Raspberry Pop Tarts

March 18, 2011



Along with numerous other treats, pop tarts and toaster strudels were also on my childhood list of forbidden food. Instead I made due with toast, a scrambled egg, and a mashed up banana, which was a poor substitute for the gorgeous, colourful flaky pastries that were popping out of the kid's toasters on television. They looked so happy in their anticipation of waiting for their pop tart to pop. I, on the other hand, sulked as my mom or dad whisked the runny and, what I thought was disgusting at the time, egg, until it was chunky instead of runny. Whenever I asked why I couldn't have pop tarts or any other sugary bit of heaven, I always got the same classic parental response: "You should be grateful for what you have." or, even better, "You'll thank us when you're older and your teeth aren't falling out".

I still have the occasional nightmare about my teeth actually falling out, but since I've researched this (neurotic, anyone?) and discovered that it's a common phenomenon, I can't blame my parents. If it were not for growing up in a sweet-deprived household, I may not have fallen in love with baking. It would have been their anniversary earlier this month, and even though my dad is gone, I can't thank him, or my mom enough for such a healthy childhood, and for making me the baker of decidedly Unhealthy things today. :D


As you can see, I've made up for lost pastries. These pop tarts taste and look a lot more like toaster strudels. But I think the term 'pop tart' is more recognizable, so I'll stick with it. These were spectacular! The pastry is actually a pâte brisée, so you can already imagine how flaky and buttery it's going to be. You may use any filling you want. I went with raspberry jam, but feel free to experiment. If they were filled with dark chocolate, I'm quite sure that they would taste a bit similar to petit pain au chocolat...so if anyone decides to do this, please let me know! I'm just waiting for an excuse to make them again.


Raspberry Pop Tarts (adapted from Fine Cooking)Print

Pâte brisée ingredients
1 3/4 cups of all-purpose flour
1 1/2 Tablespoons of sugar
1 teaspoon of salt
1 cup (that's 2 sticks) of cold unsalted butter, cut into bits [Note: I cut the butter up the night before and let it freeze overnight]
2 egg yolks
3 Tablespoons of cold milk
1 egg, lightly beaten
about 1 cup of your favourite jam (I used raspberry)

Glaze ingredients
1 cup of confectioners sugar
1/4 teaspoon of pure vanilla extract
2-3 Tablespoons of buttermilk [Note: cream or milk can also be used]

Method
Prepare the pâte brisée: Place the flour, sugar, and salt into a food processor. Pulse to combine. Scatter the pieces of butter on top of the flour mixture. Using quick bursts, pulse until the mixture becomes crumbly (you should see pieces the size of oatmeal and peas).
In a separate small bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and milk.
Using Tablespoon-sized increments, add the egg mixture to the butter mixture. Pulsing briefly between each addition. Once everything has been added, pulse for about 8 seconds, until the dough barely comes together.
Dump the dough onto a lightly floured surface and gently work it together until all the crumbly pieces which escaped the blade, are incorporated into the dough. Knead a few more times until it becomes cohesive. [Note: you should still be able to see bits and streaks of butter in the dough.]
Flatten the dough into a disk, wrap up tightly, and refrigerate for at least 6 hours or overnight.
Preheat the oven to 350F. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper
Remove the dough from the refrigerator and divide it in half.
On a lightly floured surface, roll each half into a 14x11-inch rectangle. [Note: I couldn't get mine near that length, so I just rolled out a rectangle that was about 10x7] Repeat with the other half of dough.
Using a sharp knife, cut each rectangle into smaller 3 1/2 x 5 1/2-inch rectangles.[Note: Since my original rectangles were smaller, I cut them into 2 1/2 x 4 1/2 pieces]
Brush half the rectangles with the egg. Spoon about 2 Tablespoons of jam into the center of the egg-brushed rectangles [Note: Use less jam if your rectangles are smaller].
Lay the leftover pieces of dough on top of the jam, try to keep the edges aligned. Using your fingertips, press the pieces together. The egg will act as a glue, helping to make them stick.
Dip a fork in some flour and make a decorative edge around each pastry. Brush some egg on the finished surface of each one.
Leaving about 2-inches of space between each one, place the pastries on the cookie sheet and bake for 40-45 minutes, or until golden brown. Cool completely before adding the glaze.
Prepare the glaze: In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together the sugar, vanilla, and just enough of the buttermilk to make the glaze smooth and pourable.
Using a whisk or the tines of a fork, drizzle the glaze over the cool pastries.

