Believe it. You can make homemade pop tarts. No more Kellogg’s. Not even Nature’s Path. You can now have your very own pop tarts come right out of the oven (or reheat them in a toaster). Imagine thinly rolled pie dough filled with your favorite filling, accompanied by a cup of morning tea. Well, stop imagining and get rollin’! It’s a bit time consuming but completely worth the effort. You’ll be greatly rewarded in the end!
(please excuse the iPhone photo. raspberry filled on the left, cinnamon and brown sugar with maple glaze on the right.)
Ingredients
Source: Adapted from: King Arthur Flour and The Recipe Girl
pastry
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 T. sugar
1 tsp. salt
1 cup unsalted butter, cut into pats
1 large egg
2 T. milk
cinnamon sugar filling
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon, to taste
4 tsp. flour
1 large egg, to brush on pastry before filling
maple glaze
1/3 cup powdered sugar, sifted
2 T. maple syrup
(for regular vanilla glaze, leave out maple and add 2 T. milk, 1/2 tsp of vanilla, then more to taste)
fruit filling
3/4 cup raspberry jam
1 T. cornstarch
1 T. cold water
Directions
pastry
1. Whisk together the flour, sugar, and salt. Pour into food processor, add butter and pulse until the mixture holds together when you squeeze it, with pecan-sized lumps of butter still visible. Pour mixture back into bowl.
2. Mix the egg and milk, and add it to the dough, combining just until everything is cohesive.
3. Divide the dough in half. Shape each half into a rough 3″ x 5″ rectangle, smoothing the edges. Refrigerate a couple hours, overnight or up to 2 days.
filling
1. for the cinnamon sugar: Whisk together the sugar, cinnamon, and flour in a small bowl, set aside.
2. For the fruit: Mix water and cornstarch in small bowl. Add fruit preserves. Bring the mixture to a boil, and simmer, stirring, for 2 minutes. Remove from the heat, and set aside to cool.
final assembly
1. If the dough has been chilled, remove it from the refrigerator and allow it to soften and become workable, about 15 to 30 minutes. Place one piece on a lightly floured work surface, and roll it into a rectangle about 1/8″ thick, large enough that you can trim it to an even 9x 12. Laying a 9 x 13 pan or small baking sheet atop the dough will give you an idea if you’ve rolled it large enough.
2. Gently slice sheet of dough into thirds lengthwise and widthwise; you’ll see nine little rectangles.
3. Beat the egg, and brush it over the entire surface of the dough. Place a heaping tablespoon of filling into the center of every other rectangle. Place the second sheet of dough atop the first, using a fork to press firmly around the edge of the rectangle, sealing the dough well on all sides.
4. Gently place the tarts on a lightly greased or parchment-lined baking sheet. Prick the top of each tart multiple times with a fork; you want to make sure steam can escape, or the tarts will become billowy pillows rather than flat toaster pastries. Refrigerate the tarts (they don’t need to be covered) for 30 minutes, while you preheat your oven to 350.
5. Repeat steps 1 through 4 for second half of dough.
6. Remove the tarts from fridge, and bake for 25 to 35 minutes, until they’re a light golden brown. Remove them from the oven, and allow them to cool on the pan.
7. While pop tarts are cooking and cooling, make the glaze by whisking together the powdered sugar and maple syrup in a small bowl until smooth. Drizzle over pop tarts when completely cool.
Voila!