Pop Tarts @ Home

I made pop tarts at home.

I got the idea from Meg (which I am assuming her name is Meg, since her blog is called Meg’s Everyday Indulgence).I hoped it would be a fun project to make with my kids and I also thought I could make the dough with the same recipe I used in my Hamantaschen cookies. Well, my kids thought it was okay. The younger one enjoyed adding the filling and pinching the sides, but it took a long time between that to roll the dough thin.  It was a serious work out for my arms. However, they came out very tasty.  A little on the doughy side despite us rolling the dough thin, but it reminding me of a pop tart even though it has been years since I ate one.

Making rectangles

Meg’s dough recipe might be easier to roll out, try both and see which one you like better.

Mascarpone and Pecan Filling

POP TARTS FROM SCRATCH

Dough from Chabad.org 

Ingredients: (could cut this recipe in half)

4 cups flour
4 eggs
3/4 cup sugar
1 cup margarine, softened
1 Tbsp. Orange juice (I had a carton, so used that)
2 tsp. Baking powder
1 tsp. Vanilla extract
Pinch of salt
1 tsp. Orange rind ( I used lemon zest)

Grease cookie sheets or use silpat.

Place all ingredients in a large mixer bowl and beat together. You may add a drop more juice or flour, depending on consistency of dough. Roll dough into a ball. Divide into four parts.  Roll dough thin.  Really thin…no thinner.  Phew.  Make a 9 x 12 rectangle and cut 3 x6 rectangles and place on cookie sheet.

Jelly Filling

Jelly Filling:

3/4 cup raspberry jam (any flavor will work)
1 Tbsp. cornstarch
1 Tbsp. water

Mix the water and cornstarch together and then add jelly and heat in small saucepan on stove till it boils.  Simmer for 2 minutes and remove from heat and allow to cool.

Pecan Mascarpone Filling:

1/4 c Pecans grounded (use a food processor or place in bag and beat with mallet)
2 Tbls of brown sugar (mix the nuts and sugar together)
5 Tbls of Mascarpone

Once you have several rectangles on your cookie sheet you can add the filling.  The nice thing about this dough is that it does not spread out much, so you can squeeze many tarts onto one sheet.

For the jelly filling we added about 1 tablespoon per tart keeping it in the middle.  For the pecan filling we smeared the cheese on the bottom and then sprinkled nuts on top.

Place another rectangle on top and smoosh the sides together and press with a fork. Repeat a few times to ensure it will stick.  Then prick* the top of tart a few times.Bake at 350 degrees F for about 15 minutes. Since there is no butter in the dough, they will not brown up. The next morning we placed them in the toaster just like the store-bought ones.  The jelly ones were terrific, but the mascarpone filled were disappointing.  I think a frosting with mascarpone would be much better.

YUM!

*In hindsight, wish we had made a different pattern on top of the jelly ones because it was challenging to tell the difference once they were baked.

For my readers who have gluten allergies, but think this could be a fun project I found this recipe.  The author states it is also free of nuts, dairy, soy, potato, and corn. The photos of her pop tarts are so pretty.