Homemade Toaster Pastries

Adapted from King Arthur Flour

Makes 12 pastries

As with SpaghettiOs and pasta, it took me decades to realize that Pop Tarts were trying to be pie. And since the pastries in this recipe are made with homemade, flaky pie crust, they aren’t really like Pop Tarts at all. But they are very good. And they do give you an excuse to eat pie crust for breakfast.

I had a surplus of whole wheat pastry flour (which is probably a me-specific issue), so that’s what I used. But you can make them with all white flour – just follow the link for the original King Arthur Flour recipe above. I’m also including recipes for homemade berry jam filling and pumpkin filling. A full recipe of either will fill all the pastries. But you could also just fill them with cinnamon and brown sugar, or add cornstarch to pre-made jam. Instructions for those fillings are in the original KAF recipe as well.

And finally, taste-tester Becca has reported that they do have one thing in common with Pop Tarts: They can be re-heated in the toaster.

Ingredients

Crust

• 1 cup all purpose flour
• 1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cups butter, cut into pats
• 1/4 cup full fat Greek yogurt
• 2 large eggs (one for the crust, one for the glaze)
• 2 tablespoons milk

Berry filling

• 12 ounces frozen berries (I used blueberries and strawberries)
• 1/2 cup sugar
• pinch salt
• 1-2 tablespoons lemon juice, to taste
• 2 tablespoons water
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch

Pumpkin filling

• 1 cup pumpkin puree
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon pumpkin spice, or 3/4 teaspoons cinnamon + 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger and a pinch of nutmeg
• pinch of salt

Instructions

1. To make the dough: Whisk flour, sugar and salt together in a large bowl. Add the butter pats and use the tips of your fingers to work them into the flour until the largest chunks are about the size of peas.
2. In a small bowl, whisk the egg, flour, milk and yogurt together. Add the dairy mixture to the flour butter mixture, and stir with a rubber spatula until the dough comes together in a ball.
3. Divide dough in half. Shape each half into a 4×4-ish square, and wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes, or up to 3 days. Let it rest for 15 minutes at room temp before you roll it out (You can also freeze it for up to 3 months.)
4. To make the berry filling: Put berries, sugar and salt in a medium saucepan. Heat over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until berries are softened and bubbling. Mash with the back of a spoon or potato masher to get rid of large chunks. Lower the heat and simmer until the mixture coats the back of a spoon – about 20 minutes. Add lemon juice to taste.
5. Stir cornstarch and water together in a small bowl, then add to berry mixture. Simmer until thickened – about one minute. remove from heat and let cool completely.
6. To make the pumpkin filling: Mix all ingredients together in a small bowl
7. To assemble the pastries: Flour your work space like you mean it, and roll each piece of dough into two, equal-sized squares that are a little less than 1/8″ thick. I got my squares to be about 13″x13″.
8. Lay one dough square on a baking sheet and stick it in the fridge. Score the other dough square with three, equally spaced lines going one way, and four equally spaced lines going the other to make 12 rectangles.
9. Beat the egg, and brush it all over the dough. Put a heaping tablespoon of filling at the center of each rectangle, then spread the filling out towards the edges of each rectangle, leaving about a half-inch border on all sides.
10. Take the other dough square out of the fridge and carefully lay it on top of the first dough square and filling. Gently press around each pocket of filling. Cut in between the filling pockets to make 12 tarts. Press around the edges of each tart with the tines of a fork to seal.
11. Transfer the tarts to a parchment-lined baking sheet. Prick each one with a fork a few times to let steam escape. Brush the tops of all of them with the remaining beaten egg. Sprinkle with raw sugar if desired. Chill, uncovered, for 30 minutes.
12. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
13. Bake the tarts for 20-25 minutes until they are golden brown. Cool in the pan.
14. Store at room temp for up to three days, or freeze for up to a month.