixing bowl. Cut room temperature shortening into small cubes before adding to flour mixture. Once added, use a pastry blender until the mixture looks like a crumble topping.
In a separate bowl whisk egg, vinegar, and water together. Pour mixture over flour and blend until all the flour is moist. I use a fork. Once moistened, form pastry into 3 small balls, cover the bowl and, refrigerate for about 30 minutes or until dough is chilled.

Butter Tart Filling Instructions:
Mix all ingredients in a mixing bowl (I use a whisk).

Further Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Roll out your chilled pastry with a rolling pin. I use a large glass or small bowl to cut out tart-sized dough and place them into muffin tins.
Prebake the tart shells for 10 to 15 minutes or until they seem like they are starting to get slightly golden.
Remove from oven and pour in butter tart filling (3/4 full).
Place back in the oven, and bake until tart filling is cooked (about 20 minutes). I usually leave mine in longer so the crust takes on a more golden brown colour, but be careful not to overcook filling. Remove tarts from the oven and let cool before removing.

Please note: This crust when cooked will be a light golden brown colour. Do not try to cook them until they are as golden as a crust containing gluten would be. I always test one when it comes out of the oven, that way if the crust is not done, I can throw them back in for a little longer.

For more information about President’s Choice Gluten Free All-Purpose Flour, click here.