Name: Butter Tart Squares
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 40 min
Ingredients: 1 ¼ cup all purpose flour; ⅓ cup brown sugar, packed; ½ cup butter, chilled and cut into small pieces ((one stick) ); 1 cup brown sugar, packed; 2 large eggs; ¼ cup all purpose flour; ¾ teaspoon baking powder; ¼ teaspoon salt; 1 ½ cup raisins; ½ cup chopped walnuts ((could substitue pecans))

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Butter Tart Squares with Raisins and Walnuts have a rich caramel taste with a gooey, chewy texture. Don’t miss this easy to make version of traditional Canadian Butter Tarts.

Butter Tart Squares with Walnuts and Raisins stacked on each other on a wooden table.

With a buttery shortcake bottom and caramel-like filling, these bars really have it all. Filled with raisins and chopped walnuts, they are sure to be your new favorite dessert square.

This simple recipe for butter tart squares would be a perfect dessert treat to serve on the holidays, for a shower or brunch, or just to have on hand when company arrives. They are simple and delicious, and the chewy gooey center really satisfies the sweet tooth!

If you love simple desserts, be sure to try this 5-ingredient Shortbread Cookie Bar recipe!

close up photo of butter tart squares staked on top of each other.

Table of Contents

Traditional Canadian Butter Tarts Variations

This recipe is inspired by traditional Canadian Butter Tarts. However, making them is much easier by turning those tasty tart treats into bite-sized squares.

butter tart squares staked on each other.

The traditional butter tart is a tart consisting of butter, sugar, syrup, and egg baked into a small pastry shell. What makes the butter tart so delicious is the sweet bottom, gooey center, and semi-solid crunchy top.

As a Canadian expat, traditional Butter Tarts are still one of my favorites treats to make. However, they can be time consuming with having to make individualized pastry shells and, personally, sometimes too sweet with the only sugar-based filling.

The variations that exist for this tart include adding raisins, walnuts, and/or pecans. Around the Thanksgiving, I like to make the traditional tarts, but add in pecans to give it an almost mini pecan pie feel.

For these squares, I have added raisins and walnuts to give the traditional butter tart a chewy texture which slightly calms the sweetness from the tart. Even better the whole recipe is made in a 9 x 9 inch baking dish so there is no need to form individual tartlets.

How to Make Butter Tart Squares

There are only two layers to the squares, although it may look like more because of the top. That’s what so great about these bars! They get a slightly crunchy top to cover that gooey middle.

Firstly, you need to make the bottom layer. This is a simple shortbread layer involving flour, brown sugar, and chilled cubed butter that you have to cut into the dough.

flour, butter, and brown sugar in a glass bowl with a pastry cutter.

There are a couple of ways you could cut the butter into the dough. Pictured above is a traditional pastry cutter / dough blender that you use to cut the butter up and mix it with the flour and sugar. If you don’t have one of these, you could always cut it in using two butter knives (although it takes longer, this option does work!) Alternatively, you could put the ingredients in a food processor and pulse just until the butter is less than pea-sized and incorporated with the rest of the mixture.

shortbread mixture in a glass bowl with a pastry cutter.

Next, press the mixture into the bottom of an ungreased 9 x 9 baking pan. Bake for 10 minutes until just set.

shortbread mixture baked in the bottom of a 9 x 9 inch baking pan.

Secondly, to make the filling you will need to cream together the brown sugar and eggs until frothy. This is an essential step and really gives the butter tart squares the puffed and chewy center. You can use a hand mixer or whisk for this step. Beat until the eggs and sugar are incorporated and the mixture looks lighter in color.

Eggs and brown sugar whisked together in a glass bowl.

Butter Tart Squares with Raisins and Walnuts

Lastly, fold in the remaining ingredients, including the walnuts and raisins. You could substitute pecans for the walnuts or golden raisins if you like. Additionally, you could leave the raisins and walnuts out altogether and make a more traditional version of the Canadian butter tart.

Glass bowl with egg brown sugar mixture, and walnuts and raisins on top.

Pour on top of the baked shortbread layer and return to oven for about 25-30 minutes or until just set in the center.

Baked butter tart squares in a 9 x 9 inch baking pan.

Cool the squares on a wire rack completely before cutting, if you can wait that long! You could also pop these in the fridge. I like to cut my squares into small pieces, which is why I say you can get 36 squares from this recipe.

butter tart squares staked on each other with raisins and walnuts.

Give these squares a try today! I know you are going to love them.

More easy squares recipes:

Pineapple Bars | Easy Hawaiian Squares

Frosted Butterscotch Blondie Bars

S’mores Cookie Bars | Easy Sheet Pan Squares

Caramel Chip Pecan Bars

Fresh Apple Caramel Squares

S’mores Fudge

I hope you love this recipe for Butter Tart Squares. Be sure to comment below if you try it. Enjoy!