Ingredients
- Brown Sugar Cinnamon Filling
- 3 3 3 ounces fresh bread crumbs (GF bread crumbs work perfectly too)
- 1 1 1 ounce unsalted butter, melted (use shortening for vegan)
- 4 4 4 ounces brown sugar
- 4 4 4 teaspoons cinnamon
- 2 1/2 2 1/2 1/2 ounces corn syrup
- 1 1 1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 1/2 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- Mix all of the ingredients together in a small bowl until homogenous. Mash with a fork until it forms a damp sort of paste.
- to 1/4” tablespoon of the filling onto half of the prepared Pop Tarts pieces. Use your fingers to spread the filling into a rectangular shape, leaving a 1/4” margin all around the edges.
- Fruit Fillings
- Strawberry Filling
- 2 2 to ounces of freeze dried strawberries (equivalent to over a pound of fresh!!) DO NOT use Fresh
- 4 4 4 ounces dried pear
- 4 4 4 ounces dried apple
- 1 1 1 ounce corn syrup
- Blueberry Filling
- 2 2 2 ounces dried plums
- 5 1/2 5 1/2 1/2 ounces dried blueberries
- 3 3 3 ounces dried apricots
- 1 1 1 ounce corn syrup
- Mango Pineapple Filling
- 3 3 3 ounces dried mango, chopped into small bits first
- 3 3 3 ounces dried pineapple, chopped into small bits first
- 4 4 4 ounces dried pear
- 1 1 1 ounce corn syrup
- Cranberry Apricot
- 5 5 5 ounces dried apple
- 3 3 3 ounces dried apricot
- 2 2 2 ounces dried cranberry
- 1 1 1 ounce corn syrup
- Cherry Filling
- 2 2 2 ounces of freeze dried cherries
- 4 4 4 ounces dried pear
- 2 2 2 ounces dried apple
- 2 2 2 ounces dried cherries
- 1 1 1 ounce corn syrup
- Chocolate Cherry Filling for Valentine's Day
- 5 5 5 ounces dried cherries
- 2 2 2 ounces dried apple
- 3 3 3 ounces dark chocolate, chopped
- 1 1 1 ounce corn syrup
Preparation
Step 1
To make the filling:
Combine the dried fruit and corn syrup together in a food processor. Blitz until a paste is formed, letting the machine run for a minute or so to ensure no large bits have stuck in the corners.
You have two options regarding how to get the filling inside the Pop Tarts. I started out with the first method, but after months of Pop Tarting, I’ve switched to the second. Either way, don’t overfill. Pop Tarts only contain a thin smear of fruit filling inside.
1) Pipe the filling into the Pop Tarts by using a pastry bag fitted with a flat tip or an extra large petal tip. Pipe several rows of single-thickness filling to each pastry “bottom”, leaving a 1/4” margin all the way around.
or
2) Roll the fruit filling out between two sheets of plastic wrap, effectively creating a giant Fruit Roll Up. Then cut into appropriately sized rectangles to fit inside each Pop Tart. This method gives each Pop Tart a perfectly smooth layer of fruit paste inside, making the finished product quite flat and uniform in appearance.
Detailed instructions for rolling the paste
Have a small bowl of water and two sheets of plastic wrap at the ready. Spread one sheet on the counter and sprinkle with water; this helps prevent the paste from sticking to the wrap.
Then, using wet hands, gather the fruit paste into a ball and put it into the center of the plastic wrap and pat it into a square. Sprinkle the square with a few drops of water, then put another sheet of plastic wrap on top.
Use a rolling pin to roll it out into a 12 inch square, about 1/8” thin. If you take a lot of care to roll evenly, both up-and-down and left-and-right, you will create a very square like shape. Of course, you’re not a machine in a factory, so some places will have irregular sides or will turn out too long, etc. But you’ll have a rough square.
Gently peel off the top layer of plastic. Use a dampened ruler (it will stick to the paste otherwise) to trim the paste into a 12” square. Peel up the scrappy bits you trimmed off and patch together any gaps.
If necessary sprinkle some more water over the paste, reapply the plastic wrap, and give it another roll. This will seal the patchwork together and ensure the paste is uniformly thin.
Now use a dampened ruler and a pizza cutter (or knife) to cut out 12, 2 3/4” x 3 3/4” pieces. Cover the paste with the plastic wrap, transfer to a cookie sheet, and refrigerate or freeze until needed.
Once the Pop Tart dough is rolled out and ready for filling, unwrap the fruit paste and peel up each rectangle (with wet hands) and place each into the center of the pastry “bottoms.”
Proceed with the Pop Tart recipe.