Have you noticed an influx in berry recipes? It's not going to get any better as the summer keeps coming in! Summer time is meant for feisty, fresh fruit!
There were some strawberries and raspberries left over and this came to mind: poptarts! My favorite kind of pop tart is the unfrosted strawberry kind- very thrilling I know. I don't like my breakfast being super sweet. It's breakfast- the first thing you're introducing to your system.
These poptarts can be made with any filling, get creative! I got the crust from a previous version that's to die for: pumpkin spice poptarts. They will be a fall highlight, guarantee.
I was impatient this round and made my dough way too thick. They were massive! I didn't like them so big honestly but the dough is delicious, buttery, and flaky- totally perfect. You can do anything you want with the dough so have fun with it. I'm making mine into hearts next time : )
These don't have any glaze on them nor a ton of sugar in the filling. They were very sweet in their natural state of being. If you feel the need for glaze, just stir together some confectioners sugar, milk, and vanilla extract. I simply dusted with cinnamon.Berry Poptarts
adapted from Joy the Baker
Filling
8 ounces of berries
Drizzle of honey
Crust
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks or 8 ounces) unsalted butter, cold, cut into cubes
1 large egg
2 tablespoons milk
1 large egg (for brushing the dough)
Cinnamon to garnish
For the Crust... In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, sugar and salt. Add the cold butter and break it up in the flour mixture using your fingers, a pastry cutter or a food processor. Work it in until only pea sized lumps remain in your mixture, kinda like making pie crust. The mixture should hold together when squeezed into a ball.
In a small bowl, beat the egg with the milk. Add the mixture all at once to the dry ingredients and stir to make sure that moisture is introduced to all of the flour mixture. Lightly dust a clean counter with flour and knead the dough on the floured counter for a few turns until it really starts to come together. Divide the dough in two, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for about 30 minutes. Again, like pie crust- it's not fun to work with melty butter dough.
While the dough is chilling, make the filling. Bring berries to simmer in small saucepan over medium heat; add a teaspoon of water if it sticks to the pan. Cook, mashing berries with spoon several times and stirring frequently, until berries have broken down and mixture is thickened and reduced to ¼ cup, about 6 minutes. Transfer to small bowl and drizzle on a little honey- depending on how sweet you like it. Cool to room temperature, 10 to 15 minutes.
On a well floured work surface, press dough into a 3×5-inch rectangle, about 1/8-inch thickness. The dough should be slightly larger than 9×12-inches. If you wanna cheat, use a 8 1/2 by 11 sheet of paper for the first round, then roll up the scraps and make the rest. Trim dough with a pizza cutter, creating a rectangle that is 9-inches tall and 12-inches long. Using the pizza cutter, cut each side into thirds, creating 9 squares. Place dough squares in the fridge while you roll out the second piece of dough in the same way.
Brush one set of 9 squares with beaten egg. This will act as the glue for the top layer of dough. Spoon about one tablespoon of berry filling into the center of each brushed dough square. Top with a piece of dough and use a floured fork to crimp the sides closed. Use the tines of the fork to create vent holes in each tart.
Position a rack in the upper third of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees. Let tarts rest in the fridge for 30 minutes while the oven preheats.
Remove tarts from the fridge and place in the oven to bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until golden brown on top. Cool on wire rack.
Dust with cinnamon!
