Ever heard of Butter Tarts? If you're Canadian then you know what I'm talking about, if not, you really should drive across the border one day and get yourself one, it would be worth the trip. But if you don't have time for a border crossing, then these are the next best thing. Instead of an entire tart though, I've made them into bars...so you can eat one or two and then try to walk away...good luck with that! Speaking of Canada, I'd like to wish my Canadian friends a happy belated 150th birthday...we need to keep Canada on our good side, as they are the only country to have invaded us successfully - of course that was back in 1814, but who knows when they might get another wild hair and a herd of moose and try it again?!?
(Update: Thanks to an astute Canadian reader, I am told Canada didn't invade the US...that was one of the only tidbits of information I retained from my 9th grade History class, where Dr. Harry told us they DID invade...well, when it was pointed out to me that I was wrong, which makes Dr. Harry wrong, (if only I'd known that in 9th grade! Dr. Harry also told me I would need to learn Algebra because I would use it every day...turns out Dr. Harry was full of hot air on both accounts!) I turned to Wikipedia, my source for all information since I no longer watch Oprah, and discovered it was the British who invaded FROM Canada...the British had been LIVING in Canada...so we were invaded FROM Canada not BY Canada. Glad I could clear that up!)
Butter Bars. They are every bit as delicious as they sound, and then some! And easy to make. The crust is shortbread, did you read that right? SHORTBREAD. I could just have eaten that all by itself, without the incredible topping! But the topping, well, it's made with butter - duh - and brown sugar and it caramelizes on top when baked...totally addicting!
Those are raisins you see in the topping, you can either add them or not, your choice. I personally think they do add to the bars, and the first time I made these I put in the entire amount called for. However, the 2nd and 3rd time I made these bars I halved the raisins and I liked them much better. You do whatever twirls your Maple Leaf.
As you can see I lined my pan with parchment paper. My plan was to lift the bars out so I could slice them easily. However I forgot to leave any over-hang of the parchment...stupid is as stupid does!
You can see how the top caramelizes...and then there's the shortbread crust...but the middle, that's where the magic happens! Make these soon, it's a great way to celebrate Canada's and America's birthdays!
Butter Bars - Adapted From The Recipe Rebel
For the Crust:
1 cup butter, cold, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
4 tablespoons powdered sugar
2 cups flour
For the Filling:
1/2 cup butter
3 cups brown sugar
4 eggs
2 tablespoons white vinegar
1 tablespoon vanilla
Optional: 3/4 cup raisins or however many you wish
Lina a cookie sheet (15 x 11-inch or you can use a 9 x 13-inch pan for thicker squares, but you'll have to adjust your baking time) with parchment. If you plan to try to lift the bars out of the pan, allow for a generous overhang of the parchment. Preheat over to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, cut butter into powdered sugar and flour with a pastry cutter or your hands until pea-sized lumps of butter remain. Or you an use a food processor, just be sure not to over process, you want little lumps of butter. Mixture will be crumbly but if you grab a handful and squeeze it will stick together. Dump mixture into pan and press down evenly to form a crust. Bake for 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, while crust is baking, prepare the filling in the same bowl. Melt butter in microwave. Whisk in brown sugar, eggs, vinegar and vanilla. Stir in raisins, if using. When crust comes out of oven, spread filling over hot crust and return to oven to bake another 20 to 25 minutes until the filling is set. You don't want filling to be jiggly in the center. Cool to room temperature before slicing into bars. Refrigerating bars for an hour makes them easier to cut. Makes 30 bars.
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