Homemade Raspberry Pop Tarts

I have been wanting to try making homemade pop tarts for a while now and finally got around to making them the other day. These pop tarts were another special treat I made for my boyfriend on his birthday last week and he just finished the last of them today.

After making the basic pastry dough recipe, the possibilities become endless as to what you can fill the pop tarts with. I chose to fill these ones with organic raspberry jam that I had in my fridge, but you can fill them with any jam you have on hand.

I recommend assembling the pop tarts the night before you plan on eating them. They can take a little bit of time to roll out and put together, and your family may get a little too hungry and impatient if you put them together the morning of.

These were a huge hit at my house. My boyfriend was eating 2 every morning until we finally ran out. This recipe gives you a good amount of pop tarts that will keep your family very satisfied for a couple of days.

I decided to drizzle fresh local honey onto these pop tarts, but you can definitely make a glaze with some milk and powdered sugar. If you do have local honey on hand though, I definitely recommend drizzling that on top of the flaky and buttery pastry dough. 

You and your family are going to become addicted to these sweet, buttery and delicious pop tarts. I highly doubt you'll ever eat a store bought pop tart again after trying a homemade one fresh out of the oven. Enjoy!

Homemade Raspberry Pop Tarts:
(recipe adapted from: http://www.browneyedbaker.com)

2 cups all purpose flour
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
1 teaspoon salt
2 sticks unsalted butter, cold and diced
1 egg
2 tablespoons almond milk
raspberry jam (or whatever flavor jam you want to use)

1. In a large bowl whisk together the flour, sugar and salt. Add in the butter and using either a pastry cutter or your fingers work the butter into the flour until the mixture becomes the texture of coarse sand.
2. Whisk together the egg and milk and add to the dough.
3. Mix the dough together with a fork until the egg and milk are incorporated and turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Briefly knead the dough until it comes together.
4. Divide the dough in half and flatten into 2 rounds. Wrap each round in plastic wrap and let chill in the fridge from 2 hours to up to 2 days. Once chilled, let the dough sit out for about 10 minutes before rolling it out.
5. Roll out the dough rounds out into thin large rectangles on a lightly floured surface. Cut down the middle of the rectangles and then cut out smaller rectangles to form the tops and bottoms of the pop tarts.
6. Put about 1 tablespoon of the jam onto one rectangle and slightly spread out. Do not spread the jam to the edges. Top that rectangle with another and press down the edges with a fork. Make a few holes in the top rectangle with the fork, not letting the fork go through to the bottom rectangle. Repeat with the remaining rectangles of pastry dough to make about 8 pop tarts.
7. Preheat the oven to 400°. Place the pop tarts on a parchment lined baking sheet and lightly brush with some almond milk. Bake for 15-20 minutes, until the tops are golden brown. Drizzle the pop tarts with honey or some powdered sugar mixed with a little bit of milk and devour!