Homemade ooey-gooey Pop-tarts + Friday= EVERYTHING.
HOLY MOLY! Am I glad I made these. And a super special thanks to one of my best friends Alexa, for introducing me to this AMAZING recipe at Food52 (aka my dream company). I have wanted to make homemade pop-tarts forever, so when Alexa stayed over last weekend and the weather was gloomy, it was the perfect opportunity to have a day of baking, while binge watching ‘The Office’ (ummm win win). They are so so much fun and surprisingly very easy- and please take this from me, as I am usually horrible at baking anything. Trust me.
So first I need to say I am SO sorry these don’t fit into my week of gluten free cooking, since they are mostly made up of straight of flour. But if you are a gluten free expert, you probably have a gluten free flour alternative on hand ;) My next project! For now, these will certainly do, and what better day to show a fun treat than a Friday! The end of the week calls for a celebration of pop-tarts & sprinkles & tons of ‘The Office’! Still to this day, Pop-tarts are one of my guilty pleasure bites that I crave from time to time & I enjoy just as much as I did when I was 8, burning my mouth straight outta the toaster (brown sugar cinnamon flavor to be exact ). Since I am much older now and waaaaay healthier, I can’t bring myself to live on these processed sugar snacks. Which is why I was even more excited to find out these aren’t very high in sugar (minus the frosting of course), and the ingredients are so pure and straight to the point. None of those ingredients you read and question what the heck they are- or if they're even edible since you can’t pronounce them!
I encourage you to get as creative as you can, maybe filling with some peanut butter, or Nutella, or fluff- plus topping them with every fun topping combo under the sun. The possibilities are endless… ENDLESS! If you are still a little kid at heart (like me), get baking and ENJOY! xx S.
I N G R E D I E N T S:
- 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, cubed
- 1 tsp organic cane sugar
- 1/2 tsp of vanilla extract
- Pinch salt!
- 2 Eggs, separated & beaten
- Jam to fill (or anything you desire if you wanna get extra creative!)
- Powdered sugar + water, for frosting!
- Fun toppings! (I used coconut flakes, sprinkles, pistachios & toasted almonds)
TO BEGIN: In a large food processor or Kitchen Aid, add flour, butter, cane sugar, vanilla & salt. Mix and combine until butter is in even smaller pieces, but not totally dissolved into the mix. Next, add 1 egg and continue to mix until dough forms. I ended up adding a little under a 1/4 cup of water because my dough was crumbly, so try adding a little water at a time if you find the same problem. Now, with your hands works to combine and roll into 2 balls. Cover in plastic wrap and put in the fridge for about 30 minutes.
ROLLIN': After 30 minutes, take out one ball of dough and roll out into extremely thin sheets (in small portions so you don't wear yourself out). Don't be scared to work with and add a generous amount of flour here as you go! I added a little flour as I went so they didn't get too sticky and cling to my rolling pin. They need to be a littttle bit thicker than a piece of paper, because when cooking they'll puff slightly, and remember there are 2 layered in 1 pop-tart, so you don't want them too thick. Next, measure and cut rectangles in the rolled out dough to about 3 x 4 inches in size. (At this step, I got about 14 nice size rectangles, even though original recipe estimate about 16 for the entire ball of dough, so it really depends how thin you roll them out!).
ASSEMBLE!: Next, put your beautifully cut rectangles in the freezer for just about 5-7 minutes. They will harden up a lot and be MUCH easier to work with. At this stage, preheat your over to 350° degrees Fahrenheit! After they've been in the freezer, take about a teaspoon of jam and plop in the center of one rectangle, spread but not too close to the edges, and place another rectangle on top. Press around the edges with a fork to seal, and poke a few holes in the top middle for ventilation! Place your cute little pop-tarts in the freezer for another 5 minutes.
COOKIN: Remove from freezer and move to a baking sheet. Take the other beaten egg, and brush the surface of each pop-tart lightly with the egg wash. Pop in the oven for about 20-25 minutes, until slightly golden. Mmmm remove and eat when burning hot, or let cool to decorate.
DECORATE & ENJOY!: Once cooled, add a heaping scoop of powdered sugar in a bowl, and slowly add water while mixing until desired frosting consistency. Add some food dye if you're feeling extra decorative! Glaze over the pop-tarts, and top with your favorite toppings! I toasted some coconut flakes and almonds , crushed pistachios, and Let's Do Organic Sprinkelz on my pop-tarts. Enjoy and please share what you've created, with ME!
*Note: Because this recipe makes enough for A LOT of pop-tarts, the above instructions applied to only half the dough. If you have the time (and arm strength) to roll out the other half of dough, & continue to make more! Or if you didn't have enough dough when rolling out your rectangles the first round, take the other half outta the fridge and add to what you have. :)