Do you know Pop-Tarts? The ready-made pastry for toasting from the US? In this post, I'll show you how to make Pop-Tarts yourself.
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Taste and Occasion
I must admit that I love them - although they combine almost everything I dislike: unnatural ingredients, a bunch of E-numbers, and masses of sugar. But: American Pop-Tarts taste soooo good.
The pastry was first introduced to the market in the US in the 1960s. There are lots of varieties of Pop-Tarts, I am particularly fond of Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough, S'Mores, Cookies & Cream, and Applestrudel. Suppose you want to buy Pop-Tarts in Germany. You can do so online, for example, but many supermarkets also have a few varieties on their shelves. That was different ten years ago.
Ingredients
For those who have never heard of them, here's what Pop-Tarts are: A pastry like an apple turnover, made of two shortbread-like layers instead of puff pastry. Pop-Tarts are flat and crispy. You can eat them right out of the package or make them warm. Either by toasting the Pop-Tarts or putting them in the microwave for a few seconds. If you're making my homemade Pop-Tarts recipe, you're better off leaving both 😉 . Anyway, the result doesn't only taste freshly baked but actually is. You don't get 100 percent the taste of the original. This is because I do not have ingredients like "partially hydrogenated cottonseed" or soybean oil in the kitchen. But I like the homemade Pop-Tarts better either way. In part because I love experimenting with the fillings.
How to make the Homemade Pop-Tarts
First of all, knead the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and butter in small pieces and the egg into a short pastry. Now, form into two large dough balls, wrap them in plastic and place them in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes.
Roll out the dough and cut it into rectangular pieces with a sharp knife. Use a baking powder packet, for example, as a size measure. Brush half of the dough rectangles with a beaten egg, which works as "glue". Place about a tablespoon of filling on top. Important: leave a border free! Then, preheat the oven to 350°F/175°C, cover each rectangle with a second rectangle, and press down on the edge. Press down on the outside edge using a fork to create a pattern. Poke a few holes in the top of the Pop-Tarts with the fork.
Finally, place the Pop-Tarts on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and bake for about 20 minutes. Remove and allow to cool. Decorate as desired.
Top Tip
I started baking my own Pop-Tarts after a vacation in the USA. The photos show strawberry jam Pop-Tarts, Brown Sugar Cinnamon Pop-Tarts, and Chocolate Pop-Tarts with a white or dark chocolate filling. Or how about chili nut nougat? Or a colorful unicorn-style filling? Let your creativity run wild 🙂 !
Recipe Card
Pop-Tarts
Ingredients
For the short pastry
- 300 grams (2 ½ cups) all-purpose flour
- 70 grams (⅓ cup) sugar
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- 1 pinch salt
- 180 grams (⅘ cup) butter, cold and in pieces
- 1 egg, medium, beaten
For the filling
- 1 egg, medium, beaten
- jam, or chocolate, cinnamon-sugar
Instructions
- Knead the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and butter in small pieces and the egg into a short pastry. Form into two large dough balls. Wrap in plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes.
- Roll out the dough and cut it into rectangular pieces with a sharp knife. Use a baking powder packet, for example, as a size measure. Brush half of the dough rectangles with a beaten egg, which works as "glue". Place about a tablespoon of filling on top. Important: leave a border free!
- Preheat oven to 350°F/175°C. Cover each rectangle with a second rectangle and press down on the edge. Press down on the outside edge using a fork to create a pattern. Poke a few holes in the top of the Pop-Tarts with the fork.
- Place the Pop-Tarts on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and bake for about 20 minutes. Remove and allow to cool. Decorate as desired.
Notes
- There are endless possibilities for the filling. Some examples:
- 1 tablespoon of jam each
- 1 tablespoon each of Nutella or peanut butter
- 2 pieces each of white or dark chocolate
- 1 teaspoon of cinnamon sugar mixed with 1 teaspoon of softened butter
- Different ingredients are also suitable for the decoration, e.g.
- make a sugar icing from 120g sifted powdered sugar and 2 tablespoons of water,
- coat the Pop-Tarts, and sprinkle with colored sugar balls,
- additionally, color the icing with some jam
- flavor the icing with brown sugar and cinnamon sugar
- melt the dark or white chocolate coating and spread it on the Pop-Tarts
Ingredient substitutions
Variations
Short summary: What are Pop-Tarts? Dumplings with different fillings and frosting for toasting. What's inside? Nasty, unhealthy stuff that, unfortunately, tastes delicious. Can you buy them in Germany? Yes, but comparatively expensive. But it's much better to make them yourself, so you know what you've got. Let's go 😉 ! If you like traditional recipes from the US, you will find great inspiration on this blog. How about the American cheesecake, my version of snickerdoodles or these great soft sugar cookies with yogurt?
About Kathrin & Jan
It's like a little miracle to me every time. Seemingly simple ingredients are made into something that can brighten up your life. Butter, sugar, eggs, and flour melt into an airy biscuit, a fine tart, a juicy cake, or a crispy biscuit. Baking simply makes you happy. Welcome and enjoy our blog!
Kathrin & Jan
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