Homemade Pop-Tarts

Adam is a HUGE fan of pop-tarts, but not just any pop-tarts, they have to be the plain strawberry with no icing. He loves them and always begs for me to buy them. I had snacks for Sunday School this past week, and I remembered seeing some homemade pop-tarts on a few blogs. I thought I would try my hand at them and see if he liked the homemade version.


These are so flaky and buttery and so delicious you don't even need icing on them. Although, feel free to add a glaze if you would like. It was an effort to make these, but I felt so accomplished afterwards. It wasn't that they were hard to make, it was just a process, but a fun one that was well worth the outcome! Adam still loves his regular pop-tarts, but he agreed that these were wonderful and had no problem polishing them away! I much prefer them to the store bought variety. Also, I made these as mini pop-tarts because I was serving them to a group. The only thing you do differently is cut them smaller, the baking time was the same. Great for a fun weekend baking project and a special breakfast sure to impress! Feel free to mix this up with other fun fillings, chocolate chips, nutella, other flavored jams, etc.

Homemade Pop-Tarts
Source: Brown Eyed Baker, originally from King Arthur Flour
Yield: 9 pop-tarts, or 18 mini tarts

For the pastry crust:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks, or 8 ounces) unsalted butter, cold and cubed
1 egg
2 tablespoons milk

For the strawberry filling:
¾ cup strawberry jam
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 tablespoon water

For Assembly:

1 egg, lightly beaten (to brush on pastry)
powdered sugar for rolling out dough (you can use flour if desired)

Directions:

For the Filling:
In a small bowl, whisk together the cornstarch & water. In a small saucepan, add strawberry jam & the cornstarch mixture. Bring to a boil & then simmer for 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from heat & allow to cool.

For the Crust:
In a large bowl, whisk together flour, salt & sugar. Using a pastry cutter, cut the butter into the dough until the mixture resembles coarse meal & the butter is the size of peas. In a small bowl, whisk together the egg & milk. Add the egg mixture to the flour mixture & mix together with a fork until dough is evenly moistened. Knead briefly until dough comes together.

To Assemble:
Cut the dough in half. (To make the dough ahead, you can wrap each section of dough & refrigerate for up to 2 days, allowing dough to come to room temp. before rolling). Sprinkle powdered sugar on your rolling surface & then roll out one piece of dough to 1/8 inch thick, into roughly a 9 1/2 x 12 1/2 rectangle (my dough rolled out to a little less than this and it yielded the same amount of tarts). Trim the edges to get straight lines all around. Cut the dough into either 9 evenly sized rectangles or 18 smaller rectangles. Using a straight spatula, transfer dough rectangles to a baking sheet lined with parchment. Brush the beaten egg lightly onto each of the rectangles. Spoon a small amount of filling onto each rectangle (1 tbsp. if you are making 9 tarts, about 1/2-1 tsp. if making 18) leaving a 1/2 inch of space around the edges.

Roll out the remaining piece of dough as you did the first, cutting into the same amount of pieces. Top each prepared rectangle with a second rectangle of dough. Press the seams of the dough with your fingers to seal. Press a fork around the edges of each rectangle, then prick the tops so that air can escape. Very lightly brush the tops with beaten egg.

Place the pan of tarts in the refrigerator uncovered for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until lightly golden brown. Cool slightly. These are best served warm, so if you make them ahead of time reheat them in a 200 degree oven for approximately 5 minutes until warm. Store in an airtight container for up to one week.