These Cherry Pop Tarts with sprinkled Chocolate glaze are a perfect snack. Sweet and tangy cherry filling, cloaked in flaky, all-butter pie crust and then topped with simple chocolate glaze - heavenly combination! Ooh, let's not forget sprinkles!
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Keyword all butter pie crust, cherry pop tarts, pop tarts
In a food processor, sift your flour, salt and powdered sugar. Add cold cubes of butter. Pulse until the mixture is like a coarse sand, with a few bigger chunks of butter. Add 6 tablespoons of ice cold water and pulse until the dough starts clumping together, not more than that. If it doesn't start coming together, then add another tablespoon of ice cold water. When it's done, it should still be crumbly - that's fine, because we want to combine it together with our hands.
Transfer the dough onto a lightly floured surface and using your hands knead it a little bit (just a little!) until it forms a homogenous dough. Divide the dough into two, form into a disk, wrap in cling film and leave it in the fridge for at least an hour or up to three days.
Preheat your oven to 175°C (350°F) and line a baking sheet with baking paper.
In a small saucepan combine frozen cherries and sugar and bring to boil over medium heat. Simmer for a few minutes. Dilute the cornstarch with 1 tablespoon of water and pour over the cherries mixing constantly with a large wooden spoon until everything is incorporated. Bring the mixture to a boil and cook for a few minutes.
If the filling is too thick/thin you can add some more water/cornstarch. That depends on the water content of frozen cherries.Once it thickens quite a bit, cook for another few minutes to get rid of cornstarchy flavour, then transfer it to a bowl and cover with cling film touching the surface to prevent "skin" forming. You can put it in the fridge to cool completely.
Once your dough is chilled, leave it on the counter for a few minutes, then roll it in a 3 mm thick rectangle. Using a ruler, cut 7x12 cm (3x5 inch) rectangles. Transfer them to prepared baking sheet.
Carefully place about a tablespoon of the cherry filling in the middle of half your rectangles. Using a small brush, add some egg wash around your filling - that will act as a glue.
Prick the rectangles that are going to be the top of your pop tart with a fork three times - this will ensure that the dough doesn't puff up. Gently place each rectangle on top of the filled rectangle. Using a fork, go around the edges and press lightly to ensure the dough sticks together and also, to give it a pretty look.When all your pop tarts are done, give them a little egg wash for a nice golden colour and sheen.
Bake in a preheated oven for 15-20 minutes, or until golden brown and cooked on the bottom. When they're done, they will be slightly soft - that's fine. Leave them on the baking sheet for 2 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack.
for the chocolate glaze
In a small-medium sized bowl, sift powdered sugar and cocoa powder. Add some water and vanilla extract, then combine everything using a whisk. If you want your glaze to be thicker, add less water/more sugar. If you want it to be thinner, add some more water - depends on what you like!
Put the glaze in a piping bag, snip the end off and glaze your pop tarts
Notes
If you don't have a food processor, you can make the dough with your hands by rubbing cubes of butter into the flour. It's important to keep the dough as cold as possible!
If you still don’t own one, I advise you to buy a kitchen scale – they’re cheap and easy to use, and always guarantee the same results in baking!