Nutty and sweet, these little pop-tarts are a fun little impromptu treat. P.S. – I actually included the recipe this time! #169: Tahini PB&J Pop-Tarts

I don’t know about you, but I’m all about comfort food right now. My comfort food parade has included cocoa banana bread, chocolate chip cookies, shortbread and these lil guys. A twist on the classic PB&J sammie, using buttery pie crust instead of bread. There’s just something magical about peanut butter and jelly – a little sweet, a little salty, and just the right amount of nostalgia.

What was your childhood jam choice? I’ve heard strawberry and grape from most of my friends, and I’m firmly in the strawberry camp! Probably something to do with the fact that my mom makes fabulous strawberry jam. I’m biased.

I feel like pop-tarts are a fad that refuses to fade. I’ve never liked the store-bought ones (they fell into the same category as cold sweet cereals that I also didn’t love) but everyone else seems to love them to pieces. Did you know that there was a Kellogg’s Pop-Tart store near Times Square in 2010? Dare we call it a pop-tart pop-up? (Couldn’t resist!)

On the other hand, a homemade pop-tart is just rectangular hand pie and I’m a huge fan. A hand pie is my favorite version of a fruit pie due to the amazing crust-to-filling ratio. Ever since making these Cherry Hand Pies a few years ago, I’ve been in love!

This cinnamon-freckled pie crust is perfect for baking whims. It takes less than an hour from start to finish!

Mix the dry ingredients and cold butter chunks til it looks like the sand on the beaches that none of us can visit right now.

Add in the ice water til it forms a baseball (ugh I miss baseball games!!)

Wrap it in parchment paper and pop it in the freezer for 15 minutes. (Or 45 minutes in the fridge if you like torturing yourself.)

Round up all your fillings!

Roll that baby out on a lightly floured board, into the closest thing to a rectangle that you can. If it turns into a rectangular-ish blob, congratulate yourself!

Voila! Magic.

I mixed in a blob of tahini to a couple tablespoons of peanut butter, to make it a tiny bit more savory. Any filling you don’t use, I highly recommend eating straight out of the bowl.

ART. Remember to leave plenty of space around the edges for crimping!

Lil cuties, all ready to be egg-washed and baked.

The egg-wash really makes ’em shine!

The little bit of tahini/PB spread I didn’t manage to polish off while they were baking, went into a piping bag and added some flair.

Happy munching!

Recipe:

• 1.5 cups flour
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 tsp sugar
• 0.5 tsp cinnamon
• 12 TBs chilled butter
• 0.25 cups ice water
• Whatever filling you want! (jams, nut butters, chocolate, etc.)

1. Blend dry ingredients in a food processor, slowly adding the butter until it comes together. (You can also do it by hand with a pastry cutter! Just takes a little longer.)
2. Add a little ice water at a time until it’s a cohesive ball, then wrap and refrigerate for 45 minutes (or freeze for 15 minutes if you’re impatient like me!)
3. Pre-heat your oven to 375F and line your baking sheet with parchment paper.
4. Flour your surface and roll the dough out into a rectangle, about 1/8 to 1/4 inch thick.
5. Cut into smaller rectangles (whatever size you want your pop-tarts to be).
6. Put the filling on half of them, leaving at least a 1/2 inch of crust free around the edges, and place the remaining half of the crust rectangles on top as lids.
7. Take a fork and crimp the edges to seal in the filling. Cut a tiny slit or X in the top of each lid to let steam out while baking.
8. Bake for 25 minutes
9. Let them cool for a few minutes, then top with any extra filling you might have! Or melted chocolate! Or citrus glaze! The world is your oyster.