Pop Tarts

Ingredients for Pop Tarts:

Ingredients for Pastry
All-purpose flour 2 cups
Caster sugar 1 tbsp
Salt 1 tsp
Unsalted butter, cubed 1 cup
Egg 1 large
Milk 2 tbsp
Egg (to brush on pastry) 1 additional

Ingredients for Cinnamon Filling
Brown sugar 1/2 cup
Ground cinnamon 1 ½ teaspoons
Flour 4 teaspoons
Egg 1
Jam 3/4 cup

Alternate fillings: chocolate chips or Nutella - pesto, cheese, ground nuts or olives and top with poppy seeds and sesame seeds

Method:
Mix 1 tablespoon corn flour with 1 tablespoon cold water, make a paste and keep aside.

To make cinnamon filling: 

Whisk together the 1/2 cup brown sugar,  1 ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon powder and 4 teaspoons flour. 

To make jam filling: 

Mix 3/4 cup jam with the corn flour/water paste in a small saucepan. 

Bring the mixture to a boil, and simmer, stirring, for 2 minutes. 

Remove from the heat, and set aside to cool. 

Use to fill the pastry tarts.

To Make the dough: 

Whisk together the flour, sugar, and salt. 

Work in the butter with your food processor until crumbly and the mixture holds together. 

Transfer the mixture to a large bowl.

Whisk the first egg and milk together and stir them into the dough, mixing well and then knead on a lightly floured surface. 

Divide the dough in half, roll each half into a smooth rectangle. 

To assemble the tarts:

Roll out dough and beat the additional egg and brush it over the entire surface of the first dough. 

This will be the “inside” of the tart; the egg is to help glue the lid on.
Place a heaping tablespoon of filling into the center of each rectangle, keeping a 1/2-inch perimeter around it. 

Place a second rectangle of dough atop the first, using your fingertips to press firmly around the pocket of filling, sealing the dough well on all sides. 

Press the tines of a fork all around the edge of the rectangle. 

Repeat with remaining tarts.
Gently place the tarts on a lightly greased baking sheet. 

Prick the top of each tart multiple times with a fork; you want to make sure steam can escape, and the tarts are flat for the toaster. 

Refrigerate the tarts for 30 minutes. 

Remove the tarts from the fridge, and bake them for 20 to 25 minutes at 180 degrees C, until they’re a light golden brown. 

Cool in pan on rack.

Freeze them unbaked between layers of greaseproof paper.

Pop Tarts by Zarnak Sidhwa