Gooey Butter Tarts

Total Time: 1 hr 12 mins Preparation Time: 1 hr Cook Time: 12 mins

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup cold butter, cubed
• 1/4 cup shortening, cubed
• 1 egg yolk
• 1 teaspoon vinegar
• ice water
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/2 cup corn syrup
• 1 egg
• 2 tablespoons butter, softened
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 teaspoon vinegar
• 1 pinch salt
• 1/4 cup currants, raisins, chopped pecans (i use half raisins and half chopped nuts, and i don't actually measure them, i just drop a bit of ea) or 1/4 cup flaked coconut (i use half raisins and half chopped nuts, and i don't actually measure them, i just drop a bit of ea)

Recipe

• 1 in a large bowl, stir flour with salt. with pastry blender or 2 knives, cut in butter and shortening until mixture rexembles coarse crumbs with a few larger pieces.
• 2 in liquid measure, whisk egg yolk with vinegar; add enough ice water to make 1/3 cup. gradually sprinkle over flour mixture, stirring briskly with fork until pastry hold together. press into disc; wrap in plastic wrap and chill for 1 hour.
• 3 in bowl, vigorously whisk together brown sugar, corn syrup, egg, butter, vanilla, vinegar and salt; set aside.
• 4 on lightly floured surface, roll out pastry to 1/8 inch thickness. using a 4 inch round cookie cutter cut out 12 circles, rerolling scraps once if necessary. fit into 2 3/4 inch by 1 1/4 inch muffin cups. divide currants among cups. spoon in filling until three quarters full.
• 5 bake in bottom third of 450*f oven for about 12 minutes or until filling is puffed and bubbly and pastry is golden. let stand on rack for 1 minute. immediately run spatula around tarts to loosen; transfer to rack and let cool.
• 6 chocolate gooey butter tarts: drizzle cooled tarts with 2 ounces melted semisweet or chocolate.
• 7 not so gooey butter tarts: increase brown sugar to 3/4 cup and decrease corn syrup to 1/4 cup.