Pop tarts

Who doesn't love a pop tart? My college meals consisted of cereal, fried rice, and pop tarts, specifically the strawberry frosted ones. I've been tempted to buy some at the market the other day, but thought to myself, why not try making them? 

Homemade Pop Tarts

Recipe from smittenkitchen.com

Cooking time: 1 hour

Yield: 9 pop tarts

Ingredients

Pastry: 

2 cups ap flour 

1 tbsp sugar

1 tsp salt

1 cup unsalted butter, cut into pats

1 large egg

2 tbsp milk

Cinnamon filling:

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 to 1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon, to taste

4 tsp ap flour

1 large egg to brush on pastry before filling

Jam filling: 

3/4 cup jam

1 tbsp cornstarch mixed with 1 tbsp cold water

*Can also do 9 tbsp other fillings including chocolate chips, Nutella, salted caramel, butterscotch chips, almond butter, etc. 

Directions

1. For cinnamon sugar pop tarts, make the filling by combining the sugar, cinnamon, and flour. For strawberry/grape/raspberry, etc pop tarts, make the filling by mixing the jam with the cornstarch slurry in a small saucepan. Bring the jam mixture to a boil over high heat. Reduce to medium-low and continue to simmer for 2 minutes, stirring frequently. Remove from heat and let cool. 
2. Meanwhile, make the pop tarts. Whisk together the dry ingredients (flour, sugar, and salt). Using a pastry blender or a fork, incorporate the butter into the flour mixture until it resembles coarse sand. 
3. Whisk together the first egg and the milk. Add to the flour and butter mixture until well mixed, kneading if needed. Divide the dough into 2 parts, about 8 1/4 ounces each. Shape each portion into a 3x5 rectangle. Either chill the dough until you are ready to continue (for no longer than 2 days) or continue on the next step.
4. If the dough has been chilled, let it soften until it can be easily rolled out. Roll each portion of the dough into a 9x12 rectangle, 1/8 inch thick. Divide each rectangle in half lengthwise than into thirds width-wise  ending up with 9 3x4 rectangles.  
5. Beat the remaining egg. Brush the egg over 9 of the rectangles. Scoop 1 heaping tbsp of your desired filling onto the center of each rectangle. Place another rectangle on top and seal the dough on the edges. Press the edges of the pop tart together with a fork. Repeat with the remaining pop tarts.
6. Lay the pop tarts on a lined baking sheet. Prick the tops with a fork to allow the steam to escape while baking. Chill for 30 minutes in the refrigerator.
7. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
8. Bake the pop tarts for 20-25 minutes or until lightly golden. Cool on a wire rack before serving.  

Nutritional Analysis:
per pop tart with 1 tbsp strawberry jam: 369 calories, 21.3g fat (13.1g saturated, 1.0g polyunsaturated, 5.5g monounsaturated), 41.0g carbohydrates, 1.0g fiber, 3.9g protein

**Helpful tips and common mistakes

When looking for a pop tart recipe, many people use pre-made pie crusts which is a much quicker alternative than creating one, but I wanted everything to be from scratch. This recipe uses a slight variation on a pie crust. Instead of water to bind the butter with the dry ingredients, it uses an egg and milk. The dough will look crumbly but if you touch it, you will realize that it is actually very soft and moldable. 

Because this dough is extremely soft from the butter, I would recommend chilling it in the refrigerator for at least 15 minutes. This will allow it to roll out much easier. 

When rolling the dough, I sprinkled a generous amount of flour on the working surface to prevent the dough from sticking to the counter. 

I chose to make strawberry pop tarts today, but you can fill these with anything you want. You can be brave and even make savory pop tarts with a ham and cheese cheese filling, pesto, olives, or really anything you want!

Do not over bake these pop tarts. I was about to bake them longer until they got more golden but remembered that even the ones from the market are closer to the light golden color. 

These pop tarts are so incredibly tasty! The dough is much flakier than the ones at the market and literally melts in your mouth. I chose not to put icing on the top to prevent it from being too sweet. I took one bite and couldn't help but finish the entire pop tart. These are, dare I say, even better than store made pop tarts. Next time, I will try a Nutella filling, or try a savory pop tart. Enjoy for breakfast, dessert, or just as a snack!