A little homemade pop

When I saw the recipe for homemade pop tarts on SmittenKitchen.com, I almost jumped for joy. My husband ADORES pop tarts, but I just can't stomach paying $4 a box for six unhealthy pastries, so for me, this recipe was a life saver.

Reading the recipe for these delectable treats didn't seem like it would take that long, so I dove in to baking my first recipe in my new kitchen. Fun fact-my new kitchen is about half the size of the one in my Georgia townhouse and as if that wasn't hard enough to swallow, it's a mile up in the air. Talk about confusing ingredient measurements.

My beautiful, roomy kitchen in Georgia

The new situation

Anyways, These pop tarts are a delicious and healthier option than the store-bought, cardboard cousins. If you need to save a little time, these beauties can be made with store bought pie crust (which I will most likely do next time).

Pastry ingredients:
*1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
*1/2 cup wheat flour
*1 tblsp sugar
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into pats (1/2 inch slices)
1 large egg
2 tblsps milk

Cinnamon Filling (enough for 9 pastries)
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 to 1 1/2 tsps ground cinnamon, to taste
4 tsp all-purpose flour
1 large egg, to brush on pastry before filling (like glue)
To make the delicious cinnamon filling: Whisk together the sugar, cinnamon, and flour.

I also filled some of them with chocolate chips and a big ol' heap of Nutella. YUM!

*Whisk together the flour, sugar, and salt. Work in the butter with your fingers until pea-sized lumps of butter are still visible, and the mixture stays together when you squish it.
*Whisk egg and milk together and stir them into the lumpy dough, mixing just until everything is combined.


*Divide the dough in half, shape each half into a smooth rectangle, into about a 3X5 inch notecard shape.

Tart assembly: Place one block of dough on a lightly floured surface and roll it into a rectangle about 1/8″ thick, large enough that you can trim it to an even 9″ x 12″. (I used a 9X13" for measurement). Repeat with the second block of dough. Cut each piece of dough into thirds (You will cut 9 3X4" squares). Beat an additional egg and brush it over one of the slabs of dough.

Place a tablespoon of filling on the egg brushed dough, spread over the dough leaving a 1/2" space around. Place the "lids on the filled dough and press dough closed with fingers. Take a fork and press the dough together to close and poke holes in the top of the tarts so air can escape.

*Refrigerate tarts for 30 minutes and pre-heat oven to 350*.
*Remove pastries from the fridge and bake them for 20 to 25 minutes, until they’re a light golden brown. Cool in pan on rack (OR eat one as soon as they come out of the oven like I did).