bake 20: homemade pop tarts.

yep, you read this correctly.  i made my own pop tarts!  & know what?  they're like 3,000 times better than the store-bought versions.

on sunday, i had a sudden urge to bake something.  i'm actively trying to make some of the many recipes i'm pinning these days, so when the urge arrived, i made my way to the fantastic world we call pinterest.  once in my archives, i knew the minute i saw the pin, homemade pop tarts were the something i wanted to make.

recipe: i found this recipe via smitten kitchen

adjustments: considering this was my first time making puff pastry from scratch, i would have done a few things differently.  the only salt i had on hand was sea salt.  colossal mistake.  while the pastry tastes ah-mazing, it's a bit too salty & there are random salt chunks in unsuspecting bites.  considering i opted to make the sweet version of these, saltier isn't better.  also, i chose to mix the dough by hand.  next time, i'm going to pulse it in a food processor.  i think this would have yielded a more consistent dough and quite honestly, much less of a mess.  i will say this, mixing by hand is therapeutic as long as your anxiety doesn't return when you're scraping butter from your fingers with the side of a bowl.

review: unbelievable.  i opted to use fresh fruit in the center of my pop tarts (peach & fig) and am i glad i did.  the puff pastry is flaky and when baking, they make your whole home smell like yummy goodness (the perfect, we're-trying-to-sell-a-home scent) & when toasted, (in a toaster oven of course) your home once again reminds you of your favorite bakery.  these are definitely a keeper.  i can't wait to experiment with different fillings (both sweet and savory) & continue practicing the art of pastry dough.

this is item #4 of my bake 20 in 2012 challenge.  i still have a long way to go!

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over the next five months i'm going to try my hand at 20 different baked goods.  there's no specific order and no plan.  just making things that look good and hopefully in the process, finding a new appreciation of baking.  feel free to join me in the Bake 20 Challenge.