Brown Butter Tart

One of my go-to cookbooks is the Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook. It is a classic, and is full of traditional, home-y recipes. If I want to make something new, I start there, because I know the recipes have been tested hundreds of times. (If you are looking for a good wedding gift, I recommend this book--that's how I got mine and I love it)

Annie and I were reading "Pie in the Sky" by Lois Ehlert this morning, and Anne suggested we make a pie of our own. So we did. I broke out the red cookbook and started thumbing through the "Pies and Tarts" tab to find something we could make in a house with no fruit. The winner was the Brown Butter Tart. It was easy to put together (no tempering eggs or anything like making pastry cream) and tastes amazing. It almost tastes like a rich cookie dough; so if you like cookie dough, give this a try!

For the crust:
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup cold butter
2 egg yolks, beaten
1 tablespoon water

Mix flour and sugar. Cut in butter until pea-size pieces form. Mix egg yolks and water. Add egg mixture slowly to flour mixture while stirring. Knead gently to form a ball. Cover with plastic wrap and chill for 30-60 minutes. I always put dough in a quart-size plastic bag, then form it into a ball. Less messy, and you can just throw the whole thing in the fridge to chill.

For the filling:
3 eggs
1 1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon vanilla
3/4 cup butter

Preheat oven to 350. Beat eggs slightly in a large bowl. Stir in sugar, flour, and vanilla; set aside. In a small saucepan, melt butter over medium-high heat until the butter turns the color of brown sugar. Remove from heat. Pour butter slowly into egg mixture and stir to combine.

Assembly:
Roll crust and place in a 10-inch tart pan (you could easily use a 9-inch pie plate) (Also, my crust would NOT roll succesfully, so I patted it into my tart pan.) Anyway, get raw dough into a dish, then pour the filling on top. Bake at 350 for 35 minutes or until the top is crisp and golden. Let cool on a wire rack for at least 1 hour. Slice and serve. The crust has enough butter in it to just pop right out of the pan with no sticking. Cover and chill after 2 hours.

This is really rich, so cut the sweetness with some berries and whipped cream. Or a nice cup of black coffee.

To summarize, this is an easy, delicious dessert that requires few ingredients. And although it is called a "butter" tart, I used good ol' Blue Bonnet margarine and it worked just fine. Give it a try--you will like it (and hopefully not get diabetes).