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A stack of gooey butter tart squares.
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Butter Tart Squares

Butter tart squares have everything you love about Canadian butter tarts without all the work! Buttery shortbread crust and sweet, gooey brown sugar filling. They’re so easy to make and come together in no time.
Prep Time30 minutes
Cook Time30 minutes
Total Time1 hour
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: Canadian
Servings: 16 squares
Calories: 245kcal
Author: Jolina

Equipment

Ingredients

Crust:

Filling:

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 350F. Line a 9x9 inch pan with parchment paper with an overhang on each side. Set aside.
  • In a bowl, combine flour and granulated sugar.
    1 cup all purpose flour, ¼ cup granulated sugar
    Flour and sugar in a bowl.
  • Add butter and cut with a pastry cutter or a fork until the mixture looks coarse (you should see pieces of butter/flour “balls” about the size of chickpeas).
    ½ cup butter (salted or unsalted)
    Butter cut into dry ingredients.
  • Transfer mixture to prepared pan and press tightly and evenly to the bottom.
    Butter crust mixture transfered to pan.
  • Bake for 15 minutes or until lightly golden brown. Remove from oven but keep oven on.
    Freshly baked shortbread crust.
  • In another bowl, whisk eggs, maple syrup, vanilla extract, brown sugar, flour, baking powder and salt until smooth and combined.
    2 large eggs, 1 tbsp maple syrup, 1 tsp vanilla extract, 1 cup brown sugar, 2 tbsp all purpose flour, ½ tsp baking powder, ¼ tsp salt
    Brown sugar filling in a bowl.
  • Stir in chopped pecans. 
    2 cups pecans
    Chopped pecans added to filling.
  • Pour mixture into your baked crust.
    Brown sugar mixture poured into pan.
  • Bake for 15-20 minutes or until the edges are firm and browned, but the center is still slightly jiggly when the pan is gently shaken.
    Freshly baked butter tart squares.
  • Remove from oven and allow to cool completely before slicing into squares.
    Butter tart bars.

Video

Notes

  1. The estimated nutrition information is based on 16 squares, However, note that these squares are sweet and rich, a little goes a long way, so you can choose to slice them into smaller pieces. 
  2. You can pour your butter tart mixture into your cooked crust even if the crust is still warm from the oven.
  3. Do not over-bake. You want the edges to be firm but the center still slightly jiggly when you gently shake the pan.
  4. See post for more baking tips, FAQs and step-by-step photos.

Nutrition

Calories: 245kcal | Carbohydrates: 26g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 15g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 7g | Trans Fat: 0.2g | Cholesterol: 36mg | Sodium: 94mg | Potassium: 104mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 18g | Vitamin A: 214IU | Vitamin C: 0.1mg | Calcium: 33mg | Iron: 1mg