Homemade Pop Tarts

“Pop Tarts” made freshly at home are phenomenal, there ‘s no comparison to the store-bought version!
When you make them for yourself you know exactly what goes into them, and their flaky, buttery crust that melts in your mouth will have you craving more.

Homemade Pop Tarts

Yields 9

Ingredients

Pastry:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cold and cubed
• 1 egg
• 1 1/2-2 tablespoons milk
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup jam or fruit preserves

Glaze:

• 1 splash water
• 1 egg
• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 2 tablespoons heavy cream
• 1 tablespoon strawberry jam
• red food coloring (1-2 drops; use sparingly to make pink frosting)
• candy sprinkles/decorating sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon lemon juice

Directions

1. In a medium bowl or food processor, sift together flour, sugar and salt. Use a pastry cutter or pulse to work in the cubed butter until you ‘ve got a crumbly, coarse mixture.
2. Beat together milk and 1 egg in a small bowl, then pour it into flour mixture and mix until dough just begins to come together.
3. Work dough with your hands until you ‘ve formed a ball of dough, turn it out onto a clean surface and divide it in half.
4. Roll each half into a ball and place each half on a piece of plastic wrap. Flatten each ball into a disc and tightly wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour. (Or freeze for up to 3 months.)
5. Preheat oven to 350 .
6. Remove both dough discs and roll them each out to a 9×12-inch rectangle on a lightly floured surface.
7. Use a ruler (or eyeball it) and pizza cutter or knife to cut out 9, equal rectangles from each disc, and transfer to a parchment paper-lined baking sheet.
8. Spoon 1-1 1/2 tablespoons jam onto the center of half the rectangles and top with remaining pieces of dough.
9. Seal or crimp edges of pop tarts with a fork. Then pierce the tops of all tarts with a fork to allow steam to escape while baking.
10. In a small bowl, beat together remaining egg with a splash of water and brush the tops of pop tarts so they have a nice glaze once they bake.
11. Place in oven and bake for 20-25 minutes, or until golden brown.
12. While pop tarts are in the oven, combine powdered sugar, cream, lemon juice and strawberry jam in a medium bowl.
13. Stir in food coloring until desired color is achieved and set aside.
14. Remove pop tarts from oven and let cool 10-15 minutes. Then drizzle glaze over the tops of them and sprinkle with decorating sugar or jimmies.
15. Serve immediately or let cool completely. Store in an airtight container for up to 5 days.

Recipe adapted from: 12 Tomatoes