Who doesn't have fond memories of these delicious pockets of jammy goodness? So for one of my Kids Cooking Club series, I added this recipe to the mix. And it was a huge success. They are very easy to make, super customizable (thinking marmalade, raspberry jam, grape jelly) and best of all they freeze beautifully. So you can enjoy a warm pop tart on a whim!
INGREDIENTS:
DOUGH
2.5 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon white or cane sugar
1 teaspoon salt
2 stick unsalted cold butter
2 eggs
2 tablespoons milk or cream
FILLINGS
Cinnamon/Brown Sugar
½ cup light brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
4 teaspoons all-purpose flour
Pinch of salt
Tangy Strawberry
¾ cup strawberry jam
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 teaspoon water
1 teaspoon lemon juice
Pinch of salt
ICINGS
LEMON VANILLA ICING
¾ cup powdered sugar
1 tablespoon milk or cream
¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon lemon zest (optional)
CINNAMON ICING
¾ cup powdered sugar
1 tablespoon milk or cream
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
DIRECTIONS:
DOUGH: Whisk together flour, sugar, and salt in a medium bowl using a fork or a whisk.
Cut the cold butter into small pieces. Then add the butter to the flour mixture. Using the back of a fork, smush the butter into the flour. Give the flour mixture a stir and repeat. If you have a pastry blender, you can use that. Try to avoid using your hands because we need to keep the butter cold. Place bowl in fridge to cool again.
While the bowl is chilling, whisk together 1 egg and milk in a small bowl. Now take the bowl out of the fridge with the flour mixture and add the eggy mixture. Give the dough a stir with a fork and turn the dough out onto a floured surface. Knead very very briefly just until the dough comes together. Bits of butter will be visible, that’s perfect, we want that to keep the crust flaky.
Take half the dough and using a rolling pin, roll it out to about 8 x 12. NOTE: Make sure your surface has flour on it. If not your dough will stick
Once the dough is rolled out to about 1/8” in depth, using a knife or bench scraper, divide the dough into 4” x 3” rectangles. Using a spatula, transfer the rectangles to a cookie sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat on it. REPEAT rolling out and cutting instructions for second piece of dough. If you can, place cookie sheets in fridge.
FILLINGS: If you are making cinnamon: Whisk together the brown sugar, cinnamon, and flour in a small bowl. If you are making the strawberry filling: In a small saucepan, whisk together cornstarch, water and then add jam. Turn heat on to a medium/low and bring mixture to a simmer/soft boil. Keep stirring for a few minutes. Remove from heat and let it cool.
To assemble the pop tarts, whisk an egg in a bowl. Then using a pastry brush or your fingers brush the egg mixture in the middle of half of your rectangles. Make sure to leave about 1 inch of space around the edges. Place a spoon of your filling on the brushed egg mixture. Again, leaving the 1 inch space around the edges.
Place an empty rectangle dough piece on top of one with filling and gently press around the edges to seal them. Then using the points of the fork press around the edges of the rectangles. Lastly, using a toothpick or your fork, make a few vents to let the steam out when the pop tarts bake.
Refrigerate the tarts while you make your topping and heat your oven, about 15-20 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
ICING: In a small bowl, mix powdered sugar, milk, cinnamon (for cinnamon filling), and lemon zest + lemon juice and vanilla (for strawberry). The icing should have a very thick, but still spreadable, like honey.
Bake the pop tarts for 25 to 30 minutes, or until golden brown around the edges.
Remove from the oven and let them cool COMPLETELY before spreading a tablespoon of icing over top of each pastry.
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