Description
These gooey bars start with a brown sugar shortbread crust, and top it off with a maple-spiked filling for a sweet treat that delivers all the goodness of a classic Canadian butter tart, only with way less effort!
Ingredients
Scale
Pastry:
- 1 1/4 cups flour
- 1/3 cup brown sugar
- 1/2 cup cold butter, cut into small cubes
Filling:
- 2 tbsp melted butter
- 2 eggs
- 3/4 cups packed brown sugar
- 1/3 cup maple syrup (preferably dark)
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1 tbsp cider vinegar
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
Make the Crust:
- Preheat oven to 350F.
- In a medium-sized bowl, mix the flour and sugar together. Using a pastry cutter or two knives, cut in the butter until you have a fine, crumbly mixture.
- Press the crust mixture into the bottom of a 9-inch non-stick square baking pan. Bake for 15 minutes in preheated oven, or until set and just starting to brown around the edges. Cool completely on a wire rack.
Make the Filling:
- In a medium-sized mixing bowl, whisk the melted butter and eggs until smooth. Add sugar, maple syrup, flour, baking powder, salt, vinegar and vanilla.
- Pour the filling over the cooled crust. Return to the oven and bake 25-30 minutes, or until the filling is set. (It's okay if the middle is just slightly wobbly - it'll firm up as it cools.)
- Set the pan on a wire rack to cool to room temperature. Run a knife along the edges to loosen the filling, then transfer to the refrigerator to chill for at least 1 hour before cutting into squares.
Notes
- How to Cut Perfect Squares: The filling is quite sticky, so make sure to use a non-stick pan and run a knife around the edges to loosen up the filling while it's still warm. Then chill thoroughly before slicing to allow the filling to set up, and rinse your knife in hot water between cuts to keep the edges clean.
- Prep Time: 15 mins
- Cook Time: 45 mins