Butter Tarts (AIP/Paleo/Refined Sugar Free)

I’m okay not eating desserts that everyone else can eat. I’m even okay watching everyone else eat these desserts in front of me. Seriously, I am okay with it, for realz.  BUT when I perfect a treat that I CAN eat, especially an all-time favourite, I get pretty darn excited!

So if you would have seen me this morning in my kitchen taking these butter tarts out of the pan you would have seen me do a little happy dance, annnd I may have even squealed like a little girl!

Butter tarts are a Canadian classic. If you’ve been missing butter tarts while on AIP, this recipe is sure to please. If you’ve never tried a butter tart, then this recipe is still sure to please!

These are definitely an AIP treat.  Savour one on a special occasion. You might even share the rest with your non-AIP family and friends to show them AIP isn’t that bad.  Even my hubby was impressed. Now that’s saying something because when it comes to food he can be Mr. Difficult (love you honey, but you know it’s true!)  

I plan on enjoying one of these butter tarts this Christmas as a little gift to myself.

Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas!

Butter Tarts (AIP/Paleo/Refined Sugar Free)

Yield: 4 servings

Butter Tarts (AIP/Paleo/Refined Sugar Free)

Prep Time:
5 minutes
Cook Time:
25 minutes
Additional Time:
10 minutes
Total Time:
40 minutes

Ingredients

Filling:

Instructions

    1. Preheat oven to 425 for large tarts or 350 for mini tarts.
    2. Place dates in warm water, set aside.
    3. Mix flour and salt.
    4. Cut shortening into flour until crumbly. Set aside.
    5. Pour dates and water into blender, add coconut oil, maple syrup and vanilla. Purée until smooth.
    6. Pour purée into bowl. Quickly whisk in tapioca, making sure there are no lumps.
    7. Mix in raisins. Set aside.
    8. Add mineral water to flour mixture..Mix until combined and forms a dough!
    9. Separate dough into 4 muffin cups or 12 mini muffin cups.
    10. Using fingers press and form the dough into a tart shell inside the muffin cups.
    11. Fill approx 3/4 of the tart with filling,
    12. For large tarts: bake at 425 for 25 minutes. For mini tarts: bake at 350 for 30 minutes.
    13. Enjoy!

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38 Comments

  1. How does this work to double or triple? or do I need to just make 4 at a time? thanks
    Married to a canadian who misses his butter tarts!

  2. Would this work as a base for pecan pie? I’ve reintro-ed pecans and am looking for a birthday treat.

  3. These are awesome! I made a second batch today -actually doubled the recipe because that first batch went so fast. Everybody is loving these treats. I don’t have Otto’s Cassava flour, i had tapioca flour/starch, and it worked just great. Thanks again!

  4. I am an expat Canadian living in the US and I LOOOOOVE Butter Tarts. These scream holiday treat for me. I am so looking forward to trying this recipe and so thankful for people like you who somehow manage to create these safe treat recipes for the rest of us! Yum!

  5. These butter tarts look insanely delicious!! I want them!!

    I couldn’t find a way to send you an email, but I want to get your permission to include your dreamy recipe photo and a link back to your website in a Paleo Christmas Recipe round-up I’ve just created.

    Here’s a link http://www.forestandfauna.com/best-paleo-christmas-cookies-cakes-fudge-treats/

    If you’d rather not have your photo/link included, just let me know!

    Wishing you a warm & cozy winter season full of AIP butter tarts!!

  6. I only tried the ā€œinnerdsā€ the first time because I needed a sweet fix and didnā€™t have any palm shortening. I was surprised on how close they are to butter tarts! Looking forward to making the whole tart next time and trying on my hubby, lol.

    • OH YAY glad you enjoyed the filling! šŸ˜€ My hubby really likes these and he is a very picky man, lol!

  7. Is the mineral water carbonated or plain?

  8. Hi Rebecca! Have you tried making these w/coconut oil in place of palm? I don’t use palm oil because of the terrible decimation of orangutan populations, and I wonder if coconut oil would be too runny? I live in the NW so it’s not very hot here… maybe that would help it not be melty? Love to hear your thoughts!

    • Hi Susan,

      Although the results may not be the same, I think coconut oil would work. I haven’t personally tried it though. Please report back, if you give it a try šŸ™‚

  9. Hi! This sounds delicious and I can’t wait to try them. I am, however, allergic to raisens. Would subbing chopped prunes or figs work or would it be better to just leave them out?

  10. Made these for a friend of mine who has a lot of food/digestive issues. The dough was wonderful to work with and the tarts turned out fantastic. The best part was my friend ate them and had no issues!! Thank you so much for this wonderful recipe!!

  11. I found these a little sweet with the 4 dates…will cut back next time if it doesn’t affect the result. Also, it took a while to manipulate the dough into the muffin tins and wondering if I over-worked it a bit as they were a little on the harder side. Any tips for how to do this better?

    • Yes butter tarts are a very sweet treat – I only make them around Christmas time for this reason. It should still work with just three dates though. hmm it’s possible the dough was overworked a bit, I usually press it into the muffin cups just enough to form the tart. I wouldn’t spend any more extra time on this step. It definitely isn’t wheat pastry but they shouldn’t be rock hard. Hope this helps, Sara!

  12. I am on Paleo diet and I sure will try these recipes to help me boost my immune system…

  13. These are amazing! Everything worked perfectly except I was left with some extra filling which I just put in a custard cup and baked šŸ™‚ Thank you for this recipe! Butter tarts are one of my favourite Christmas treats and I’m so glad I can have them again.

    Oh and I’ve reintroduced ghee so if anyone is wondering, the crust works perfectly with half ghee, half palm shortening and the filling is great with ghee instead of coconut oil.

    • Oh yay! Butter tarts are my absolute most favourite holiday treat! SO glad you can enjoy them again. And oooh sounds amazing with ghee! Thank you so much for commenting šŸ™‚

  14. Can you freeze these? And could you use lard instead of palm shortening?

  15. Made this tonight and the only downfall was the palm oil ruins the flavor. The palm oil made it taste like Play-doh crust

    • Next time make sure to use palm shortening, it’s different from palm oil. This recipe calls for palm shortening.

  16. Iā€™m a Canadian ex-pat living in Texas and Iā€™m SO EXCITED to have found this recipe! Iā€™m going to try making it this weekend.

    • Butter tarts are a must, amirtite? Hope you enjoyed the recipe! I have to make these every year around the holidays and I’m already excited for them this year šŸ™‚

  17. These were so amazing thanks for sharing them ! I actually think I like them better than regular butter tarts :):)

  18. Hi Rebecca!

    Just wondering if this filling is supposed to be very liquidy?

    I am getting ready to fill the cups and the liquid is still super runny.. should I add more starch?

    Thank you!

  19. Can A different flour replace cassava flour? I don’t tolerate cassava unfortunately.

    • Unfortunately this recipe was created with just cassava flour, I can’t think of another AIP flour that could replace it here, possibly green banana flour but I haven’t tried it, so I can’t guarantee it will work.

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