Two for Tuesday Home-Cooking - Homemade Pop Tarts

I try to do as much of my cooking from scratch as I can. I've had people ask me why when there as fast, easier ways. Well, for one it is MUCH cheaper. Two, I know what my family is eating. There are so many fillers, additives, sugars, dyes and goodness knows what else added to prepackaged foods. Now, this doesn't mean that mean that we are health guru's. I still make sweets for my family. With this, I've decided to have Two for Tuesday Home-Cooking. Make some for now, and store some for later.

I help admin a homeschooling sensory support group on facebook. A few weeks ago we had several members asking about different types of food diets for our sensory kiddos. A dear friend shared some of her son's favorite things and posted a recipe for homemade pop tarts. Thinking of all the additives and dyes that are in the store bough pop tarts, I asked the girls what they thought, as it is not something we buy. They were all very eager to try them, and so tonight we gave them a try. While pop tarts are not a healthy snack, by making them homemade instead of store bought - we at least know what is in them.

Yang making the crust

We didn't have any canned preserves on hand so we did have to do with store bought. However, we went with a sugar free preserve (not jelly).

Adding the strawberry preserves.

Crimping the edges with a fork.

Yes, I know that is a lot of flour! I bake a lot of things from scratch - biscuits (well, I send the ingredients to my mom for her to make them), pancakes, chicken potpie, pretzels, breads, pizza dough and more.

Homemade Pop Tarts from my dear from C

Pie Crust
1 1/2 cups sifted flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup shortening
1/4 cup unsalted butter
3 tablespoons cold water

Filling
Use any preserve or jam of your choice.

Glaze
1 cup powered sugar
Milk to thin

Preheat oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit.

Combine flour and salt in a bowl. Add shortening and butter, blending with a pastry cutter, fork or your fingers until you have a fairly coarse mixture. Add one tablespoon of water at a time, gently mixing after each addition until dough forms a ball. Be careful not to overwork the dough. Place dough on a floured surface and roll out into a square or rectangle. Cut out stripes about 2 inches wide and 3 inches long, repeating until you have used all your dough.

Fill one square with approximately 1 teaspoon of preserve/jam (add more or less depending on preference), careful not to overfill. Cover with another pie crust square and firmly press all side together. Take a fork and crimp around the edges. Score the top to help prevent leakage. Place on cookie sheet and cover with parchment paper/wax paper. Place in oven and bake for approximately 7-8 minutes, or until slightly brown. If you would like to eat immediately cook until desired shade of brown has been achieved. Otherwise, set aside to cool. Once cooled, add the glaze (and sprinkles if you'd like).

We poured our glaze on after removing from the oven and the girls immediately enjoyed their pop tarts.

Store in individual freeze bags and freeze until ready to eat. If you plan to store, I would add the glaze after reheating.

Share your pictures our experience making these pop tarts in the comments below or on our facebook page. Is there something in particular you've been looking to make from scratch, but have been hesitant - or don't have a recipe? Let me know and I'll see about giving it a whirl.

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