Butter tarts are our all-time favourites, but we don’t always have time to make the pastry, roll, cut and fill individual tarts. Butter tarts in bar form is the perfect solution; this past weekend, having to bake for a gathering, they were quick to mix up and bake.
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Crust
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- ¼ cup sugar
- pinch salt
- 1 cup butter, at room temperature
Filling
- 3 large eggs, lightly beaten
- 2 cups packed brown sugar
- ¼ cup butter, melted
- 1 Tbsp baking powder
- pinch salt
- ¾ cup coconut
- 1 tsp. vanilla
- 1 cup raisins
- 1 Tbsp all-purpose flour
- 1 cup chopped pecans (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 ̊F.
- To make the crust, stir together the dry ingredients, then cut in the butter with a pastry blender until crumbly. Press into an ungreased 9x13-inch pan.
- To make the filling, stir together all the ingredients and pour over the crust. Bake for 30 minutes, or until golden and set. Cool before cutting into squares.
- Cut into wedges to serve. This is nice as a sort of cookie, or served with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
- Serves 8-10.
Notes
- Some of the original Best of Bridge recipes have limited directions. (The ladies just called each other up if they needed some help deciphering a recipe!) See some helpful comments below for additional baking suggestions on this recipe.
The Best of Bridge https://www.bestofbridge.com/
I think they would be better if the bottom would be cooked a bit before adding the topping. They broke very easily.
Yes, shortbread can be very fragile! If you like, bake the base for 8-10 minutes, until it’s just barely golden, before adding the topping.
I baked it for 20 minutes before adding the filling. I think somebody just forgot to add that to the recipe.
YES! I received this book as a gift. I just made these and realized they missed a step. When it comes to baking, nothing worse than a missed step….not to mention all the ingredients.
I have tried this recipe twice, and twice it has failed. I agree that the base should be cooked partially before the topping is spread on the crust, then returned to the oven to compete the cooking process. Mine did not set, both times, and I have no idea why. My oven is dead on temperature wise, and the stove is just a year old. Some step is missing in this recipe. I know I will not try this recipe again. It is a waste of time, not to mention the cost of the ingredients going into the arbage bin
Pat Jorgensen
December 23, 2020
I have never cooked the crust & it was perfect.
I have made these bars several times.
Do you think I could leave out the coconut? Or replace it with something else to maintain the consistency? Some folks in my household don’t like coconut.
You can replace the coconut with 3/4 cup more chopped nuts. The squares will be a little less sweet, but they’ll still be tasty.