Saturday, August 24, 2013

Homemade Pop-Tarts


Hey foodies and friends! Welcome to our Breakfast Saturday entry. I was inspired to do this recipe because of our grocery trip this past Thursday. My big sister, big brother, and I went shopping at our local Walmart. As we were going down one of their thousands of isles, we spotted roughly 20 to 30 HUGE boxes of pop-tarts. When I say HUGE, I mean like a 48 pack of them. Well, to our luck, they were in the wrong isle, with a wrong price tag. Walmart is pretty well known for honoring their flubs, so we brought the box up, showed the manager that the tag said $1.00 (Holy cow! Yes, $1.00!) and they honored it.

Now think about that with me. A box of like, 48 pop-tarts, normally $10.00. That would make each of them roughly 21 cents each. We got 48 for $1.00... Well, needless to say, my family will definitely enjoy the pastry goodness, but what would be even better than store-bought? Homemade. That's exactly what we will be making today. This recipe is longer, but well worth it when the tarts come out of the oven and you can slab on some butter and enjoy it! Okay, okay, I'm done chatting your ears off. I'm making my way into the kitchen. I invite you all to join me. I'll see you there!





Cinnamon Brown Sugar Pop-Tarts
Yields 9 Pastries





For the pastry:


  • 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, cold, cut into small chunks
  • 4 tablespoons ice water, plus more if needed



For the filling:


  • 1/2 cup brown sugar
  • 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
  • 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
  • 1 large egg, whisked with a tablespoon of water, to brush the pastries with



For the glaze:


  • 3/4 cup powdered sugar, sifted
  • 4 teaspoons milk, plus more as needed
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract




Ready?






  1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
  2. In the bowl of a food processor, combine the flour and salt; pulse a couple times to combine the ingredients. 
  3. Throw in the cold, diced butter, and pulse 10 more times or until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs, about the size of peas.
  4. With machine running, add ice water through the opening on top of the lid, in a slow, steady stream, one tablespoon at a time,  just until dough holds together without being wet or sticky. 
  5. It should form a ball and come away from the sides. 
  6. It is very important to  not over process the dough. A way to test the doug is by squeezing a small amount of dough together; if it is still dry and doesn't come together, add a bit more water, 1 tablespoon at a time. 
  7. Divide the dough in half, and place each half on a piece of plastic wrap. 
  8. Shape into disks and tightly wrap in plastic. 
  9. Place the disks in the refrigerator and chill for at least 1 hour or up to overnight.
  10. To assemble the toaster pastries: Remove the chilled dough from the refrigerator and allow it to thaw for a bit. This will help you roll out the dough, and make it easier to work with. 
  11. Place one piece on a lightly floured work surface, and roll it into a rectangle about 1/8 inch thick. 
  12. Trim the sides of the dough so that it measures 9×12 inches in size. 
  13. Repeat with the second piece of dough. 
  14. Cut each piece of dough into thirds and then each third into thirds again. 
  15. You should end up with 9 rectangular pieces, each measuring 3×4 inches.
  16. Beat the egg with a tablespoon of water and brush it over the entire surface of the first dough pieces. 
  17. This will be the “bottom” of the tart; the egg will help glue the lid on. 
  18. Place a heaping tablespoon of filling into the center of each rectangle, making sure to leave about 1/4 inch of space on the edge. Brush the second dough pieces with egg wash as well, and 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. 
  19. Crimp the edges with a fork all around the edge of each rectangle. 
  20. Gently place the tarts on a parchment-lined baking sheet. 
  21. Prick the top of each tart five times with a skewer or toothpick. 
  22. Brush the tops with extra egg wash. 
  23. Refrigerate the tarts, uncovered, for about 30 minutes. 
  24. Remove tarts from the fridge and bake for about 20-25 minutes or until they're golden brown, rotating the pan halfway through baking. 
  25. Let the tarts cool on the pan for about 5 minutes, and then transfer them to a cooling rack and allow them to cool completely before glazing.
  26. To make the glaze, mix all the ingredients together in a bowl until it reaches a spreading consistency. 
  27. It should be thick but not too thick. 
  28. Use a butter knife or offset spatula to glaze each tart. 
  29. Allow the glaze to harden before eating. 
  30. Enjoy






Thanks for joining me today. I hope you and your family and friends enjoy these delicious homemade pastries. I'll be back soon with another recipe for everyone. Have a great day, and happy blogging to all!