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Easy Homemade Pop Tarts

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When I was a kid, my mom never bought store-bought cookies.

Actually, that’s a lie…I was chubby so she used to buy me cookies for diabetics (which I remember tasting oddly like cardboard), thinking they would make me skinny or something (?).  Strangely enough,  I probably ate more of them because I figured if I ate more, they would eventually taste good.

They didn’t.

But, once in a blue moon, she would buy Pop Tarts.  Not sure what weight loss tactic this was, but when I would see them in the shopping bags, I would eat 1/2 a box without even inhaling (insert sad face).  I remember them being sugar laden and really sweet…just what I needed after my box of diabetic goodies (not).

Fast forward 45 years, and Pop Tarts still taunt me when I pass them in the aisles. Not because I crave the store bought ones (because, honestly, they aren’t that fantastic), but because I like pie (insert happy face) and I know these treats are so easy to make.

Don’t believe me?  No, I won’t tell you to make pie crust (although, I will leave that for another post…it really is easy).  I made these ones for all of you who think everything needs to be made from scratch.  Start with store bought crust and bake away!

 

Ingredients:

1 pkg Tenderflake Pie Crusts (I chose this because I use Tenderflake lard in most of my pie crust).

1 eggs, beaten for egg wash

Nutella

Biscoff, (cookie spread…optional)

Good quality strawberry jam

Approx 5-6 diced strawberries (optional but awesome!)

Glaze:

1 1/2 c icing sugar, divided

2 tbsp peanut butter

2 tbsp strawberry jam

4 tbsp milk, divided

 

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1.  Yes, you are not seeing things…go buy frozen pie crust and defrost it on the counter for a few hours.

Heat the oven to 375 and line your baking sheet with parchment or a Silpat mat.

 

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2.  Lay the crusts out  flat on a floured surface and cut out circles with a cookie cutter (or a glass); you could even cut the rectangular pop tart shape freehand with a knife.

 

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3.  Take all of the scraps and re-roll them to get more cut-outs (careful to be gentle with the dough because handling it too much will cause it to get tough).

 

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4.  We are going to make both kinds evenly, but feel free to make all of one or the other or create your own (different kinds of jam, brown sugar and cinnamon, dulche de leche, banana, apple…you get the idea); spoon about 1 tsp of each Nutella nd Biscoff (or 2 tsp of one or the other) on half of the circles and then 1 tsp of jam and 1 tsp of diced berries on the other half.

 

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5.  Take the egg wash and brush the edges with it and top with the other circles; press the edges to seal.

6.  With a skewer, make a couple of slits in the tops to release the air as it cooks (so it doesn’t bubble up).

 

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7.  Take a fork and press down around the edge to really seal them.

 

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8.  Brush the tops with some extra egg wash to make them golden.

 

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8.  Bake for about 10-15 minutes until golden; remove to a cooling rack.

 

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Aren’t these beauteeeful???

9.  In 2 small bowls, put 3/4 icing sugar in each bowl.  In the first bowl, mix in the peanut butter and then whisk in 2 tbsp milk until creamy; in the other bowl, place the other 3/4 c icing sugar and add strawberry jam, 2 tbsp milk and stir to combine.

 

 

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10.  Drizzle tops with the glazes of each (for the strawberry, I used the back of a spoon to smooth it out and to the peanut butter, I added a bit more icing sugar to get it to an icing consistency and then I put it in a small ziplock bag, cut a hole in the tip and pied it on)…I even add red sprinkle to the strawberry ones to make them look like the real thing.

 

Now, take a bite and reminisce.

Tell me how you feel.

I know I feel happy that I can make these at home.

And that I don’t have to eat cardboard tasting diabetic cookies anymore.

🙂