My Life is a Picnic
A Canadian Celiac Blog
Gluten Free Dairy Free "Butter"Tart Bars
Is there a more Canadian summer treat than butter tarts? The ultimate in sweet deliciousness, packed into a time consuming, fussy to make tart. Oh yeah. I hate making tarts. But wait, there's an EASIER way! The Buttertart BAR! Same great taste, way less fuss.
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Do buttertarts exist outside of Canada? I've never come across one. I mean, I come across pecan pie, pecan bars, and other sweet tarts and pies, but I don't think I've ever come across a true buttertart. This sweet treat is a buttery, sugary concoction (that sometimes includes raisins). Made with simple ingredients, it can be made quickly and easily any time of the year.
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One of the key ingredients, imagine, is BUTTER. For those of us who can't eat any dairy, this poses a big problem. However, my trusted Earth Balance Buttery Sticks work like a charm in this, just like all my other "butter" baking. It is by far the best "fake" butter out there. Balanced in Omega 3 and Omega 6, it actually might be the healthiest butter alternative out there too. Feel free to research them on your own. I'm a fan of the buttery sticks. The tubs of spreadable "butter" don't work well in cooking or baking. They are great for toast, but that's about it. It seems to separate into an oil and water when heated, so I don't recommend it for baking or cooking. Look for the sticks! I'll post a picture of the box below.
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*note- I'm not sponsored or supported by anyone other than myself and my husband who works hard to pay for the groceries I buy. All opinions found on this blog are my own. I've tried other products on the market, and have my favourites. I'm not afraid to tell you what those are. If you choose to make this with butter, your recipe will turn out great. If you choose to use another fake butter, I have no idea what your results will be.
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The crust on a true buttertart is sweet, and a little crumbly. Almost like a shortbread crust, but the caramel flavour and the richness come from brown sugar, butter and flour.
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Earth Balance Buttery Sticks. An amazing dairy free butter alternative. It does exist in a SOY FREE version, but for some reason, not in my market area.
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Gluten Free Dairy Free "Butter"Tart Bar
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Crust:
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1 cup "butter"
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1 cup white rice flour
1/2 cup potato starch
1/2 cup tapioca starch
1 tsp xanthan gum
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Grease and line a 9x13 pan with parchment paper, leaving sides long enough to use as handles to remove the bars from the pan after they are cooked and cooled. Preheat oven to 350F.
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Cream together butter and sugar. Add flours and xanthan gum and mix well. It will make a soft, perhaps slightly sticky dough.
Spread this dough in the bottom of the pan. To make it easier, cover with plastic wrap and use your hands to spread the dough. This works well for many gluten free doughs... its a trick I use often, when everything seems to stick to my hands, my spoons, my counters... break out the plastic wrap!
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Bake the crust in the preheated oven for 20 minutes. In the meantime, prepare the filling.
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Filling:
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1 1/2 cups brown sugar
1/2 cup "butter" (one stick)
1 cup corn syrup
4 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
2 TBSP white rice flour
2 TBSP tapioca starch
1 tsp baking powder
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Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, scraping down sides to ensure even mixing. Beat in the syrup and vanilla. With mixer on low speed, mix in the dry ingredients until mixture is smooth.
Pour filling over baked crust, and return to oven for 30-35 minutes, or until the filling is only slightly jiggly. Remove from oven, and cool in pan. After about 10 minutes, while pan is still warm, use a sharp knife along the edge of the bars touching the pan, to separate them.
Once bars are cooled, remove from pan using parchment paper to lift them out. Place on cutting board and cut into 2 inch squares. Extra bars can be refrigerated in an airtight container.
Ha ha. There are never "extra" bars in our house!
Enjoy
Therese K.
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