Monday, March 18, 2013

SRC: Cherry Pop Tarts




It's time for another Secret Recipe Club post!  This month I had the most lovely blog... (insert drumroll here)  Mele Cotte!  Christina, or Chris, as she's often referred to grew up surrounded by a family of experienced Italian cooks (LUCKY!). She has also had some professional training.  Chris says "Utilizing baking as a stress reliever, my most pleasurable activities that stemmed from culinary adventures was Mele Cotte, my personal blog..."  You can read more about Chris HERE.  Plus, I bet you're wondering what Mele Cotte means, I was too, but you'll have to go visit her to see.  :-)

Christina's pictures are beautiful, and make you want to dive right in!  Her blog is easy to navigate and she has oh so many fabulous recipes!  Check out these Chewy Granola Bars, and this Baked Avocado Salsa, and the Three Bean and Sweet Potato Chili.  I told you she was fabulous!

Well, as you can see from the title of my post, I landed on the Cherry Pop Tarts.  I've always wanted to try making my own pop tarts.  As a kid, we ate these things all the time.  But, as an adult, ugh, they don't even sound good.  I've developed a taste for real, unprocessed food, so no offense to any pop tart lovers out there, but this beats the grocery store kind any day!

Christina made hers gluten free.  I did not.  Since I don't normally cook gluten free, I just don't have the ingredients on hand for that.  Here's the scoop:

For the Filling:
1 cup fresh pitted cherries (I had some still in my freezer from last summer, so I just thawed them out)
2 Tbsp. water
¼ cup turbinado (raw) sugar, fine ground
1 Tbsp. arrowroot (or cornstarch)--I used cornstarch

For the Pastry Dough:
2 ¼ cups brown rice flour--I used all purpose flour
½ tsp salt
¾ cup cold butter, cut into pieces
¼ cup turbinado (raw) sugar, fine ground
1 egg, lightly beaten
4-6 Tbsp. cold water

Place flour, salt, butter and sugar in a food processor and pulse several times until butter is incorporated. Add the egg and pulse to incorporate. Gradually add cold water and pulse until the dough begins to form a ball. Remove from bowl and press into a square. (If dough is too dry, sprinkle water on top and knead it into the mixture.) Wrap and refrigerate for 20-30 minutes.  (I only needed 4 Tbs. of water, and it was perfect--very easy to use!)

Preheat oven to 375 ° F. Lightly flour a clean surface. Using a rolling pin, roll the dough into a large rectangle.  Be sure to shift the dough occasionally to prevent sticking.

Cut into twelve even rectangles. Place six on a parchment lined baking sheet. Carefully spoon 1 or 2 tablespoons of filling into the center of the rectangles (the amount of filling will depend on the size of your rectangles). Top with the remaining six dough rectangles. Smooth the dough over the filling and gently press the edges to seal.

Bake 12-14 minutes, or until very lightly golden brown. Let cool.




These were SO delicious!  The taste of the cherries just brought me back to summer!
It was a pleasure to bake something from Christina's blog.  Be sure to check out all her amazing recipes!

Blessings to you~


26 comments:

  1. Ok, I haven't had breakfast yet, and now I really wish I had the ingredients to make these on hand! Looks amazing.. I wonder if you could put strawberries instead of cherries, as I think I have some of those handy.... hmmm..

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    1. You could definitely use strawberries, or any fruit for that matter. I think I'll try blueberry next. :-)

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  2. What delicious pop tarts!! I'd be more than happy to have not one but several of these.

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  3. Yes please! They look wonderful!

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    1. Thank You! They are wonderful, I couldn't stop eating them.

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  4. Still a pop tart lover in my adulthood, much to my hubby's chagrin, I will have to try a homemade version too! Even he may eat that, and if not all the more for me! What a great idea!

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    1. If you try it, let me know what he thinks. I agree, not so bad if there's more for you! heehee.

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  5. Pop Tarts are my secret shame. I'd feel better about myself if I made them at home. Thanks for the inspiration!

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    1. You are welcome, thanks for stopping by and commenting. :-)

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  6. These look fantastic! My husband loves pop tarts, and I'm sure he'd enjoy these!

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  7. My kid is SO going to love me making these for him! He loves pop tarts!

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  8. These look absolutely heavenly! Cherries are my hands down favorite fruit - can't wait to make this when I get my hands on some this summer.

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  9. I am so excited you tried these. And, they look perfect with the all-purpose flour. Thanks for perusing my little cooking space! :)

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  10. Oh yum! Love that you chose cherry pop tarts. I've always wanted to try to make them homemade, you did a fantastic job! These look delicious!
    -Lacy @ NYCityEats

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  11. What a great recipe and looks super tasty. They look so professional! Glad to be part of SRC group C with you!

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  12. I love Cherries! This sounds delicious and easy! Thanks for sharing

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  13. Hi Chellie, first time visiting and I already like your blog a lot. Oh my that looks delicious. I like cherries. I thing I would eat this top with ice cream :)

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    1. oooh! That would be delish! Thanks so much for coming by! Glad you like what you see.

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  14. I have always wanted to try my hand at homemade poptarts, your look amazing. Love the idea of a cherry filling- definitely going to try it next time I get a poptart craving

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  15. Chellie! These look amazing..my kids would be head over heals for these! Always hoping that I run in to you somewhere! Hope you are well, Sheila

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    1. Shiela thanks for stopping by! I would love to run into you...might have to make an intentional meeting. :-). I'll be checking in tomorrow to see if I'm a big winner!!!

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