Pop tarts? I really thought they were called Toaster pastries. I genuinely thought that Pop tart is a brand of Toaster pastries like Kleenex is a brand of tissues. It turns out that they're only called Toaster pastries on Chopped and Next Food Network Star to avoid saying a brand name on the Food Network. It turns out that I am the only person on the planet who honestly refers to this food item as a Toaster pastry without a trace of irony or joke. But I'm ok with that. Maybe I'll start a trend, and I'll have used the name Toaster pastry before it was cool. Or maybe not. ;-)
But anyway, the issue is, first of all, that Toaster pastries are full of soy, which I'm allergic to. They're also kind of gross and overly-processed, so they wouldn't be ideal for me to eat even if they were soy-free.
So now, I'd like to present, the new and improved HOMEMADE Toaster pastries recipe. Now with less lactose, and easy to make egg-free, this recipe is also completely free of soy and nuts! Let's get started! :)
You will need:
Strawberry jam, approx 1/8 cup total
Fresh strawberries, approx 1 1/2 cups chopped (about 2/3 of the original container, medium size from Trader Joe's)
2 cups unbleached flour
2 sticks butter or Whole Foods lactose-free butter
1/3 cup granulated sugar
pinch of salt
1/4 cup cold water, approx to start, maybe a bit more
1 egg or 1/8 cup milk or Lactaid milk, your choice based on allergies or personal preference
turbinado sugar for sprinkling on top to make it beautiful (yes, it is worth buying turbinado sugar specifically for this recipe!)
more flour for rolling
more butter for greasing the pans
a sense of adventure!
Directions:
Make the dough first, which will need to chill in the fridge for a full hour, so you could also have done this part yesterday.
Combine flour, sugar, and salt in a large bowl, then cut the butter into tiny cubes and incorporate it into the dry ingredients with either a pastry cutter or the tips of your fingers. Work it (literally, not as an expression). Do not knead it, that turns it into bread instead of the tender and flaky texture you are looking for. The mixture will begin to become globs the size of frozen peas with a bit of extra flour. That's when you know it's time to add the water.
Start with 1/4 cup and use the pastry cutter or the tips of your fingers to try to form the dough into a ball. If it is too dry, add more water a few spoonfuls at a time until you can bring the dough together into a ball. Knead the dough a few turns as it becomes a ball. You don't want to over-develop the glutens and accidentally make bread. Literally fold it in half about four times to do ALL of the kneading. This takes less than 10 seconds of total kneading time. If you knead it more than that, the dough will become tough and not tender or flaky. Do not accidentally make bread when what you're looking for should be the texture of pie dough!
Form the dough ball into a large disc and tightly wrap in plastic wrap or a ziploc baggie, and refrigerate for one hour, or up to 24 hours.
In the mean time, wash the strawberries, take the greens off, and quarter each strawberry. Larger strawberries should be cut into sixths to create all equal-size pieces of strawberry so they'll all fit inside the little pastries.
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
Roll out the dough with a rolling pin on a well-floured counter with your floured hands. Roll out until it's very thin and looks like the thickness of a regular ol' Toaster pastry.
Now it's time to cut out the dough into rounds, which will be folded in half like apple turnovers. You'll want to use a small bowl, about the size you use to eat ice cream in, maybe three or four inches in diameter. Use the bowl upside-down as a cookie cutter and create equal-size rounds. Re-roll the scraps until you've created rounds out of all of the dough.
Butter two glass 9 by 13 baking dishes and place the rounds in, about 7 rounds in each of the baking dishes. Spread out a layer of jam, then about 4 pieces of strawberries, on half of each round. Now fold the rounds over to create half-moon shapes. Crimp the edges with your index finger.
Now you get to make a choice: egg-free or less lactose? If you choose egg-free, fill a tiny bowl with milk, and brush the top of each pastry with milk. If you choose less lactose, beat an egg and brush the top of each pastry with the egg. This will use most of a whole egg, but not quite all of it.
