Recipe: Brown Sugar Tart

The original recipe can be found in the NY Times - however as with most things I gave it my own twist. Changed a few things here and there to make it my own. 

The name they had for this dish: "Butter Pie". Just makes me think of a mound of butter sitting in a pie shell. Not my idea of appetizing. Yet, it was requested by my dear mother. So the first thing I changed was what to call it. 

The main ingredients (as you'll see below) are butter and brown sugar. "Brown Sugar" just sounds more appealing than "Butter"...so why not call it a "Brown Sugar" pie. 

Then there was the crust. I'll admit this "change" was an accident. The pie crust  which was store bought, because who are we fooling here. 7 o'clock on a Wednesday night I'm NOT making a pie crust from scratch.... Anyway the pie crust was only supposed to go into a 8inch pan but I grabbed the 10 inch and so once I pre-baked the crust it came out a little "shrunk"...and more tart like. 

So there you have it. We went from a "Butter Pie" to a "Brown Sugar Tart" that quick. 

Now down to business. 

Brown Sugar Tart (aka Butter Pie)

Heat oven to 350. 

If you want a tart shell like I ended up with feel free to put that 8inch pre-made crust into a 10inch pan. Otherwise do what you like with the crust (I originally thought of using a graham cracker crust). Just make sure to bake it 15-20 minutes (either weighed down by raw beans or poke holes in the dough to prevent bubbling and puffing). 

For the filling you'll need: 

6 T. unsalted butter (room temperature)

2 C light brown sugar

1 t salt

1 t vanilla extract

2 large eggs

1. In a mixer cream butter and brown sugar together until sugar looks like "wet sand"

2. Add salt and vanilla

3. Running mixer, add eggs one at a time and beat until creamy and light (you'll see a difference)

4. Scrape filling into parbaked crust 

5. Bake for 25-35 minutes or until the top looks dry and browned.  "The filling will form a skin and puff slightly, then deflate as it cools and sets."

Let cool at least one hour (or overnight) and serve cold with ice cream or whipped cream.

Serves 8-10