I'm back! And I'm happy to be back! Thank you so much for being patient with me. The last few months have been busy since I've been working on a few large projects such as baking and packaging 350 chocolate chip cookies for a friend's wedding, organizing a bridal shower, and doing some freelance wedding and product photography.
You heard me, Homemade Pop Tarts! I've only had the commercial pop tarts once and after one bite, I couldn't finish it. They are loaded with sugar, artificial coloring, preservatives, and more refined sugar! From noticing how people love pop tarts, I wanted to make some homemade ones as a alternative to the sugar loaded commercial pop tart.
A few great things about this pop tart:
- You can choose whichever fruit preserve you are craving for in these cute tarts.
- It's 100% whole wheat, so it'll provide nourishment to your body
- Cute and portable
- Artificial coloring free, preservative free, and high fructose corn syrup free
Taste & Texture:
The crust is flaky, butter, and easy to bite into. The nutty flavor of the whole wheat flour is balanced by the sweetness and flavor of the filling.
Ingredients
- 2 cups (8.5 oz) whole wheat flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup (2 sticks) cold butter
- 1/4 cup water
- 2 eggs
- 1 tablespoon sugar
Filling
Fruit preserve or jam (Sugar-free/ High fructose corn syrup free), homemade cinnamon apple compote, the choices are limitless!
Method- Making the dough
- Cut up cold butter into pea sized pieces. Set aside.
- Whisk flour, salt, and sugar together in a bowl. Add butter and use pastry blender to rub the butter into the dry ingredients. A crumbly dough will start to form.
- In a clean bowl, whisk egg yolks and milk together until combined. Add this mixture into the flour-butter mixture. Mix with your hands until a dough starts to form. Knead dough onto a work surface until the dough comes together. During the kneading, smear the butter in the dough with the palm of your hands. This will help the dough come together.
- Divide the dough into two equal portions and wrap it with plastic wrap. Chill in the fridge for at least one hour.
Method- Assembling the tarts
- Preheat oven to 375F. Line baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Dusk work surface with flour to roll out one of the dough with a rolling pin. Leave second portion of dough in the fridge. Roll the dough out until it is about 1/8" inch. Dust dough, rolling pin, work surface as needed to prevent sticking.
- With a pizza cutter or knife, trim the dough into a rectangle. Then cut the rectangle into desired sized pop tarts. Recommended size: 3.5" x 4.5." With the dough scrapes, combine and roll it out to repeat step 1 and 2.
- Transfer the rectangles to prepared baking sheet. Allow a two inch space between each rectangle. with a fork, prick the rectangles. Then place baking sheet in the fridge.
- Take out second piece of dough from fridge and with it, repeat step 1 and 2. Then prick the dough with a fork. Set aside in the fridge. They can be stacked but dust it with flour to prevent sticking.
- Whisk an egg with some water (say 1 tablespoon) in a bowl. Set aside.
- Take out baking sheet with the prepared rectangles from fridge. Brush a thin coat of egg wash over each rectangle. Then spoon in 1 tablespoon of desired filling (jam/fruit preserve) into each rectangle. Spread the jam evenly but leave a 1 cm boarder around filling.
- Take out the other prepared rectangles from the fridge. Doing this one at a time, brush a thin coat of egg wash on the side without the prick marks. Then place it over the jam-covered rectangles. Press the edges to adere the sides. Repeat this for all jam-covered rectangles.
- With a fork, crimp the edges of the tart. You may need to dip the fork in flour to prevent it from sticking to the dough.
- Lightly brush each tart with egg wash for a shiny golden look.
- Bake these for 15-20 minutes at 375F. If you are not ready to bake them, store them in the fridge on the baking sheet until you are. Enjoy!
