Store bought pop tarts remind me of a guy in college I used to see in the library all the time. This guy was so good looking that I assumed that he would have an amazing personality to match his gorgeous looks to fit the fantasy I had built up in my head about our marriage, the gorgeous babies we would have and the perfect life we would lead together.
So anyway, there I was one day at the library and it happened. The object of my fantasy came over, just like that, and sat next to me. It was just like the movies, where the guy you admire from afar forever comes over, sweeps you off your feet and you live happily ever after. Except, that is not what happened. He opened his mouth, started talking and after about two minutes, I realized we had nothing in common. So very unfortunate.
We never spoke again. Perhaps he also thought my personality was that of a wet rag. Who knows? Looks can be deceiving and so is the case with Pop Tarts from the store. They look so delicious and enticing. Then, you bite into them and you start wondering if you just took a bite of cardboard, with some sugar on top. So, do what you want but again, life is short to be spent eating cardboard.
Recipe:
Ingredients:
Cream Cheese Dough:
1 cup (8 ounces) salted butter, at room temperature
8 ounces of cream cheese, room temperature
1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 cups unbleached, all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons Kosher salt
Filling:
1/2 cup dark brown sugar, packed
4 teaspoons unbleached, all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
Maple Glaze:
4 tablespoons salted butter
1/4 cup maple syrup
1 cup powdered sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
Method:
Cream Cheese Dough:
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream the butter, cream cheese and sugar together until light and fluffy, about 5-8 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl once or twice. Add in the vanilla and mix until combined. Add in the flour and salt and mix until just combined. Divide the dough into two parts, wrap each part in plastic wrap and put in fridge for 1 hour or until a day ahead of when you will make the pastry. If you wait a day, take the dough out of the fridge about 20-30 minutes before working with it so it is easier to handle and roll out.
Filling:
Mix brown sugar, flour and cinnamon in a bowl with a fork until combined. Set aside.
Maple Glaze:
Melt the butter and syrup together over medium heat until the butter melts. Off the heat, add the sugar and cinnamon and stir well with a whisk until smooth and well combined. Set aside.
To make the tarts:
Line a sheet pan with parchment paper.
Roll out the dough on a well floured surface until it is about 1/8 inch thick. Use a ruler to cut the dough into squares or rectangles. Add a generous amount of filling to the middle of a set of squares, leaving an equal number of squares unfilled as they will be covering the squares with the filling. Leave enough room for a border and top each square with filling with another square. Press down the seems of the squares and to make those dents on the side of the squares, use a chopstick to imprint the dough all around the squares. Place the finished squares on the sheet pan and put in fridge for 30 minutes uncovered.
Pre-heat the oven to 350° F. Move the refrigerated squares to the oven and bake for 20 minutes or until the edges start to brown slightly.
Leave the squares to cool on the pan when they come out of the oven for about 10-20 minutes, then move them to a cooling rack to cool completely.
Glaze the tops of the squares leaving a small border to show of the chop stick dents and sprinkle with colored sugar.
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