Depending on how large you make them, this yields about 6-8 pop tarts. Do Not place these in a toaster! :D

16 comments:

  1. Oo, these remind me of Toaster Streudels! They look so fluffy and good, I've never made pate brisee and it sounds a little intimidating, but I'll have to try these out!

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  2. OMG These raspberry tarts are awesome!!! absolutely nice, love raspberries, gloria

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  3. your pop tarts look yummier than the real thing...lovely!

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  4. This looks way to good to call it a pop tart.
    Mimi

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  5. They look mouthwatering! I love the smell of anything in the oven, but there is something special about the fragrance of pastry baking. I would choose these poptarts over storebought ones anyday.

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  6. Wow, I HAVE to make these, looks scrumptious!!

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  7. Absolutely mouthwatering! These would make my morning coffee so much more satisfying! I never got pop tarts either as a child (though there was no shortage of sweet stuff at my house). When I did try them, I didn't like them because the 'pastry' was awful. Yours looks so flaky and perfect, like what I imagined a pop tart would be when I was a child.

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  8. These do look fantastic and they surely leave real Pop Tarts in the dust. I appreciate that you used such a nice homemade dough, and didn't resort to frozen puff pastry, like so many recipes do. The homemade pastry makes these so much more appealing. Beautiful!

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  9. Pop-Tarts were a rare treat for me as a kid, too. These actually look much better than the real thing -- which, I must admit, are still an occasional treat!

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  10. Your pictures are amazing. The one of the inside does look like a toaster streudel, which I think is a good thing, because I love toaster streudels! I have copied down several recipes for pop tarts that I have seen on various blogs that I wanted to try, but I think I will have to discard those ones and try this one first, because it looks way too good to pass up.

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  11. These look absolutely marvelous, Valerie! I will bet I haven't had an actual Pop Tart in 25 years...but now I am tempted to make your recipe so I can relive the Pop Tart experience, but with a far superior homemade product! Thanks for sharing the recipe.

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  12. Wowzerz! These look so awesome, Valerie. I wish I could have one right now with some coffee. Ooh, that would be nice...yes. Oh, and they do look like a marriage between a pop tart and a strudel, which sounds better than one or the other;-)

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  13. These look soo flaky and perfect. Totally bookmarked. I've never made a pop tart, probably because the packaged ones just don't seem to appealing to me! But I'm pretty sure I'd love these homemade ones.

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  14. tried to make this today and it did not work out at all the dough was way too stick i made the exact recipe i dont know what happened

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  15. Hi, Anon
    I'm so sorry this didn't work out for you. If you live in a warmer climate, particularly one with heavy humidity, it may have caused the dough to be fussy and sticky. During the summer, I sometimes have trouble with doughs that need to be rolled out. If you want to attempt this again, try tossing the dough back into the fridge from time to time, and maybe increase the initial chill period to 8 hours (instead of 6.) Also, don't worry if the pop tarts are not perfect squares, in a well-floured surface, just patting the dough into a roughly-shaped rectangles should yield equally delicious results. :)

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  16. for a breakfast it's a very good, fresh and tasty dessert, easy and fast to prepare and eat :)

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Thanks for visiting, and for taking the time to read through my ramblings!
If you have a recipe comment or question, I'd love to hear from you.

Happy Baking!
♥ Valerie

 

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