Butter Tarts Battle

I hadn't been aware that butter tarts were a Canadian thing. When my sister moved to Florida, she always wanted butter tarts when she visited, said you couldn't find them in the U.S. Though, now that I think about it, I don't have much sympathy, after all, they do have pecan pie, a tasty alternative.

My Grandmother-in-law made great butter tarts, and to keep the family happy, had to make them for every family gathering. Myself, I find the work involved in making and cutting the pie crust to be labor intensive.

The filling matters the most, but a bad crust does make a big difference. I use store bought tart shells, and find Tenderflake the best. Usually the store brands are cheaper, but not as good. My kids don't seem to care, they eat them no matter what.

Our area offers a Butter Tart Tour, a listing of all the bakeries offering butter tarts, and one spot not too far from me even won a contest for their tarts. I hate to admit how many places on the list I have tried.

Apparently there is a Butter Tart Trail in another part of Ontario, and the similarity in names...tour vs trail caused quite an upset. It was almost the cause of some litigation, and was worthy of mention in the Canadian Living Magazine.

http://www.canadianliving.com/life/community/the_canadian_butter_tart_wars.php

We Canadians take out butter tarts very seriously.