Homemade Pop-Tarts

Pop-Tarts.

There are few things I loved more as a kid (or a poor college student) as I loved pop-tarts. K-D maybe….but seriously, POP-TARTS. So good. They were my after school snack for years. They’re fun, especially if you’ve got little ones, and they’re really easy to make. If you’ve made a pie from scratch before, then you can most definitely do this.

Makes 8

Ingredients

Dough

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

2 tablespoons white sugar

1 tsp salt

2 sticks frozen butter

12 tbsp. ice water

Filling

Honestly, go nuts. Jams work well, but you can fill these with so many things. Sweet, savory…the world’s your oyster.

**For the pop tarts pictured, I used 2/3 blueberry jam to 1/3 peanut butter per tart.

Icing

1 cup icing sugar

1 tbsp blueberry jam

1 – 2 tbsp milk

*see instructions below

Combine flour, salt, & sugar in a large bowl. Using a box grater, grate the frozen butter into the flour. Using the tips of your fingers, mix the butter into the flour. Add ice water, and gently mix until it all comes together in a ball. (you can also do this in a food processor.)

Divide your dough in half, wrap in plastic wrap, flatten into a disk, and chill in the fridge for half an hour (or overnight). 

Remove from the fridge and allow to warm slightly, until it becomes workable. Place one piece on a lightly floured work surface, and roll it into a rectangle about 1/8″ thick, large enough that you can trim it to an even 9″ x 12″. [You can use a 9″ x 13″ pan, laid on top, as guidance.] Repeat with the second piece of dough. Set trimmings aside. Cut each piece of dough into thirds – you’ll form nine 3″ x 4″ rectangles.

Beat the additional egg and brush it over the entire surface of the first dough. This will be the “inside” of the tart; the egg is to help glue the lid on. Place a heaping tablespoon of filling into the center of each rectangle, keeping a bare 1/2-inch perimeter around it. Place a second rectangle of dough atop the first, using your fingertips to press firmly around the pocket of filling, sealing the dough well on all sides. Press the tines of a fork all around the edge of the rectangle. Repeat with remaining tarts.

Gently place the tarts on a lightly greased or parchment-lined baking sheet. Prick the top of each tart multiple times with a fork; you want to make sure steam can escape, or the tarts will become billowy pillows rather than flat toaster pastries. Refrigerate the tarts (they don’t need to be covered) for 30 minutes, while you preheat your oven to 350°F.

Bake for 20 – 25 minutes until nice and golden. Cool on a rack. When cool, ice and enjoy.

Icing

In a medium bowl, combine icing sugar and blueberry jam. Add 1 tbsp of milk, and whisk together. Depending on your preference (and how wet the jam is) add another tbsp of milk to loosen the icing.

*Recipe love from Smitten Kitchen*