Ingredients
Equipment
Instructions
- Put the flour, salt, and sugar in a food processor and pulse to combine.
- Sprinkle the cold butter over the flour in the food processor. Pulse until the mixture looks crumbly with large pea-sized chunks of butter.
- Drizzle the apple cider vinegar over top. Turn the machine on and immediately start drizzling cold water through the feed tube. Stop the machine once the mixture starts to come together and looks shaggy. Give the dough the pinch test- if it sticks together, it's ready to go. If not, turn the machine on again and drizzle in a bit more water. You might not need all of the water. You want a shaggy dough, not a cohesive ball.
- Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface and shape it into a ball. Divide the dough into 2 equal pieces and form each into a flat disk. Wrap the disks in plastic wrap and refrigerate them for at least 30 minutes or for up to 2 days. Do Ahead: The wrapped disks can be placed in freezer bags and frozen for up to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator overnight before using. If the dough has been in the fridge for several hours, let it sit at room temperature until slightly softened, about 10-20 minutes.
- Line two baking sheet pans with parchment paper.
- On a lightly floured piece of parchment paper, roll the dough into a 9×12-inch rectangle, about 1/8 inch thick. Trim the sides as needed. With a pizza cutter or sharp knife, cut the dough into thirds and each third into thirds again. You will end up with 9 rectangles, each measuring 3×4 inches.
- Place each of the 9 rectangles onto a prepared baking sheet. The pop tarts will not spread much in the oven, so you may place them near one another. Place the baking sheet in the refrigerator.
- Repeat this with the 2nd disc of dough to make 9 more rectangles. Place each of the 9 rectangles onto the second baking sheet. Place the baking sheet in the refrigerator.
- In a small bowl, whisk the egg with one tablespoon of water to make the egg wash.
- Assemble the pop tarts: Remove 1 baking sheet of pastry rectangles from the refrigerator. These will be the bottoms of your pop tarts. With a pastry brush, brush egg wash over the entire surface of each rectangle. Place a tablespoon of the jam into the center of each rectangle and spread it around with the back of a spoon, leaving a 1/4-inch border around the edges. Remove the 2nd baking sheet of pastry rectangles from the refrigerator. These will be the tops of your pop tarts. Brush egg wash over the entire surface of each top rectangle, then place each top rectangle, egg-wash-side-down, on the filling-topped bottoms. Use your fingertips to press firmly around the pocket of filling, sealing the dough well on all sides. Reserve remaining egg wash. Using a toothpick, poke 6 to 8 holes in the tops of each filled pastry to allow the steam to escape. Seal the edges tightly by crimping with a fork. Refrigerate the filled pop tarts, uncovered, for at least 20 minutes and up to 1 hour.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Once the unbaked pop tarts have chilled for 20 minutes, remove from the refrigerator and brush the tops with the remaining egg wash. Bake for 25–30 minutes or until golden brown, rotating the pan halfway through baking. Let the pop tarts cool on the pan for about 5 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely before icing.
- Make the icing: In a medium bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar, milk, vanilla, and a couple of drops of food coloring if desired. You want a thick glaze. Spoon the icing on top of each cooled pop tart, and use the back of the spoon or an icing spatula to spread. Top the frosted pop tarts with sprinkles if desired. The icing will set in about 1 hour.
Notes
If you prefer to not use gluten free flour, you can substitute all purpose flour using the same measurement.
If you don't have a food processor you can make this dough by hand. Whisk the dry ingredients in a large bowl, then add the cold butter cubes. Using your fingers (or a pastry cutter), rub the butter into the flour mixture, toss and smashing it until it's incorporated but you still see larger pea sized chunks. Drizzle in the apple cider vinegar and cold water, then toss with a fork until the dough comes together. From there you can turn it out onto a floured piece of parchment paper as indicated in the recipe.
Store pop tarts in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days or in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. To reheat, bake in a 350°F oven for 10 minutes.