Easy Butter Tart Squares Recipe || A Classic Canadian Dessert Made Simple
By Rebecca St.Clair
These old-fashioned butter tart squares are the shortcut to a nostalgic Canadian treat. They’ve got all the richness of traditional butter tarts but come together easily in one pan. All you need to do is slice them into bitesized squares.
With a melt-in-your-mouth shortbread base and a rich, sticky centre, these butter tart squares are sweet, salty, and perfectly gooey. This recipe takes everything you love about the iconic tart and make it easier to make, share, and devour. No fiddly tart shells, just pure indulgence in every bite.
If you’re a butter tart fan, you’ll fall in love with these bars. They’re rich, comforting, and completely bakery-worthy. Whether you’re baking for Canada Day, bringing to a backyard barbecue, or just craving something sweet and buttery, these butter tart squares are a crowd-pleaser for any occasion.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
Quick and easy – Everything comes together in one pan and only requires a handful of ingredients to make!
Rich and decadent – Salty, sweet, and gooey indulgence in every bite.
Simple ingredients – Made with old-fashioned pantry staples.
Versatile – Made with raisins, currents, or a variety of chopped nuts to suit your taste.
How to store Butter Tart Squares
This recipe makes 12 of squares, so you can snack on them all week long! To make sure they stay as fresh as the day you made them, store them properly.
Room temperature
- Allow them to cool completely.
- Cut into squares and store in an airtight container.
- They will stay fresh at room temperature for up to 4 days. They will remain soft and gooey. If you want them firmer store in the fridge.
Fridge
- Allow to the squares to cool completely.
- Cut into bitesized bars and store in an airtight container.
- Store in the fridge for up to 1 week.
Freezer
- Place leftover squares in an airtight container.
- Store in the freezer for up to 3 months.
- Allow the squares to defrost the day before, in the fridge, before serving.
Substitutions for butter tart squares
Feel free to substitute some of the ingredients in this recipe to suit your taste.
Some great options are swapping out the raisins in this recipe for currents or other small dried fruit.
You can also replace them with walnuts, pecans, or other chopped nut or make up the difference and add a mixture of dried fruit and nuts.
If you are feeling extra decadent add in some chocolate chips.
Ingredients
Flour – I used all-purpose flour.
Butter – Use fridge cold cubed butter for the crust and melted butter for the filling.
Powdered sugar – For a subtly sweet shortbread crust.
Brown sugar – For a rich caramel flavour.
Eggs – For richness and helps bind the filling together.
Vanilla – Flavour.
Salt – Flavour.
Vinegar – Helps the sugar stay smooth and melted in the filling.
Raisins – Can be replaced with currents, or chopped nuts of choice.
How to make butter tart squares
- Preheat oven to 350 °F (180 °C).
- Grease and line an 8 x 8 in. square pan with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl mix together 1 ¼ cups flour and 1 ½ Tbsp powdered sugar, and a pinch of salt.
- Work ½ cup cold cubed butter into the dry ingredients using your, fingertip, a cheese grater, or a pastry blender, until you have a crumbly mixture.
- Press this to form a base in the bottom of the lined pan.
6. Bake in the preheated oven for 10 minutes.
7. Meanwhile in a large bowl, whisk together 2 eggs, 1 ¼ cup of brown sugar, ¼ cup of melted butter, 1 Tbsp vinegar, pinch of salt, and 1 tsp of vanilla.
8. Stir in 1 cup of raisins.
9. Pour this mixture on top of the baked base.
10. Return to the oven and bake for another 30 minutes or until set with a slight jiggle in the middle.
11. Allow the squares to cool to room temperature before slicing and serving. The filling will set as it cools.
Butter Tart Squares
With a melt-in-your-mouth shortbread base and a rich, sticky centre, these butter tart squares are sweet, salty, and perfectly gooey.
Ingredients
- 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour 187 g
- 1 1/2 Tablespoon powdered sugar 15 g
- 1/8 teaspoon salt 1 g
- 1/2 cup cold butter, cubed 115 g
- 2 eggs
- 1 1/4 cups brown sugar 250 g
- 1/4 cup melted butter 60 g
- 1/8 teaspoon salt 1 g
- 1 cup raisins 150 g
- 1 Tablespoon vinegar 15 ml
- 1 teaspoon vanilla 5 ml
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 °F (180 °C).
- Grease and line an 8 x 8 in. square pan with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl mix together 1 ¼ cups flour, 1 ½ Tbsp powdered sugar, and a pinch of salt.
- Work ½ cup cold cubed butter into the dry ingredients using your, fingertip, a cheese grater, or a pastry blender, until you have a crumbly mixture.
- Press this to form a base in the bottom of the lined pan.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 10 minutes.
- Meanwhile in a large bowl, whisk together 2 eggs, 1 ¼ cup of brown sugar, ¼ cup of melted butter, pinch of salt, 1 Tbsp vinegar, and 1 tsp of vanilla.
- Stir in 1 cup of raisins.
- Pour this mixture on top of the baked base.
- Return to the oven and bake for another 30 minutes or until set with a slight jiggle in the middle.
- Allow the squares to cool to room temperature before slicing and serving. The filling will set as it cools.
Notes
Switch up the raisins in this recipe for dried currents, chopped nuts, or even chocolate chips.
Nutrition Information
Yield
16Serving Size
1Amount Per Serving Calories 277Total Fat 12gSaturated Fat 8gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 4gCholesterol 62mgSodium 110mgCarbohydrates 40gFiber 1gSugar 27gProtein 3g
Nutrition information isn’t always accurate.
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