Currant Tarts

"A holiday treat! Everyone who has ever tried these luscious currant and butter tarts asks for the recipe. My grandmother made dozens of them every Christmas. She called them "English Butter Tarts". It's a very old recipe she got from a neighbor who came from England. I am including her recipe for the pastry dough she used (contains lard, a no-no these days) but premade or your own pastry works just fine!"
 
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Ready In:
45mins
Ingredients:
9
Yields:
12-15 tarts
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ingredients

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directions

  • To Make the Filling:.
  • Wash the currants and drain them.
  • Stir the sugar and butter together well. Mix in the egg and vanilla until well blended. Stir in the currants.
  • To Make the Pastry:.
  • Mix the flour and salt together.
  • Cut the lard into the flour and salt until the consistency is like crumbs. Gradually add enough of the water to make the dough hold together, and form it into a ball.
  • Roll out the dough and cut out with a round cookie cutter and fit into muffin tins (regular size, not mini).
  • To Assemble & Bake:.
  • Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees
  • Put a large spoonful (about 2 tablespoons) of the filling into each unbaked tart shell.
  • Bake @ 375 for 15 to 20 minutes, until bubbly and golden and crust is done. (Don't overbake - the filling should not be too brown or crispy.).

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Reviews

  1. The only thing you need to know about this recipe is you should plan on doubling or tripling! If you don't you will taste one, eat the whole batch, and have to start again! Don't say I didn't warn you! :-)
     
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RECIPE SUBMITTED BY

I am the Mom of "A la Carte" and her sister, and grandmother (hence "Gammy") of two GREAT kids! (Aren't they all?) I've always enjoyed cooking & baking and have been getting lots of great ideas from Recipe Zaar. My DH & I live in a rural area with our dog & cat, and we spend lots of time with family & friends which is our most cherished recreational activity! Aside from that we love it when we find time for get-aways near or far. We like hiking, X-C skiing, snow shoeing, and summer vacations in Maine were a family tradition for many years. We love to read, travel, and garden (well, me anyway!) We're into wildlife in general, and avid birders here at home - or far afield, when we get the chance. I learned to cook from my mother & grandmother, who were constantly trying out new recipes along with preparing old family favorites. Now that our own daughters are grown and great cooks themselves, rarely a day goes by that one or the other of us doesn't share a new recipe or call with a cooking question! We all do a lot of improvising & also like many different cuisines. I have a gazillion cookbooks but if there's one cookbook I couldn't live without, it would be the old standby "Joy of Cooking". My mother in law gave me my first copy when we were first married, and an updated edotion a few years ago.
 
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