Do raisins belong in dessert? Fortunately these Butter Tart Bars are delicious with and without!
These bars have all of the best flavours of Butter Tarts but only dirty one bowl and are very quick and easy to whip up. This recipe yields a small batch so you can have fresh butter tarts any time you have the craving without having 2 dozen around tempting you, but you can easily multiply the recipe if needed. My favorite part about the small batch, though, is that each bar has at least one caramelized edge- yum!

The Ingredients
- Butter- You can use salted or unsalted butter. It needs to be softened to room temperature for the base.
- Brown Sugar
- Flour- I have successfully made this recipe with whole wheat flour, all purpose flour and oat flour. If you want to make your own oat flour, you will need about ¾ cup of large flake rolled oats. Pulse in a high powered blender or food processor until it is the texture of flour. I did find that the base needed to cook for an additional 1-2 minutes as compared to with regular flour. It was also a bit stickier, but I found a fork worked well for spreading it into the loaf pan.
- Egg
- Vanilla
- Sea Salt
- Add Ins- These bars are delicious whether you choose to include add ins or not! Some ideas for add ins are raisins, chopped dates, chopped walnuts, chopped pecans or a mixture.
The Method
- Combine base ingredients, press into a pan and bake.
- Melt butter.
- Cream together butter and sugar and mix in remaining ingredients.
- Pour add ins, if using, and filling mixture over cooked base.
- Bake until filling is set.
- Cool and cut into bars.
Leftover Storage
Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days, refrigerate for up to 1 week or freeze for up to 3 months.

Dietary Notes
If you have dietary restrictions, check the packaging of specific ingredients that you use to ensure they are compliant. This recipe is:
- Gluten Free- If you use oat flour.
- Vegetarian
Multiplying the Butter Tart Bars Recipe
To make a larger batch:
- For 16 bars- double the recipe and bake in a 8x8 or 9x9 inch pan. Or you can make them in a 9 inch cake pan, pie dish or tart pan.
- For 24 bars- triple the recipe and bake in a 9x13 inch pan.
And if you liked these Butter Tart Squares...
...you might also like these other sweet treats!

Ingredients
For the Base:
- ¼ cup butter softened
- 2 tablespoon brown sugar
- ½ cup + 2 tbsp whole wheat flour
For the Filling:
- 2 tablespoon butter
- ½ cup brown sugar
- 1 large egg
- ½ teaspoon vanilla
- ⅛ teaspoon fine sea salt
- up to 1 cup add ins (optional) such as raisins, chopped dates, pecan or walnuts
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 F.
Make the Base:
- In a microwave safe, medium size bowl, cream together butter and sugar. Add flour and continue to mix until combined. Press into an ungreased loaf pan (8x4 or 9x5 will work). Bake in the oven for 15 minutes, until lightly browned on the edges.
Make the Filling:
- While the base is baking, in the same bowl, melt the butter. Using a fork cream together the butter and sugar. Add the egg and continue to stir until well combined. Finally, stir in the vanilla, and salt.
- Remove the base from the oven. If using add ins, sprinkle them evenly over the base. Pour the filling evenly over the base and fillings and return the pan to the oven for 19-20 minutes, until filling is nearly set.
- Remove to a wire rack and gently run a butter knife around the edges of the pan. Allow to cool completely in the pan before cutting into bars.
- Enjoy at room temperature or cold.
Notes
Nutrition
More Sweet Treat Recipes!
Jay
These butter tart bars turned out perfect. I mistakenly added double the amount of flour so I doubled the entire recipe- now we have a bonus amount of this treat... so good 🙂
Jillian
I have had to ban myself from making these because they are too delicious.. I make a pan thinking it will last me a month and boom 24 hours later I am out!
They taste so good right out of the freezer- it is truly dangerous but I highly recommend taking the risk!