Oh, how I love thee POP TARTS...

I promise you that I am NO Martha Stewart and I am not particularly crafty when it comes to creativity and food.  I can take recipes and adapt them to my own pretty well but I am too impatient for beautiful photography and exact measurements...so I apologize in advance if they are a little off.  I was first inspired by these vegan blueberry hand pies and when I tried to follow the directions, it didn't work for me...errr...I didn't work for it, maybe?!?  So this is how I adapted the recipe and good luck with the fillings.  ;)

PS:  These do take a bit of time but it is so much more enjoyable when you have a Picky reading to you in the kitchen and keeping you company.  Let me know how it goes!

HOMEMADE POP TARTS

Step 1:  Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Pat yourself on the back.
Step 2:  Prepare your baking sheets by lining them with parchment paper.  Whole Foods sells some awesome, natural, non-bleached paper.  ;)
Step 3:  Make the Pie Crust:

Pie Crust Recipe 

(use any crust recipe you wish.  My favorite is from Vegan Lunch Box by Jennifer McCann)

2 cups flour (I used All Purpose)

1 teaspoon salt

2/3 cup nonhydrogenated butter

5-7 T ice water, as needed.

Mix flour and salt in big bowl.

Cut in butter with pastry cutter or fingers until all big lumps are gone.  Drizzle the water one tablespoon at a time until you can form a ball.  If it gets too sticky, add a light dusting of flour.  Shape the dough into a ball.

Step 4:
Roll the pie crust out THIN...almost transparent.  (I usually put half the ball back in the ball and work with smaller amounts of crust at a time).

Step 5:
Find a cutter (no, that is most definitely NOT a technical term).  I use the Biggest Picky's lunch container.  It is double the size of a pop tart but when we fold it in half it is perfect pop-tart size.  Ta-Da!  You could always try cookie cutters (just cut two for each tart) or use a sharp knife to cut roughly 9 x 6 inches.  Place the rectangles on the parchment paper.  This recipe made NINE pop tarts for me but it really all depends on how big you cut.

Step 6:  Stab 1/2 of the rectangle with a fork so it doesn't puff up like me at eight months pregnant. (just kidding...wanted to make sure you were still reading!)

Step 7:  Prepare the fillings.  This is where you can become creative.  Mix some frozen fruit with some sugar and a bit of cornstarch.  Use organic jelly.  Mix 1 teaspoon of flour with some brown sugar, coconut flakes and cinnamon.  Whatever makes you happy.  This time I used fruit conserves that is pretty low in sugar for 1/2 of my pop tarts and the brown sugar coconut concoction for the other half.

Step 8:  Spoon roughly 2 T filling on the rectangle half that you didn't pierce...try to stay away from the edges.

Step 9:  Fold the pierced half over.  Take a fork and crimp the edges to make it look fancy.

Step 10:  Brush with some almond milk or milk (I'm sure egg whites would work, too!).  I dusted some vegan cane sugar on top.  (Why vegan sugar, you ask?  Two words for you about traditional sugar:  BONE CHAR.) Or you can make icing and put sprinkles on them!

Step 11:  Bake 18-20 minutes.

Step 12:  Enjoy.

Step 13:  Exercise.  :)