Flaky Apricot-Almond Pop Tarts

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Homemade pop tarts never once occurred to me as someting you could make when I was younger. The only pop tarts I knew were foil-wrapped packets that came out of a box to be carelessly tossed in the toaster that almost always burns everything and devoured for breakfast before school. In fact, homemade pop tarts are the ONLY way to go now that I know how much more delicious they are. These apricot-almond pop tarts are ultra-flaky and spiked with a little booze in the form of Amaretto. Maybe not for kids (I’ll leave that up to the parents), but certainly for adults!

Almond and apricot are a flavor pairing made in heaven. They play so well together — apricot kernels are even used as a flavoring similar to almond extract! They can be infused into booze for a hauntingly almond-like flavor, with a hint of vanilla and, of course, apricot. Please note: I’m not telling you to eat apricot kernels! Look up the health considerations before doing so.

Broma Bakery is my food photography inspiration/queen, and when she makes homemade pop tarts, I sit up and listen. I made a few adjustments from her recipe, including increasing the quantity of tart dough for easier rolling and assembly and adding Amaretto.

With this pandemic, I’ve had several freak-out moments when seeing empty shelves in the grocery stores — but where will I get tortillas! Where will I get bread! Well, duh, Amanda … you cook and bake for a living, so I’m pretty sure you could just MAKE THEM YOURSELF. (Nevermind the flour shortage. I’ve been a food hoarder for most of my life). Are you seeing empty shelves of Pop-Tarts in the stores? Are you seeing full shelves of Pop-Tarts in the stores? It doesn’t matter … just skip them and make homemade ones! (While also praying you can get your hands on flour.)Pie dough used to really scare me — now it only scares me a little. I’m working on a foolproof recipe based on some revolutionary techniques I’ve tried out from other recipe writers and cookbook authors … more to come on this later. Needless to say, much of what we thought we knew about pie dough is just not true!

This dough ends up super-flaky due to the extreme amount of butter, and it’s extra easy because it comes together in the food processor. I think the hardest part is rolling out the dough (always my Achilles heel). One of my favorite tools in the history of rarely-used-but-worth-it tools that I’ve bought is this expandable pastry cutter. WIth five cutters, you can get perfectly-sized, even cuts on your baked goods. If you like to bake, or you just like your desserts to be perfectly cut and look semi-profesh, I highly recommend this.Lastly, use the best preserves you can find! I love Bonne Maman, not only because it’s a French brand (and I love all things French) and the jars are adorable, but because the product is consistently good and reasonably priced. I used the Bonne Maman Intense apricot preserves, which have less sugar and really let the flavor of the fruit shine through. I also used Amaretto in the filling and the glaze for even more almond flavor. And because I like booze. Keep the glaze pretty thick so it just barely drizzles over a little of the edges of your tarts. It looks prettier this way and is a little less messy when eating.

Homemade pop tarts are a thing, guys. Let’s all commit to making them at home and skip the store-bought.

Flaky Apricot-Almond Pop Tarts

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• Author: Amanda
• Yield: 9 pop tarts

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Description

Ultra-flaky homemade apricot-almond pop tarts, with apricot preserves and Amaretto, for the perfect pairing. A little time-consuming to make, but miles above the store-bought version!

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Ingredients

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POP TARTS:

• 2-1/2 cups (300 grams) all-purpose flour
• 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
• Pinch of kosher salt
• 2-1/2 sticks butter, cut into cubes and kept cold
• 5 to 7 tablespoons ice water mixed with 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
• 1 cup apricot jam or preserves
• 1 tablespoon Amaretto liqueur
• Heavy cream, for brushing
• Turbinado sugar, for sprinkling

ALMOND GLAZE:

• 1-1/2 cups (170 grams) confectioners’ sugar
• 3 tablespoons heavy cream
• 1 to 2 tablespoons Amaretto liqueur
• 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
• Toasted sliced almonds, for garnish

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Instructions

1. To make the tart dough: Combine the flour, sugar and salt in the bowl of a food processor and pulse several times to mix.  Add the butter, again pulsing until the mixture resembles coarse meal.  With the machine running, pour in just enough water to form a pebbly dough; the dough should not completely come together into a ball in the food processor.  With the machine shut off, pinch together pieces of the dough; if it holds together, enough liquid has been added.  Place a piece of plastic wrap on the counter and dump the dough on top.  Bring half of the dough together into a rectangle, using the plastic wrap to help you.  Repeat this process with the remaining half of dough.  Wrap well and refrigerate for 1 hour.
2. Working with one piece of dough at a time, remove from the fridge and allow to sit for 5 minutes.  Lightly flour a work surface and rolling pin and quickly roll the dough into a 10 x 13-inch rectangle.  Trim the edges to make a 9 x 12-inch rectangle; then cut into 9 equal-sized pieces, 3 x 4-inches.  Place on a baking sheet and place in the freezer.  Repeat with the remaining dough.  Allow both trays with the cut dough to rest in the freezer for 15 minutes to firm up again.
3. In the meantime, preheat the oven to 350°.  Stir together the apricot preserves and Amaretto, to taste.  When ready to assemble, remove one of the trays of dough and top each dough piece with a heaping tablespoon of the apricot mixture.  Remove the second tray of dough pieces from the freezer.  Brush all around the outside edges of the apricot-topped dough with heavy cream and place a chilled dough piece on top.  Press down gently to adhere the two pieces together.  Use a fork to press and seal the edges.  Brush the tops with heavy cream and sprinkle generously with turbinado sugar.  Make 4 to 5 airholes in the top of each pop tart to allow the steam to escape.  Transfer to the oven and bake for 30 minutes, until the pastry is golden brown and crisp.  Allow to cool completely before glazing.
4. To glaze: Combine the confectioners’ sugar, heavy cream, Amaretto, and almond extract and whisk to thoroughly mix.  The glaze should be thick but spreadable.  Add more confectioners’ sugar or liquid to achieve this consistency.  Spread the glaze over the cooled pop tarts and sprinkle with the toasted almonds.

Notes

Inspiration: Homemade Apricot Almond Pop Tarts on bromabakery.com

• Category: Breakfast, Pastries