Spontaneous Moment #56: Pop-Tarts at your Door

I was craving pop-tarts the other day and didn't feel like going to the store. So I decided... why not make some myself.

This is a quick and simple way to make your own pop-tarts. It's also a way to make them a little bit healthier.

Ingredients:
Cookie cutters
Pillsbury pie crust
One egg
3/4 cup of you favorite jam (I used grape and strawberry)
1 tbsp cornstarch
1 tbsp cold water
A fork

I was trying to go the healthier route and opted out for icing, but if you want to ice your pop-tarts, you'll need the following...

Optional for icing:
1 cup powdered sugar
2 tbsp half and half
1/4 tsp vanilla extract
Sprinkles

Instructions:
Pre-heat the oven for 350 degrees. Unroll your pre-made pie crust. Flatten out your pie crust so that it's a little thinner. Grab your cookie cutters and press them into the pie crust. Pull out your shapes and place on a parchment lined cookie sheet. I had leftover dough once I finished cutting out my heart shaped pieces so I used the remaining dough to make little star pop tarts as well.

Mix together the corn starch and cold water. Take that mixture and combine it with the jam in a small saucepan. Bring the mixture to a boil and simmer stirring for 2 minutes. Then remove it from the heat and set it aside to cool.

Beat  your egg in a small bowl and then lighty it brush it on the cut out crusts. Take a tablespoon of jam and place in the center of each crust. Place the second crust on top. Use your fingertips to press down on the edges of the crusts.

Take your fork and press the edge around the tarts.

The star didn't turn out as pretty as the hearts

After I finished pressing the fork down on the hearts, I turned to the stars. I hated the way they looked, so I attempted to press down the tips extra hard on the stars without the fork. I was curious how they would turn out.

Time to cook! Place your pop-tarts in the oven and bake for 25-30 minutes. You'll notice that some of the jam will leak out. Don't worry about that. Just peel it off once it cools.

Allow it to cool for 5 minutes.

If I were to do it different the next time around, I would have pricked the top of each tart a few times with a toothpick.


Optional icing:
Whisk together the powdered sugar, half & half and vanilla extract. Spread over the tops of the cooled pop-tarts. Add sprinkles on top. Viola!