Gluten Free Vegan Maple Butter Tarts
Butter Tarts are a beloved holiday treat for Canadians. These two-bite sized pastries include a rich, buttery filling, with either raisins or nuts depending on your family’s preference. Think of them a runnier, moister and drippier pecan pie — and don’t even think of skipping these on the holiday treat table. These Gluten-Free Vegan Maple “Butter” Tarts are a guest favorite at the Sugar Ridge Retreat Center, a yoga retreat in Ontario, Canada.
Servings: 12 Servings
Calories: 140kcal
There is no actual butter in these tasty little tarts -- but you'll love them just the same.
Ingredients
GLUTEN FREE TART SHELLS
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup gluten free flour
- 1 teaspoon Xanthum Gum
- 1.5 tablespoons margarine - or butter flavored spread
- 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 3 tablespoons cold water
VEGAN MAPLE "BUTTER" TART FILLING
- ¾ cup maple syrup - pure, organic (not pancake syrup)
- 2 tablespoons arrowroot flour
- 2 tablespoons coconut oil - melted
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract - or vanilla paste
- 2 tablespoons ground chia or flax seeds
- ¼ teaspoons baking powder
- ¼ cup pecans -- chopped (or, optional, use raisins instead of nuts)
Instructions
TART SHELLS
- Combine the salt, flour and Xanthum Gum in a large mixing bowl.
- Cut margarine into the flour mixture with pastry cutter or knife.
- Sprinkle oil over dough and cut in with pastry cutter. Dough should have the consistency of cornmeal.
- Sprinkle with cold water and loosely cut in, so all is moistened.
- Cover dough with plastic wrap and put in fridge for 30 min.
- Roll out dough in between 2 pieces of parchment paper (or plastic wrap) to ~1/8” thick.
- Sprinkle dough with water if it gets too dry, but don’t overwork it.
- Cut out tart crusts with circular cutter (bowl plastic take out container) that is 1” larger than the radius of mini muffin tin wells.
- Form dough in mini muffin pan wells, squishing it around with your fingers to fill in any breaks in the dough or thin spots.
- Bake at 400°F for 10-15 min.
- Let cool and leave in tin for the filling.
FILLING
- Combine the maple syrup and arrowroot flour with a whisk.
- Melt the coconut oil in a small pot and mix it in with the syrup mixture.
- Add the vanilla and ground chia/flax.
- Add the baking powder at the end and mix well.
- Stir in the pecans or raisins.
- Use a mini ice cream scoop to ladle the filling into each of the baked shells, filling only 3/4 full.
- Bake at 325°F for 25-30 min, turning halfway through for even baking.
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Nutrition
Serving: 1 Serving | Calories: 140 kcal (7%) | Carbohydrates: 17 g (6%) | Protein: 0.6 g (1%) | Fat: 8 g (12%) | Sodium: 116 mg (5%) | Potassium: 70 mg (2%) | Fiber: 1 g (4%) | Vitamin A: 169 IU (3%) | Vitamin C: 1.3 mg (2%) | Calcium: 41 mg (4%) | Iron: 0.97 mg (5%)
These were good. I don’t need gluten free so I used regular flour and no gum for the crust but otherwise followed the recipe.
“Well, sugar, if you’re comparing them to MY butter tarts than no, they are not as good, and one notch behind the bakery. But if you mean are these good Vegan Tarts then yes, sugar they are VERY good and I like them very much! You can bring these over any time.” This is high praise from my Nana.