Butter Tarts

Total Time: 45 mins Preparation Time: 30 mins Cook Time: 15 mins

Ingredients

• 5 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1 lb all-vegetable shortening, cut into chunks
• 1 large egg
• 1 tablespoon vinegar
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon water
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/4 cup butter
• 1 cup raisins

Recipe

• 1 in a large bowl combine flour and salt.
• 2 with pastry blender or two knives cut in shortening until mixture resembles coarse meal with a few larger pea-sized pieces.
• 3 in a measuring cup, using a fork, beat egg with vinegar.
• 4 add enough cold water to make 1 cup; mix well.
• 5 drizzle into flour mixture a bit at a time, mixing in with a fork, until dough looks evenly moistened and holds together when pressed between fingers. (the recipe says you may not need to use all of the liquid; i always do and then add up to another third of a cup of water to get it to the moisture level i like).
• 6 divide dough into 6 equal balls.
• 7 the recipe says to wrap each ball in plastic wrap and chill for at least 30 minutes before using. i often make it in advance to this stage; it can be stored in the fridge for up to 2 days. if you’re not going to use all the pastry, this is the point where i freeze the extra.
• 8 roll on a lightly floured surface. i usually let it warm up a bit, otherwise it’s too crumbly from being cold. each ball makes 1 single pie crust; 2 balls makes a double-crust or lattice-crust pie. when i made the butter tarts the other day i had 6 balls of dough and made 4 dozen butter tarts. somehow 24 hours later they’re all gone.
• 9 for the filling beat the egg, add the brown sugar and beat again.
• 10 add the water, vanilla and butter.
• 11 add the raisins.
• 12 drop mixture into tart shells to almost half-full.
• 13 bake in a 450 degree fahrenheit oven for about 15 minutes. check times and keep a close eye on them. i bake mine at 425 degrees fahrenheit for 10 minutes, but i have a really wonky oven that i detest, lol!