If it were up to us, we'd infuse floral flavors into everything. While that might not be totally feasible, our friend and blogger gal in Atlanta, Gabi Valladares of By Gabriella, infused a sweet floral flavor into homemade pop tarts. Yes, you heard us right - pop tarts!
"I had seen homemade pop tart recipes before and truth be told, I was scared of them. Why? I have no clue! Though, my educated guess is that it's because I still love those store-bought Pop-Tarts so much that I thought homemade simply couldn't live up to the original."
"But here we are. I made my own homemade pop tarts from a mix of recipes that are already out there. I prioritized steps and ingredients based on......ease. Yup. Can you blame me? Everyone's always running around trying to accomplish 20 things at once - myself included! - so I went with the absolute easiest way to whip up a childhood (and adulthood, if we're being honest) favorite right at home."
Well, Gabi clearly didn't stop there. Instead of going with a typical homemade pop tarts recipe (is there such a thing?), she made our floral foodie dreams come true with floral pop tarts with a rose icing.
"My first thought was I'm not going to make just any old pop tarts - though the s'mores ones are still some of the BEST snacks ever. So, I challenged myself to think outside the box. What I came up with was a mashup of a recipe featuring rose apricot jam and a fragrant rose icing."
Floral Pop Tarts
- 2 refrigerated pie crusts
- 1 cup jam (I used rose apricot jam)
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 1 egg
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 2 tablespoons heavy cream
- 1 teaspoon rose water
- Food coloring (if you'd like)
- Preheat your oven to 400 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Roll out the pie crusts and cut the edges off to make a square. Then, cut each square into 3 equal strips.
- Mix jam with cornstarch and spoon it into one side of your pop tart 'shell'. Spread it out a bit, but be sure to leave room on the sides to seal the pop tart.
- Crack egg into a bowl and beat until mixed. Brush egg wash around the edges with the jam, and fold the dry end over the egg wash to seal the pop tart. Use a fork to make indents around each edge of pop tart.
- Bake for 15-20 minutes (keep a close eye on them so they don't overcook!).
- Once golden, remove from the oven and let cool on a rack.
- While pop tarts are cooling, mix powdered sugar, rose water, heavy cream, and just a dash of food coloring (the food coloring is up to you! I used the tiniest bit of red to get that lovely pink color) until combined. Brush icing over pop tarts and enjoy!
"Now, a few tips on what I did wrong my first time and how you can remedy those before you make the same missteps I did:
- Don't bake these too long or else the jam gets pretty tacky...and hard to eat. That's no fun for anyone. I'd suggest taking them out right as they're turning a golden brown color - don't wait any longer!
- When you do take them out...do not - I repeat, do not - touch the jam! It's scalding hot. And I should know, or rather, my poor pointer finger knows.
- These can be a little on the dry side. Maybe experiment with using some egg wash on the outside or stretching the dough so it's a little thinner to avoid super dry pop tarts."
"All in all, it was definitely a good first go! I loved the scent and flavor of the rose icing - it was just so dreamy!"
Well, you've got us ready to jump right in the kitchen, Gabi!
Recipe adapted via The Pioneer Woman
