organic pop tarts

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Surprise your lover with an unusual homemade treat–organic fruit Pop Tarts paired with a cup of steaming hot chocolate or coffee. We’re all familiar with the store bought variety, but when has someone handed you their very own homemade version? You know its going to taste far superior to the box you find on the shelf at your grocer’s, so start cooking!  While pop tarts taste best served warm out of the oven, you can also bring them to your next outing. Unwrap this seductive pastry at an outdoor sports event, on a break while skiing, or while lounging in bed on a lazy Sunday morning.

Organic Pop Tarts
Recipe courtesy of Foreign Cinema: Chefs Gayle Pirie and John Clark

ripe_blueberries.jpgIngredients:

  • 1 cup all purpose flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon sugar
  • 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
  • 2 tablespoons cold water for mixing
  • 1 cup homemade preserves/jam from organic fruit such as apple, apricot, cherry, wild blueberry, cherry, mango or your favorite fruit flavor
  • Powdered sugar

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Place the flour in a bowl with the salt, sugar, and cut the butter into small pieces. Work the flour and butter together with your hands, until the mixture is well blended. Sprinkle the water over the mixture to smooth out the any small irregular clumps. Work the dough vigorously until it is relatively smooth. You may also use a food processor, if desired. Wrap in plastic and let the dough rest 30 minutes.

2. Roll out the tart dough on a cold lightly floured surface. The dough should be about 1/8″ inch thick. Cut rolled out dough into 3″ by 5″ shapes, using a postcard as a visual gauge. (For smaller tarts, simply use a smaller measurement.) Cut 8 rectangles, and use a pastry scraper to place 4 bottoms onto cookie sheet lined with parchment.

3. If you have the time to make homemade jam – go for it! If not you can use a high quality store bought jam.
Place 2 to 3 tablespoons of jam onto the center of each pastry of the 4 bottoms. Place the 4 pastry tops onto the jam centers, aligning the corners. Press the edges with a fork, until each tart is closed, working around the entire rectangle. (These may be prepared ahead of time and refrigerated or frozen.)

4. Bake for 25 minutes, or until the tarts are golden brown. Serve immediately with a sprinkling of powdered sugar.

Note: The filling varies on the time of year. Choose an organic store bought jam if you don’t have time to make your own.