I’ve had the last three days off from work and let me tell ya, I still spent the majority of my time in my own kitchen cooking up some sweet stuff! Not complaining though, cooking is my happy place! Especially when I avoid any cooking fails!I’ve really been thinking about what kind of sweets to make for Valentine’s day. Valentine’s isn’t only celebrated with couples, it’s one of those days you want to share your love for whoever is around! So with that in mind, I put together a recipe for Cherry Pop Tarts! Parents, these would be perfect for you to make for your little one. What kid doesn’t like pop tarts? I can remember a time in high school where my diet consisted primarily of pop tarts, and I’m pretty sure every person raised in the 90’s has that same memory. Talk about the perfect snack.. They’re portable, came two in a pack, and hot or cold- they were always delicious. Just don’t come to me with the “unfrosted” pop tart- I mean.. WHAT IS THAT ABOUT? Unacceptable.
Cherry Pop TartsYield 8-10 pop tartsPastry doughFlour 2 cupsSugar 1 TSalt 1 tspButter 1 cup (8 oz.)Egg 1Milk 2 TCherry JamFrozen Cherries 1 lb.Sugar 1 cupLemon Juice 1 TLemon zest 1 tspIcingPowdered sugar 1 cupMilk 2 TCorn syrup 1 TSprinkles Additional egg for egg wash Directions:First, make the cherry jam. Combine frozen cherries, sugar, lemon juice, and zest in a medium size sauce pot. Turn heat on medium high heat and cook the cherries down for about 30-35 minutes. There should be some juices – and that’s what you want. Be careful not to over cook because the jam goes from amazing to burnt to hell very quickly! I timed my cherries to exactly 35 minutes.Next, put the cherries in a blender or food processor and pulse a couple of times. You want the jam chunky but not pureed.Scoop the jam into a bowl, and let it cool down for about 1-2 hours.Next, make the pastry dough. All you need to do is dump each ingredient into a food processor and pulse until dough forms a ball. Or you can do it with a pastry cutter.Wrap the dough in plastic and chill for 30 minutes.Once dough is chilled and jam is cooled, turn oven on to 350 degrees F (175 C).Dust your work surface with some flour and roll the dough out to 1/8” thickness. Try as best as you can to roll into a square or rectangular shape. Next, take a ruler and a pizza cutter to cut 2”x3” rectangles. Discard extra dough.You should get somewhere between 16-20 rectangles. On a cookie tray fitted with a piece of parchment paper, place half of the rectangles 1 inch apart from each other.Make egg wash by mixing 1 egg with 2 T of water. Whisk well.Next, brush egg wash around the perimeter of the pastry. Fill each center with 1 T of cherry jam. Spoon the jam around the pastry ½” from the edge.Place the top half on each pastry, and crimp the sides with a fork. Do this for each pastry.Bake for 12 minutes, rotate, then another 12 minutes.Cool for 1 hour.To make the glaze, combine sifted powdered sugar with the corn syrup and milk. Spoon on the tops of each pastry. If you’d like to make the heart, add red food color to your remaining glaze, and pipe on the heart. Otherwise, you can just top with some sprinkles! Enjoy!
Cherry Pop Tarts
Homemade pop tarts with cherry jam
Author: Saura Madani
Ingredients
Pastry Dough
- 2 cups flour
- 1 Tbsp sugar
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 cup butter, cold
- 1 egg
- 2 Tbsp milk
Cherry Jam
- 1 lb. frozen cherries
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 Tbsp lemon juice
- 1 tsp lemon zest
Icing
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 2 Tbsp milk
- 1 Tbsp corn syrup
- sprinkles (opt)
Egg Wash
- 1 egg
- 2 Tbsp water
Instructions
- First, make the cherry jam. Combine frozen cherries, sugar, lemon juice, and zest in a medium size sauce pot. Turn heat on medium high heat and cook the cherries down for about 30-35 minutes. There should be some juices – and that’s what you want. Be careful not to over cook because the jam goes from amazing to burnt to hell very quickly! I timed my cherries to exactly 35 minutes.
- Next, put the cherries in a blender or food processor and pulse a couple of times. You want the jam chunky but not pureed.
- Scoop the jam into a bowl, and let it cool down for about 1-2 hours.
- Next, make the pastry dough. All you need to do is dump each ingredient into a food processor and pulse until dough forms a ball. Or you can do it with a pastry cutter.
- Wrap the dough in plastic and chill for 30 minutes.
- Once dough is chilled and jam is cooled, turn oven on to 350 degrees F (175 C).
- Dust your work surface with some flour and roll the dough out to 1/8” thickness. Try as best as you can to roll into a square or rectangular shape. Next, take a ruler and a pizza cutter to cut 2”x3” rectangles. Discard extra dough.
- You should get somewhere between 16-20 rectangles. On a cookie tray fitted with a piece of parchment paper, place half of the rectangles 1 inch apart from each other.
- Make egg wash by mixing 1 egg with 2 T of water. Whisk well.
- Next, brush egg wash around the perimeter of the pastry. Fill each center with 1 T of cherry jam. Spoon the jam around the pastry ½” from the edge.
- Place the top half on each pastry, and crimp the sides with a fork. Do this for each pastry.
- Bake for 12 minutes, rotate, then another 12 minutes.
- Cool for 1 hour.
- To make the glaze, combine sifted powdered sugar with the corn syrup and milk. Spoon on the tops of each pastry. If you’d like to make the heart, add red food color to your remaining glaze, and pipe on the heart. Otherwise, you can just top with some sprinkles! Enjoy!
