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Is there anything better than a warm Pop Tart? We would have said no, but then we discovered this homemade recipe. With a crispy, buttery crust and warm filling, these better-than-store-bought pop tarts can be made sweet or savory.
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Ingredients
- Flour (for dusting)
- Pastry dough (1 batch, prepared in advance, for recipe see below)
- 1 cup fruit jam
- 1 egg, beaten
- 1 tablespoon milk
- Large grain, raw sugar (for sprinkling)
Directions
Lightly sprinkle flour onto a french rolling pin and across a non-porous surface. Place the prepared pastry dough on top of the floured surface. Holding the rolling pin in your dominant hand, firmly hit the dough until it flattens. Turn the dough over, dust with additional flour, and begin rolling it into a large rectangular shape. Press the rolling pin into the center of the dough and roll it towards the outer edge, away from your body. Rotate the dough, adding additional flour as needed, and continue rolling until the desired thickness is achieved.
Adjust a pastry bicycle so that the cutters are spaced five inches apart. With the pastry bicycle, make vertical cuts through the dough. Readjust the pastry bicycle so that the cutters are approximately three and a half inches apart. Cut the dough horizontally, perpendicular to the first set of cuts. Using a bench scraper, carefully separate the squares of dough. Stack the squares on a plate, sprinkling flour between each layer. Put the plate in the refrigerator and allow the dough to rest for approximately 15 minutes.
If desired, cut the excess dough scraps into bite-sized pieces. Dust the tops of the scraps with a combination of sugar, cinnamon, and cocoa. Gently press the mixture into the dough. Place the scraps on a parchment paper lined baking sheet and bake at 325, 350 or 400 degrees until crispy.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Remove the pie squares from the refrigerator and place them on a lightly floured surface in rows. Make an egg wash by beating an egg with a tablespoon of milk. Brush the egg wash over the surface of the squares in every other row so that half of the squares are coated. Working as quickly as possible, place about a tablespoon of filling into the middle of the egg washed squares.
Once half of the squares have filling, apply the top piece of dough. With a slightly cupped hand, press the outside edges of the top and bottom squares together. Use a fork to crimp the edges and to make three to four punctures on the top of each tart. If the dough feels warm, allow it to rest in the refrigerator for five minutes. If not, use the bench scraper to transfer the squares to a parchment lined baking sheet. Leave about one inch of space between each pop tart. Brush the tops with the remaining egg wash and dust with large grain, raw sugar. Bake for 15 minutes or until golden-brown. Remove the pop tarts from the pan as soon as they come out of the oven to prevent the bottoms from over-baking or burning.
How to Make the Perfect Pastry Pie Dough
Recipe via Rose Lawrence
This is a simple, all-purpose recipe that can be used to make classic pies, pot pies, turnovers, and tarts.
Ingredients
- 5 cups of flour
- 2 teaspoons sugar
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 32 ounces of butter, cut in 1/2 inch cubes
- 3/4 cup chilled water Water (3/4 cup, chilled)
- 1 egg
- 1/4 cup milk
Directions
Combine the flour, sugar, and salt in a large mixing bowl. Add half of the cold butter to the dry ingredients. Toss the butter in the flour mixture until all of the pieces are coated. Using your fingers, lift the pieces of butter over the bowl and begin to break them apart. Work as quickly as possible to prevent the butter from melting. The pieces of butter should eventually resemble the size of large peas. Once incorporated, add the rest of the butter and repeat the crumbling process.
Make a well in the middle of the flour-butter mixture. Pour about half of the cold water into the center. Using your hand like a spatula, scrape the sides of the bowl and gently fold the flour into the center well. Rotate the bowl slightly and repeat the folding process until a shaggy dough forms. Continue adding water one tablespoon at a time until the dough becomes a cohesive mass.
Pour the dough onto a clean surface. Be sure to scrape any remnants from the bottom of the bowl to reincorporate them. Press down on the dough with your palms and work it into a large disk. Store the dough as is or cut it into four equal-sized portions. If separating the dough into portions, work each piece into a disk and wrap it loosely with plastic wrap. Refrigerate the dough for at least 30 minutes before rolling or freeze it for future use.
Lightly dust a clean, non-porous surface with flour. Remove the pie dough from the refrigerator and discard the wrapping. Dust a small amount of flour on top of the dough and the rolling pin. With the rolling pin, hit the dough repeatedly, warming and flattening it as much as possible prior to rolling it. Starting from the center of the flattened disk, push down on the rolling pin, press the dough away from your body and then pull it back toward you. Gently lift and rotate the dough and repeat the rolling process. Add flour any time the dough becomes sticky. Continue rolling until the dough is flat, even, and to your desired thickness.
To make a pie crust, place a pie dish upside down on the rolled-out dough. Using scissors or a knife, cut around the circumference of the dish, leaving about an inch of dough between the the rim of the dish and your cut. Gently place the trimmed dough over the inside of the dish. Lift the edges up slightly and allow the dough to sink into the dish. Remove excess dough from the sides but leave approximately one inch hanging over. This edge can be rolled under and crimped. For a lattice or double crusted pie, the edges will remain untreated until the top portion is added. Puncture the bottom of the raw crust with a fork to prevent the it from puffing up during the baking process. Fill immediately or par-bake and fill after.
Image and recipe via Salted
