I, for one am not a huge fan of pop tarts anymore. As a kid the strawberry ones were my favorite and I would just break off all the crust and leave only what was covered by icing! ;]
I tried the same kind not too long ago when I bought them as a quick breakfast item and my face must have said it all! Not the way I remembered them! Boy do your taste buds change as you get older! LOL!
These are really good. I have two different recipes for it, one with store bought dough and the other by scratch. I will be posting the one from scratch this time and add the other one later on. The kids loved helping by pinching them closed and adding sprinkles and such. Give em a whirl!?!
Ingredients
Pie dough
- 3/4 cup plus 2 tablepsoons (1¾ sticks) butter
- 1/2 cup cold water
- 13/4 cups (7.4 ounces) flour
- 1/2 cup (2.25 ounces) whole wheat flour
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 egg yolk
- 1/2 teaspoon cider vinegar
Instructions
* Cut the butter into medium-sized cubes and put it in the freezer.
* Put half a cup of cold water in the freezer too while you assemble the other ingredients for the recipe.
* Put two sheets of plastic wrap, about 24 inches long, on a work surface, overlapping them lengthwise by a few inches so that they form a big triangle.
* Put the flours, sugar and salt in the bowl of a food processor, then pulse it once or twice to make sure the ingredients are combined.
* In a small bowl, mix together the egg yolk and vinegar.
* When the butter is hard, after about an hour or so, add the pieces to the food processor.
* Pulse it half a dozen times, or until the pieces of butter are about the size of jelly beans.
* Take the ice water out of the freezer (it should be very cold but not frozen) and mix it into the egg and vinegar mixture.
* Immediately add this to the mixture in the food processor and pulse until the mixture comes together. There will still be chunks of butter about the size of peas.
* Dump the mixture out onto the middle of the plastic wrap.
* Pull the edges of the plastic up around the dough, squashing it together and blending in the streaks of butter, which you will still be able to see in the dough.
* Don't over kneed the dough or blend in all the butter: it should be streaky and just come together.
* Using the plastic to press the dough, form it into a rectangle, wrapping the plastic tightly around the dough in the process.
* Put the dough in the refrigerator to chill for about an hour. (You can keep it in the refrigerator for a few days and up to 30 days in the freezer.)
Pop tart assembly
1 recipe pie dough
About 1 cup filling (Nutella, strawberry, apple or any fruit preserves of your choice)
1 egg, beaten
* Take the chilled pie dough out of the refrigerator.
* Divide it in half, and put both portions on a floured work surface.
* Roll the dough out with a rolling pin into a rectangle until it measures 9x12 inches.
* Using a ruler, divide the rectangle in half lengthwise, pressing the ruler down slightly so that you can see the lines.
* Divide the rectangle in half, then in half again width-wise, so you have 8 rectangles of 3 inches by 4½ inches each.
* Do the same thing for the other piece of dough. Cut each piece of dough into rectangles, following the lines imprinted by the ruler.
* Using a pastry brush, brush half of the squares with the beaten egg, making sure you get to the edges.
Fillings
Don't have any filling on hand? Well, if you have these ingredients you can make some!
*Cinnamon Filling*
- (enough for 9 tarts)
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1-1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 4 tsp. all-purpose flour
- 1 large egg, to brush on pastry before filling
* Whisk together the sugar, cinnamon, and flour!
* Spoon a tablespoon of filling into the center of each brushed rectangle, spreading it out a little but making sure that there's at least one-half inch of dough around the edges that does not have filling on it.
* lift a second rectangle of unbrushed pastry on top of the one with the filling on it, pinch down along the edges so that the two pieces of dough stick together.
* Using a fork, press around the edges of all the tarts (dip it into your jar of flour to keep it from sticking).
* Place pop tarts on a lined cookie sheet.
* Poke the tops of the tarts in neat rows, to let the steam escape during baking.
* Put the pop tarts on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
* Place pop tarts in the freezer for half an hour while you heat your oven to 375.
* Just before putting the tarts in the oven, brush the tops with some of the left over egg wash.
* Bake the pop tarts on a cookie sheet in the middle of the oven until golden brown, 30 to 35 minutes.
* Cool the pop tarts on a rack.
Cinnamon Glaze
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1 1/2 tbsp milk (or so depending on your desired thickness)
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
whisk together ingredients and once pop tarts are cooled slightly spoon on top! You can even add some sprinkles for the kids!
ENJOY!
