We are a Pop Tart family.
Over the Christmas holidays, we ended up playing a family game with a group of relatives that was focused on products and brands. My boys were on a team with a third person and a card came up that had to do with cereal. I knew they would be at a loss as the only one in our house that will touch cereal is me.
When my wife and I were first living together I found that she had the same breakfast every day: one package of unfrosted strawberry pop tarts. Me, I needed variety, but she was perfectly fine having that same breakfast every day for years.
Those years went by and after making a conscious decision to eat healthier came, the pop tarts were replaced, but by that time my kids were hooked. They liked a variety of pop tarts, but still wanted those rectangular pastries for breakfast. They still do today, unless I force an outage and drive them to other items.
I came across this recipe a while back and saved it until just recently. These were pretty straightforward to make.
The recipe called for grape but it will work just as easy with any flavor.
Making the dough.
Resting in the fridge.
Rolled out and cut. Use a ruler.
After I started making the tarts I realized I had just used up all the parchment paper in the house with another recipe. As a consequence and not wanting to burn the tarts, I baked them on a baking stone. Unfortunately the stone does not have a lip to it and as some of the jelly ran out during baking, I made a mess in the oven.
Noticed the edges crimped via fork? Fancy….
Making the glaze.
The glaze had a distinct orange flavor (I did add the optional orange liqueur). I think next time, I would choose a less sticky choice and go with a standard glaze.
Grape Jelly Breakfast Tarts
Prep Time: 1 hours 30 minutes | Cook Time: 0 hours 30 minutes | Makes: 5 tarts | Difficulty: Intermediate
Ingredients:
For the Tarts:
- 3 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
- 2 teaspoons granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 4 tablespoons cold shortening, cut into small pieces
- 2 sticks cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
- 1/2 cup grape jelly
- 1 large egg, beaten
- 1/3 cup milk
For the Glaze:
- 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
- Juice of 2 oranges
- 2 tablespoons orange liqueur (optional)
- 3/4 cup confectioners’ sugar
- Grated orange zest, for topping
Directions:
Make the tarts: Pulse the flour, granulated sugar and salt in a food processor until combined. Add the shortening and about one-quarter of the butter and pulse until they disappear into the flour, about 30 seconds. Add the remaining butter and pulse a few times, until the mixture looks like coarse meal with pea-size bits of butter. Add 1/2 cup ice water and pulse once or twice, until the dough just comes together. Turn the dough out onto a piece of plastic wrap, form into a disk and wrap tightly; chill at least 1 hour and up to 1 day. (For quicker tarts, use refrigerated pie dough and skip this step.)
On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough into a 10-by-14-inch rectangle, about 1/8 inch thick. Cut out ten 4-by-3-inch rectangles using a toaster pastry press or a paring knife. Transfer to a parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Chill at least 15 minutes.
Spread 5 of the dough rectangles with a heaping tablespoonful of jelly each, leaving a 1/2-inch border all around. Brush the edges with the beaten egg, then cover with the remaining 5 dough rectangles. Crimp the edges with a fork or use the toaster pastry press to seal. Chill at least 30 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
Bake the tarts until flaky and golden, 20 to 25 minutes, brushing with the milk after 10 minutes. Transfer to a rack to cool.
Meanwhile, make the glaze: Bring the granulated sugar, orange juice and liqueur (if using) to a simmer in a large skillet over low heat; cook until reduced by half, 5 to 7 minutes. Remove from the heat and whisk in the confectioners’ sugar until smooth. Let cool. Brush the glaze on the tarts, sprinkle with the orange zest and let set, 5 minutes.
Rantings of an Amateur Chef 
I made a version of these myself a while back and they turned out great. It was a real favorite around the house. Thanks!
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gosh, your food always seems so delicious! One of these days I will try to make this.. i love tarts! 😀
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You just made my day. I’ve been wanting to find a recipe to make homemade poptarts! The best part… I actually have all the ingredients (that never happens!) 🙂
~Jen
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I am going to share this recipe with my daughter. I am sure my granddaughters would love to help make them.
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Thanks for this 🙂 Pop Tarts are going to become a daily staple now 🙂 I wonder if they will taste alright with gluten free flour? I’m going to give it a go!
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*sigh* Honestly… who doesn’t enjoy good home-cooked food? I love that you keep a photolog of everything that happens while you’re prepping – totally awesome.
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Mmmm…bet it works with brown sugar cinnamon too
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Princess Melita Bonaparte has a very special & easy recipe for Pop Tarts. She was embarrassed to send it to you, thinking that you would scold her for using common, non-Royal ingredients She simply puts the Pop Tarts in the toaster, and while they are toasting, cuts up small pieces of Philadelphia Cream Cheese. When the Pop Tarts are done, The Princess puts them on top of the toaster, placing the cream cheese on top of the Pop Tarts, and pushes down the toaster @ a very low setting to allow a small amount of additional heating to soften the cheese a bit more. It’s simple, delicious, and you get a small bit of real nutrition with the addition of the cheese. Being concerned about her Royal status, Princess Melita Bonaparte ONLY uses non-frosted Pop Tarts. The problem with that: all that Safeway seems to carry is the strawberry flavour. Even Royalty must make do. Bon Appetit, from Her Serene Highness, The Princess Melita Bonaparte…
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Yum Yum! Must try to make these!
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And today, Princess Melita Bonaparte, ever camera-shy put out her You Tube for the above recipe. To be expected, she burned her finger–you can feel the pain!
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Love this idea! Can you substitute the grape for raspberry?
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Yes. They will work with any flavor.
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These sound great, and easy to make. I wonder, have you tried making them ahead of time and toasting them again another morning? Would be great to make one batch and get continuous use out of it!
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Looks wonderfully sinfully delicious. Now I crave baked goods, there goes my diet.
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Love the idea! Never eaten too many pop tarts for health reasons but they are little addictive pastries…good recipe.
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Those look mighty tasty!
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I nominated you for the Versatile Blogger Award http://soadhachami.wordpress.com/2013/04/19/i-got-nominated-for-the-versatile-blogger-award/
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