VINEGAR TART SQUARES

"Baking is a labour of love... passed from generation to generation..." -Regina Brett

VINEGAR TARTS or SQUARES are from a very old recipe from the 1800's.

My grandmother used to make them, on the farm in Saskatchewan, in the early part of the 20th century. My mother would bake them when I was a child.They were part of regular summer fare when company popped by. Kind of like a butter tart square, only better. No raisins to pick out!My mother would make them into massive muffin cup sized tarts, with pastry walls that defied  gravity. 

This recipe is even older than I first discovered, coming from  civil war times, and earlier than that.  It was perfect for when times were hard,and supplies were short; when no fruit was available. Eggs and sugar  were saved to make this. My grandmother made them for the farm hands as a treat.

 Vinegar makes the filling a little tart to ward off  sweetness. It fools the taste buds into thinking there is fruit, in the  ooey gooeyness ( is that  word? I think it is!) I've adjusted the recipe to turn this into a 9x13 pan size square. I really dislike making tart pastry, so I created a shortbread style base, instead. 

FIRST: In a bowl, combine 2 1/2 cups flour, 1 cup cold marg, 2/3 white sugar. ( I was saving brown sugar for the filling, so used white instead) 

Cut in the margarine till crumbly.

Spray a 9x13 pan with veggie spray. Then line with parchment. really important to do as filling will stick otherwise. Don't use foil. Or you will be peeling foil out of the filling.

Bake at 350 degrees till set like shortbread. About 20 minutes, maybe a bit longer. Test with your finger to make sure it is baked. Shouldn't be crumbly.Shouldn't be tough. 

Let pan cool on rack on counter while you make filling.

FILLING: Combine 3 cups brown sugar, with 3 blobs of butter or margarine....about 3 tablespoons.I don't measure, I plop the marg in.
ADD the vinegar: 3 tablespoons of white vinegar.Can add 5 if you wish. 3 is pretty mild.

Crack in 6 eggs. BEAT by hand. I use a large serving fork to do that. Not a mixer.

Dump in 1 1/2 cups corn syrup. Don't use  maple syrup etc. 

Pour on top of baked bottom layer. Smooth out filling. 

BAKE at 350 degrees for about 40 minutes. 

You will have to test it off and on with a knife to see how it is doing. If you bake too long will be too firm.Should not be runny. Should be firm and still have some jiggleeee-ness.( I think that is a great word!)

Let sit till cool, before cutting into narrow squares. Cuts great when cooled down. The squares are even better the next day. Does not freeze great. Good for potlucks.

This was definitely a treat in the summer when I was a kid. Except they were mammoth muffin tarts that you had to  eat with a knife and fork. Sometimes my mother would plop on whipped cream on top. Then the best way to eat them was to eat them outside: Scoop up the cream first, then the gooey innards, leaving the thick pastry wall to fend for itself.

Of course, I always  threw the thick pastry into the forest, for the birds.  Never told my mother. And she continued to make huge muffin tarts for years to come. Always made me wonder how many of those tart shells might still be in existence on the forest floor, even to this day...... 

Photographs 2019