Strawerry Pop-Tarts

-yes, i made these and yes they are just a good as they look-

ahhh pop-tarts. who can deny themselves of a fresh out of the wrapper treat like this? i dare so no-one. no matter how food snobby i become i will always have a soft spot in my heart for a Kellogg's unfrosted strawberry pop-tart - ugh its terrible, vending machines across the city taunt me so. but alas i am actually a grown-up and i don't allow myself the constant indulgence of these strangely made "pastries". so when i finally accomplished strawberry jam, well the logical next step is of-course to make some homemade pop-tarts. oh yeah, that's what i said: homemade pop-tarts.

these. are. awesome. you won't be fooling anyone into believing these little guys are kellogg's concoctions (but really, why the heck would you try and replicate that faux pastry-ness? gross - just take a walk to the vending machine or a really big one, like wal-mart) they are more like strudels - remember those frozen treats? the exact line from Pilsbury is, get this: "start your day with a convenient, bakery-fresh treat". ha! since when was the toaster / microwave a baker?and better yet is the "do it yourself icing", people let me be clear on this: squeezing a plastic bag of liquid sugar onto a reheated frozen treat is not do-it-yourself. but i admit many a high school breakfasts consisted of those oddly gooey sugar pops and not just one i would eat like 4, wow. mmm healthy way to start your day, no wonder i still don't know how to write very well.

so back to me. i used my standard pie crust, filled it with the wonderfully perfect strawberry jam from easter and whipped together a stiff royal icing. that was that - nothing difficult and actually a do-it-yourself treat. we munched down on these guys as an after dinner treat; which is what the they are America - dessert not breakfast.

STRAWBERRY POP-TARTS

1/2 recipe pie crust - find mine here

1-2 tbs strawberry jam (or whatever you please)

1 egg lightly beaten

*preheat oven to 400F, line baking sheet with parchment

*after refrigerating the pie dough roll out to a 1/8" thick rectangle, cut the odd edges off as needed

*evenly cut out 5" - 6" squares from the rolled out dough

*place 1 heaping tsp of jam on the centers of half of the squares

*brush the edges of the squares with the beaten egg, place a dough square on top and pinch with fork thongs to seal.

*place the filled pastries on the prepared sheet and brush with egg wash

*bake for 16-19 minutes until golden, not too browned though

*let cool completely before icing (recipe below)

ICING

*1/2c - 3/4c powdered sugar

*2-3 tsp milk (more if needed)

*few drops of vanilla

*whisk together the ingredients adding more sugar or milk as needed to get a thick icing.

*drizzle the icing over your cooled pastries and enjoy