Homemade Pop Tarts
Homemade Pop Tarts are nothing like the store-bought ones. These little gems are buttery and flaky. I filled some with strawberry jam and others with pear jam. You can use any favorite jam; Nutella with mini marshmallows would also be good. This is a small recipe but can easily be doubled or tripled.
Homemade Pop Tarts are nothing like the store-bought ones. These little gems are buttery and flaky. I filled some with strawberry jam and others with pear jam. You can use any favorite jam; Nutella with mini marshmallows would also be good. This is a small recipe but can easily be doubled or tripled.
- Carbohydrate 48.874071000026 g
- Cholesterol 73.2075000932804 mg
- Fat 27.6222010351906 g
- Fiber 0.064250001335144 g
- Protein 0.311240000368783 g
- Saturated Fat 17.4914620222866 g
- Serving Size 1 1 Serving (86g)
- Sodium 546.746400249905 mg
- Sugar 48.8098209986909 g
- Trans Fat 1.93460500246347 g
- Calories 434 calories
Step-by-step
- In a bowl whisk together the dry ingredients. I used a food processor to make this dough, but both methods work fine.
- With a pastry blender cut in the chilled butter till it's the size of peas.
- Add the cold water a tablespoon at a time till the dough comes together.
- Form the dough into a ball and wrap in plastic wrap, pressing down into a disk. Refrigerate for 1 hour.
- Roll out into a rectangle and cut approx 3" by 5 " pieces. Place jam on the center of a cut piece of dough, top with another piece and seal the edges with the tines of a fork dipped in flour.
- Bake on a parchment lined pan at 375º for 25 to 30 minutes. I baked mine for 27 minutes.
- Let cool.
- You can leave them plain or ice them with your favorite frosting and top with sprinkles.
Rolling pastry dough directly on a warm countertop ensures butter melts prematurely, destroying the layered structure required for a flaky crust. Keeping butter chilled and cutting it strictly to the size of peas allows steam pockets to form during baking at 375 degrees Fahrenheit. A food processor speeds up the initial cutting phase, yet a manual pastry blender offers superior tactile feedback to prevent overworking the gluten.
Managing Moisture and Fills
Adding ice-cold water precisely one tablespoon at a time prevents the flour from developing excessive elasticity. High-sugar fillings like strawberry jam or pear jam require conservative rationing; overfilling causes boiling preserves to rupture the sealed perimeter during the 25 to 30 minute bake time. Dipping fork tines in dry flour prior to crimping stops the dough from sticking to the metal.
- Chill the wrapped dough disk for a full 60 minutes to relax gluten strands before rolling.
- Prick the top crust with a sharp knife if excess steam accumulates, preventing internal blowouts.
- Cool pastries completely on a wire rack before applying any sugar-based icing to prevent melting.