Now sprinkle very generously with turbinado sugar.
Bake at 400 degrees for 25 to 30 minutes, until perfectly golden-brown.
Enjoy your beautiful strawberry toaster pastries, too perfect for this world!
But anyway, the issue is, first of all, that Toaster pastries are full of soy, which I'm allergic to. They're also kind of gross and overly-processed, so they wouldn't be ideal for me to eat even if they were soy-free.
So now, I'd like to present, the new and improved HOMEMADE Toaster pastries recipe. Now with less lactose, and easy to make egg-free, this recipe is also completely free of soy and nuts! Let's get started! :)
You will need:
Strawberry jam, approx 1/8 cup total
Fresh strawberries, approx 1 1/2 cups chopped (about 2/3 of the original container, medium size from Trader Joe's)
2 cups unbleached flour
2 sticks butter or Whole Foods lactose-free butter
1/3 cup granulated sugar
pinch of salt
1/4 cup cold water, approx to start, maybe a bit more
1 egg or 1/8 cup milk or Lactaid milk, your choice based on allergies or personal preference
turbinado sugar for sprinkling on top to make it beautiful (yes, it is worth buying turbinado sugar specifically for this recipe!)
more flour for rolling
more butter for greasing the pans
a sense of adventure!
Directions:
Make the dough first, which will need to chill in the fridge for a full hour, so you could also have done this part yesterday.
Combine flour, sugar, and salt in a large bowl, then cut the butter into tiny cubes and incorporate it into the dry ingredients with either a pastry cutter or the tips of your fingers. Work it (literally, not as an expression). Do not knead it, that turns it into bread instead of the tender and flaky texture you are looking for. The mixture will begin to become globs the size of frozen peas with a bit of extra flour. That's when you know it's time to add the water.
Start with 1/4 cup and use the pastry cutter or the tips of your fingers to try to form the dough into a ball. If it is too dry, add more water a few spoonfuls at a time until you can bring the dough together into a ball. Knead the dough a few turns as it becomes a ball. You don't want to over-develop the glutens and accidentally make bread. Literally fold it in half about four times to do ALL of the kneading. This takes less than 10 seconds of total kneading time. If you knead it more than that, the dough will become tough and not tender or flaky. Do not accidentally make bread when what you're looking for should be the texture of pie dough!
Form the dough ball into a large disc and tightly wrap in plastic wrap or a ziploc baggie, and refrigerate for one hour, or up to 24 hours.
In the mean time, wash the strawberries, take the greens off, and quarter each strawberry. Larger strawberries should be cut into sixths to create all equal-size pieces of strawberry so they'll all fit inside the little pastries.
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
Roll out the dough with a rolling pin on a well-floured counter with your floured hands. Roll out until it's very thin and looks like the thickness of a regular ol' Toaster pastry.
Now it's time to cut out the dough into rounds, which will be folded in half like apple turnovers. You'll want to use a small bowl, about the size you use to eat ice cream in, maybe three or four inches in diameter. Use the bowl upside-down as a cookie cutter and create equal-size rounds. Re-roll the scraps until you've created rounds out of all of the dough.
Butter two glass 9 by 13 baking dishes and place the rounds in, about 7 rounds in each of the baking dishes. Spread out a layer of jam, then about 4 pieces of strawberries, on half of each round. Now fold the rounds over to create half-moon shapes. Crimp the edges with your index finger.
Now you get to make a choice: egg-free or less lactose? If you choose egg-free, fill a tiny bowl with milk, and brush the top of each pastry with milk. If you choose less lactose, beat an egg and brush the top of each pastry with the egg. This will use most of a whole egg, but not quite all of it.
Now sprinkle very generously with turbinado sugar.
Bake at 400 degrees for 25 to 30 minutes, until perfectly golden-brown.
Enjoy your beautiful strawberry toaster pastries, too perfect for this world!