There are hundreds of different flavors of that delicious, sweet, on-the-go breakfast or snack. It's easy and convenient to grab a box at the store; but what if I told you they can be made at home? And they're so much better than the ones in that iconic silver sleeve; and easier to make than you think!

I decided to experiment with this recipe one day. I woke up really wanting a Pop-tart, but we didn't have any. With all the snow still covering the ground, I didn't want to get out, so I decided to try my hand at this sweet pastry. I had a couple of those prepackaged pie doughs in the fridge that needed to be used up, anyways. I don't like using prepackaged foods for my bakes, so this was the perfect experiment. I let them get to room temperature as I figured out how to make the filling and the glaze. I don't know about you, but my favorite is the brown sugar cinnamon! I don't think it gets any better than that classic. How hard could it be to think up the filling? A little brown sugar, some cinnamon, maybe a little flour to hold it together, and butter?

I threw some ingredients in a bowl, whisked it up, and began to roll out the pie crust. I got the handy dandy pizza cutter out, squared out the dough and cut some rectangles. They were a little uneven, but this was practice, right? An experiment to see how close I could get it. I spooned a little filling into the first rectangle, rubbed some water around the edges, topped it with the second rectangle, and pressed the borders with a fork. Repeating this with the other three, and into the oven they go! They baked for about 7 minutes before I smelled something burning. Running to the kitchen and throwing open the oven door, every one of the pastries leaked the filling out. Ugh, I feel like nothing is more annoying than leaky pastries. Did I not seal them well enough? Is the filling too thin? I baked the second batch, this time using an egg to seal them instead of water and carefully pressed the border with a fork. And guess what: the same thing happened.

They had the flavor, aside from the almost burnt sugar. The pastry was good, for store bought pastry dough; the filling was good, maybe a little runny. I just needed to figure out how to keep the filling from leaking out. Research time! After about an hour of reading about different pastries, I found out the pastry needed vent holes to let steam escape as it bakes! How could I forget about such a vital part of baking? Goes to show how long it's been since I've made something other than a cake. So, now comes the real deal. I worked out a pastry recipe, along with the filling and a glaze, and off to the kitchen I go!

The "Tart" of it all

Starting with the dough, I gathered all the ingredients, pre-measured of course, and got to grating the butter. I grated a whole cup of butter and put it back in the fridge to cool back off. Butter has to be cold to work it into pastry dough, otherwise the butter will leak out as it bakes. As we know, we don't want leaky pastry! I sift the flour, add the rest of the dry ingredients, and grab the butter from the fridge, adding it to the bowl. Dough hook attached and mixing is commenced! Once it's crumbly, I scrape the bowl, turn the mixer back on, and slowly pour in the cold water. You want to use cold water to keep the butter cold. I used a little more water than originally planned, but my dough came out perfect. I turned it onto a lightly floured surface, gently kneading for a minute to make sure it was all incorporated, wrapped it in plastic wrap, and chilled it in the fridge for about an hour.

After about 45 minutes, I gather ingredients to make the filling for the pastries. It's even easier to make than the pastry dough. A little brown sugar, cinnamon, flour, butter, vanilla, and a pinch of salt. Whisk it together and it's ready to go! About the time I get that finished, it's time to get the dough out. I unwrap it and let it sit for just a minute to roll it out. You want to make sure you roll this dough out really thin; about an 1/8 of an inch. I cut out a 3"x4" rectangle to ensure all the cut pieces are the same size. And I cut my dough into smaller sections because it was easier for me to roll it out thin. Once all the dough is rolled and cut, I preheated the oven to 300 degrees Fahrenheit and began filling the bottoms of the pastries. I used about a tablespoon of filling in each rectangle. I brushed egg around the border to seal the pastry, put the top on, and sealed it by pressing a fork into the border. I poked fork holes into the top of the pastry to vent the steam as they bake, brushed egg on the top and borders, and into the oven they go!

These baked for about 30 minutes; a gorgeous golden brown and not a single drop of filling leaked out, which made me jump with joy! I moved those onto a cooling rack and started the next batch. I let them all cool for about an hour before I made the glaze and dipped them. Let me tell you, I was so proud of how these turned out! They were baked all the way through, flaky, buttery, golden brown; the filling didn't leak, tasted beautiful, and filled the pastry, leaving no gaps; and the glaze was just thick enough to coat the pastry, not too sweet. Some of them could have been dipped a little cleaner, as you can see in the picture, but it's a learning experience, right? Regardless, everything was balanced just right and so delicious. It's safe to say, these are going to be a normal staple in our house now. Here's the recipe!

I have some strawberries the need to be used so I believe I see strawberry pastries in the near future! And I am very excited to work out that recipe and try them out! I'd like to see how many different pastry flavors I can make. Are you ready for a pastry series? I sure am! Strawberry, blueberry, chocolate, s'mores, and more! So, stay tuned for that!

As always, thank you so much for being here. It brings me so much happiness to share my stories and recipes with the world. Make sure to check out the socials for exclusive shots and videos of what happens in my kitchen! My Facebook page and Instagram get updated almost daily, so don't miss out! See you next time for another story! Take care of yourself! <3