butter pecan tarts – Ali Does It Herself

♪ Secret AGENT Tarts, Secret AGENT Tarts, he’s givin’ you a number, and takin’ AWAY your name … ♫

Baking is much more exciting if your recipes come from a spy, like this one did.

I have a friend who works for CSIS, which is the Canadian equivalent of the CIA (likewise, our RCMP is the FBI). And like all good spies, he is multi-talented, and thus has a very good recipe for butter pecan tarts. Or butter tarts. Or raisin tarts. Or whatever you call them. I call them SPY TARTS. I had to call him at work to get this recipe. Espionage was involved.

(I also applied to work at CSIS a few years ago, and after a very entertaining 3-hour interview, both CSIS and I decided we wouldn’t be a good fit, though I’m sure they kept that file on me somewhere. I must be too awesome to be a spy.)

So here is your top-secret recipe. It’s top secret because it’s super easy.

At some point I will expand my repertoire to include pastry, but at the moment you will just have to be satisfied with pre-made Tenderflake tartlet shells. This recipe makes 12 3″ tarts.

Preheat your oven to 425°F.

Gather together the following:

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup corn syrup

1/4 cup shortening

1 egg

1 teaspoon vanilla

3/4 cup raisins

Divide the raisins evenly among the 12 pre-made shells and place them on a baking sheet.

Mix all the other ingredients together in a bowl.

Fill each shell 3/4 full.

If you have mixture left over do not be tempted to overfill your cups, as they will bubble and get everywhere.

Bake on the bottom rack of your oven for 12-15 minutes. Be careful not to overbake. Of course if you underbake then they will stay runny.

Remove from oven. They should be all foamy and bubbling and the crust should be a nice brown. Place a pecan half on top of each tart and allow to cool and solidify. The reason I put the pecans on after they are cooked is I find that the pecans tend to burn if you do it before cooking.