Homemade Pop Tarts

Day 4 of my 12 Days of Baking compilation.

I’m testing new recipes in anticipation of being with my pre-teen nieces over the holidays and pop tarts for breakfast seemed like a good idea! These are easy to make and pretty darn tasty, although I’m more of a savory breakfast fan.

These would be super for a holiday brunch decorated with holiday sprinkles.

Pastry Ingredients:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp. granulated sugar
• ¾ tsp. salt
• ¾ cup plus 2 Tbsp. cold butter, cut into small cubes
• 5 Tbsp. iced water
• ½ cup plus 2 tsp. homemade or good quality jam
• 1 large egg, beaten with a Tbsp. of water

Icing Ingredients:

• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 5 Tbsp. heavy cream
• Sprinkles, optional

Pastry Directions:

1. In the bowl of an electric mixer, mix the flour, sugar and salt until combined.
2. Add the butter and mix just until crumbly with pieces of butter the size of peas – don’t overmix.
3. Add the iced water, 2 tablespoons at a time, and beat until the pastry forms a ball – again, don’t overmix which could cause a tough pastry. It’s possible you’ll only need 4 tablespoons to get the right consistency – a ball of dough. Chill the dough for 15 minutes.
4. Place the dough on a floured work surface and roll using a rolling pin to a 24” by 14” rectangle. Using a sharp knife or a pizza cutter, cut the edges of the dough to get an even rectangle of 21” by 13”. Cutting from the short edge, cut the dough into three 4-inch wide strips. Now cutting from the wide edge, cut the three strips into six 3 ½-inch rectangles creating 18 rectangles.
5. Add a tablespoon of jam to the center of half of the rectangles.
6. Using the egg wash, wet the edges of the pastry with the jam on it. Place a pastry with no jam on top of the 9 pastries with jam. Using the tines of a fork, seal the edges of all the pop tarts to seal the jam inside during baking. Prick each pop tart three times with the times of a fork to allow steam to escape during baking.
7. Place the pop tarts on a lightly greased or sprayed baking sheet and place in the fridge for an hour.
8. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
9. Using the remaining egg wash, brush the top of the pop tarts. Bake the pop tarts for 23-25 minutes or until golden brown. Allow to cool before icing.

Icing Directions:

1. In a small bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar and the cream until completely smooth.
2. Divide the icing between the nine pop tarts. Garnish with sprinkles, if using.

Makes 9 pop tarts.