Homemade Pop-Tarts Revisited

A couple years ago I shared a "Homemade" Pop-Tart Recipe that was good, but was just as unhealthy as the box... here is one made from scratch with all natural ingredients. 

Crust:
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus extra for rolling 
1 cup (2 sticks or 8 ounces) unsalted butter, very-cold, cut into 1/2 inch cubes 
1 teaspoon salt 
1 teaspoon sugar 
6 to 8 Tbsp ice water

Combine flour, salt, and sugar in a food processor; pulse to mix. Add butter and pulse 6 to 8 times, until mixture resembles coarse meal, with pea size pieces of butter. Add ice water 1 Tbsp at a time, pulsing until mixture just begins to clump together. If you pinch some of the crumbly dough and it holds together, it's ready. If the dough doesn't hold together, add a little more water and pulse again. Note that too much water will make the crust tough. Pour out onto a floured counter. Hand knead until it is smooth. Sprinkle a little flour around the disks. Wrap each disk in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 1 hour, and up to 2 days. Let sit at room temperature for 5-10 minutes in order to soften just enough to make rolling out a bit easier. Roll out with a rolling pin on a flour dusted surface to a large rectangle about 1/8 of an inch thick. As you roll out the dough, check if the dough is sticking to the surface below. If necessary, add a few sprinkles of flour under the dough to keep the dough from sticking. 

For the filling make your favorite pie filling, whatever it is, and once it's all set up and ready to go, blend it in a blender or food processor, then strain through a mesh strainer to get all the chunks out.

A couple options are:

Cherry:

4 cups pitted tart red cherries

1/4 cup cornstarch

1 cup white sugar 

Simmer Cherries 10-15 minutes, In a bowl, whisk the sugar with cornstarch until smooth; pour the mixture into the hot cherries and juice, and thoroughly combine. Return to low heat, bring to a simmer, and cook until the filling has thickened, about 2 minutes; remove from heat, let cool, and use as pie filling.

Apple: 

3-2/3 cups thinly sliced apples 

1-3/4 teaspoons lemon juice

3/4 cup and 2 tablespoons and 1 teaspoon white sugar
3 tablespoons and 1/2 teaspoon cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 cups water

In a large bowl, toss apples with lemon juice and set aside. Pour water into a Dutch oven over medium heat. Combine sugar, cornstarch, cinnamon, salt and nutmeg. Add to water, stir well, and bring to a boil. Boil for 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Add apples and return to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer until apples are tender, about 6 to 8 minutes. Cool for 30 minutes. 

Blueberry:
3 pints fresh blueberries
1/4 cup white sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon (optional)
1/4 cup water
2 tablespoons cold butter, cut into pieces
1 pint fresh blueberries

Cook and stir 3 pints blueberries, sugar, cornstarch, and cinnamon in a saucepan with water over medium-low heat until sugar is dissolved and mixture is slightly thickened, 10 to 15 minutes. Remove saucepan from heat and add butter and remaining 1 pint blueberries. Allow to cool.

Cut dough into pop-tart sized pieces and place some filling in the center of 1/2. Place a non-filled piece on top and use a fork to seal the edges.  Transfer to a baking sheet. Bake pop-tarts in an oven preheated to 350 degrees for 8-10 minutes, or just until the edges begin to brown.

If you want glaze for your pop-tarts, it is super simple:

Glaze

1 c. powdered sugar
1 T. milk
1/2 tsp. vanilla


You can even finish them off with some homemade Sugar Sprinkles. 

I haven't dealt with storing these yet as they tend to go fast in my house, but if I ever do I will be sure to share. Since the ingredients are very "pie" like, I would assume you could just store in an airtight container and reheat if you want. Enjoy!


Just remember, with planning and organization, you CAN do it all.