Author Notes
I've recently seen some homemade pop tarts in magazines (like the April 2010 issue of Bon Appetit) and on food blogs (like Smitten Kitchen). I was a big fan of these as a child but haven't had one in years, so of course I wanted to make some. I tried the dough in the Bon Appetit article but found it to be too buttery (yes, there is such a thing). So I set out to create my own dough. After a couple of tries, I decided that the one below is my favorite. It's not at all terrible for you and it's really easy to work with. If you don't want to use spelt flour, you can try this with all purpose unbleached white flour or with whole wheat bread flour. As for the filling, I experimented with a few different strawberry jams, but the best one by far was Amanda's Preserved Strawberries with Chilies. If you're making these for kids or if you don't like the idea of spicy strawberry jam, though, feel free to use your favorite jam (Nutella is also good as a filling for these!). They're best a short time after they come out of the oven (though you can certainly reheat before serving). —WinnieAb
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Ingredients
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2 cups
spelt flour
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2 tablespoons
organic sugar
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pinch of sea salt
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1
stick organic unsalted butter
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1 cup
Greek yogurt or real buttermilk
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approximately 1 cup of strawberry jam (I used Amanda's Preserved Strawberries with Chilies)
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approximately 3 tablespoons of melted butter, for brushing the dough
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organic sugar for sprinkling the dough
Directions
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In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat all ingredients until the dough comes together. Divide dough in half, flatten each ball into a disc, and wrap in plastic or parchment paper. Chill several hours or overnight.
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Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper (or use a silpat). Flour your surface and roll one disc out into a large rectangle. Trim the edges (reserving the extra dough to roll out again with the next disc) so you have a rectangle that is approximately 9 or 10 inches by 12 inches. Cut the large rectangle into 8 smaller and equal rectangles.
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Place about 1 1/2 tablespoons of filling on each of 4 rectangles. Try not to just plop it right in the center- spread it down the length of each piece of dough (but keep it in the center, so that you can seal up the dough on all sides).
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Lay the other pieces of dough on top of the ones with the filling. Use your finger to press the edges down, then use the tines of a fork to press firmly around all the edges. It's important that the pop tarts are sealed well, so a lot of the jam doesn't come oozing out (a little might, and that's fine). Repeat with the other disc of dough so that you have 8 pop tarts.
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Poke a few holes into each pop tart with a fork or a toothpick and then arrange on your baking sheet. Place the pop tarts in the refrigerator for 30 minutes while you preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.
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Remove from the refrigerator and brush each pop tart with melted butter. Sprinkle each one all over with organic sugar.
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Bake the pop tarts for 20-25 minutes, until golden brown. Allow the pop tarts to cool on a rack before serving.
I grew up in a restaurant family (my parents owned the now closed Quilted Giraffe in NYC) and I've always loved to cook.
My interest in the connection between food and health led me to pursue a graduate degree in naturopathic medicine. I don't practice medicine anymore; I have a blog called Healthy Green Kitchen that I started in May of 2009 and I wrote a book called One Simple Change that will be published in January, 2014.
I live in upstate New York with my family and many pets.
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