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| Pecan Pie Pop Tarts |
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| Frosted and sprinkled with pecans |
Pecan Pie Pop Tarts
The Filling
Ingredients:
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1/3 cup white sugar
- 1/3 cup light corn syrup
- 1 large egg, beaten lightly
- 3/4 cup finely chopped pecans
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon butter flavor/extract
Instructions:
- Make the filling at least 3 hours before planning to make the pop tarts because you want it to be as viscus as possible.
- In a medium size saucepan over medium-low heat, place the butter, sugar, corn syrup, and egg. Stir ingredients to incorporate and continue stirring while it cooks.
- Cook until the mixture comes to a gentle boil/simmer and thickens slightly.
- Once it boils, remove from the heat and add the pecans along with the vanilla and butter flavor/extract. Stir completely.
- Transfer mixture to a heat-proof container (like a clean mason jar), allow to cool, and then refrigerate until needed.
The Crust
Ingredients:
- 200 grams all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
- 32 grams cornstarch
- 30 grams powdered sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/8 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
- 56 grams cold butter, cut into 8 pieces
- 90 milliliters cream
Instructions:
- In the bowl of a food processor, combine the flour, cornstarch, powdered sugar, salt, baking soda, and baking powder. Pulse a few times to blend the dry ingredients.
- Add the butter and pulse a few more times until you get a sandy-looking mixture with possibly a few small chunks of butter left.
- Pour in the cream and pulse a few times to disperse the cream. Then process for 30 to 60 seconds until the dough comes together and starts forming a ball, or at least cohesive chunks.
- Get a square piece of plastic wrap and set aside (you'll need two pieces of plastic wrap total).
- Weigh the dough and then divide into two equal portions.
- Working with one half of the dough at a time on the plastic wrap, pat into a ball, and then flatten the sides of the ball to sort of form a dough cube.
- Flatten the cube while trying to maintain the square shape as much as possible.
- Once it's about 1/2 inch thick, place onto the plastic wrap and try to neatly fold the dough into the plastic wrap so you get squared off corners with the plastic wrap.
- Gently use a rolling pin to roll the dough in the plastic wrap so the dough squishes into the corners. It probably won't create a perfect square, but the more square you can get it now, the easier the rolling will be later.
- Repeat with the other half of the dough.
- Place dough in the refrigerator for about an hour, or up to 2 days.
The Pop Tarts
Ingredients:
- 1 batch (in 2 pieces) pop tart dough (see above)
- 1 cup (approximately) pecan pie filling
- 90 grams powdered sugar
- 3-4 teaspoons water, plus more for sealing pop tarts
- 2 tablespoons crushed toasted pecans and or 2 tablespoons crushed toffee bits
Equipment:
- baking sheet
- parchment paper
- rolling pin
- stiff ruler, plastic or metal
- pizza cutter
- fork
- knife or offset spatula
- small pastry brush
- whisk
Instructions:
- Remove the dough from the refrigerator and allow to sit at room temperature 5-10 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit, and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Lightly dust your rolling surface with flour, and turn out one of your dough pieces. Flour your rolling pin and gently swat the dough to soften it up--tap a few times in each direction side to side, top to bottom, and diagonally both ways. Turn the dough over and swat it on that side too.
- Start rolling the dough out into a rectangle and about 1/8" or 2 mm thickness, keeping the corners as square as possible. If the dough is cracking a lot, let it sit a few more minutes to soften before continuing to roll.
- Using the ruler and the pizza cutter, cut the edges of the dough to make a clean-looking rectangle, preserving as much area as possible. You can bake off the scraps later or throw them away.
- Measure the height and width of the sheet of dough and divide by 3. Then cut into 9 rectangles that are as equally sized as possible. Move the rectangles to the parchment-lined baking sheet and set aside.
- Repeat the swatting and rolling with the second piece of dough, going just a little bit thinner to make a slightly larger rectangle. Repeat the measuring and cutting as well.
- Using a floured fork, carefully poke holes into each piece of top crust.
- Get your pecan pie filing, and using a spoon or offset spatula, spread about 2 to 3 teaspoons of filling onto the pieces of dough on the pan. Leave at least a quarter inch around the edge clear of filling. Repeat with remaining bottom crusts.
- Using the pastry brush and water, lightly moisten the edges of dough around the filling.
- Place a top crust onto each of the bottom ones, gently pressing the edges together. Once you've done this with all of the pop tarts, dip a fork in flour and crimp all of the edges of each pop tart.
- (If you're using crushed toffee for the topping, lightly brush the top crusts with water and sprinkle evenly with crushed toffee.)
- Bake at 375 degrees for 15-17 minutes, or until edges are starting to brown.
- Move pop tarts to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Once pop tarts are completely cool, whisk the 90 grams powdered sugar with 3 teaspoons water. Add the last teaspoon of water if the mixture is too thick and/or dry. This mixture should not be runny.
- Using an offset spatula or a knife, spread about a teaspoon of frosting onto each pop tart and then immediately sprinkle with crushed pecans, if desired.
- Allow frosting to set before enjoying.
- Eat or freeze within 3 days.
- Only toast the pop tarts if you do not frost them. This frosting will burn in a toaster.
Here's a video of how I made cherry pop tarts. Same basic process applies with the Pecan Pie Pop Tarts.
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| The filling |
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| Topped with crushed toffee bits |
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