These are pretty much DIY pop tarts. They rock. They are great if everyone has different favorites because you can fill each pastry with separate fillings. So versatile! I would make these more often because they are so easy to grab and eat on the go, but as much as I love to bake, I loathe rolling out dough. It's never as obnoxious as I remember it being, but I still hate doing it.The dough is rather shortbread-like and if you prefer savory fillings you can cut out some of the sugar. I tend to try new fillings every time I make this recipe, and so far I've loved 90% of them. Here are several options I have tried and loved, but feel free to come up with your own.
You don't have to ice your pasties, but I think they look prettier this way, and the one pictured on the right is just sliced plums inside so I thought it could use a bit of extra sweetness.
This dough is seriously so simple to make. Just toss all your ingredients into a food processor and pulse until well mixed. The knife and cutting board are set out because you cube the butter before you toss it in.
Scrape your dough out onto plastic wrap and form it into kind of a ball.
Wrap up your dough and refrigerate it for at least 2 hours (or overnight if you want to start it ahead of time).
Close-ups are always helpful, don't you think? Here is the ham, egg & cheese. It just scrambled them together earlier so it wouldn't run.
This is basil, tomato, garlic & pepper. If you want to not be as lazy as me and make pesto to go with the tomatoes, that's even better.
Strawberry preserves
Remember the peach iced tea? I used the compote by-product and added mixed in some caramel sauce I had made earlier.
Super simple sliced plums.
Diced apples with caramel sauce.
I have a cutter for these. Otherwise my rectangles are crazy looking and don't line up to stack on top of each other. You don't have to have one though.
Put your toppings on half your rectangles, trying to keep space around the edges. Very important! If you are doing multiple fillings take a photo or make yourself a chart so you know which pastries are which. You wouldn't want to mix up caramel apple with ham, egg & cheese would you?
Also, don't stack your fillings too high because you want the top pastry piece to fill over the bottom without stretching too thin. And don't worry about your pastries leaking. The ones that look liquid-y here didn't leak, and the solid looking plum DID leak. No big deal though. It happens. Brush an egg wash over your edges before adding your top pastry layer and push the edges down to seal them together.
Bake on parchment paper and remove from the oven when they are still pale, but the egdes have turned lightly golden.
You will probably get a few pastries that run. It's okay. Once you let them cool and lift them off the parchment paper, you'll never be able to tell.
If you want to add some extra sweetness or color go ahead and add some icing. I mixed some powdered sugar, food coloring, and water in a prep bowl and drizzled in on. The prettier pastry on the left I evened out the icing with a butter knife. Let the pastries sit for 30 minutes, or until the icing hardens. I store my pastries individually in sandwich bags with the flavor written on the bag in sharpie so I know what I'm eating. Store in a cool dry spot in the kitchen, or if not available, the fridge. These have never lasted more than 3 or 4 days in our house, so I don't know exactly how long they keep for.
The finished inside of the tomato basil pastry. Yum! I like mine cold, but if you like warm pastries you might want to make yours thin so they will fit in your toaster. A few of mine are too puffy.
I'm only including the recipe for the pastry part of this recipe because the fillings are so numerous and so easy to create your own. Be warned though, if you want a thin filling like lemon curd, it will melt in the oven and become liquid-y and almost disappear from the inside. Thicken thin fillings up with cornstarch or other thickeners first.
breakfast pastries
Perfect on-the-go breakfast, use your favorite filling!
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 cups AP flour
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 tbsp granulated sugar
- 2 sticks (16 tbsp) cold unsalted butter, diced
- 6-8 tbsp cold water
- 1 egg, beaten with 1 tsp water
Instructions
1. Pulse together the flour, salt, and sugar in a food processor. Then add the diced butter and pulse until it looks coarse and even. Add the water and pulse 3 more times. The dough should hold together but not be sticky.If it is too dry, add the remaining water a little at a time. Turn the dough out onto plastic wrap and wrap it up and store it in the fridge for at least 2 hours (up to overnight).Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside. On a slightly floured work surface roll out your dough. It should be pretty thin (about 1/8"). Using a mold or freehand, cut out 16 rectangles (you will have to roll the dough out at least 2-3 times to accomplish this). 3. Spread your fillings out on half of the rectangles. Keep the filling away from the edges, but spread it evenly. Brush the edges around the filling with the egg wash. Place the top pastry piece over the bottom and push the edges down to seal.4. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Bake the pastries for 25 minutes, or until lightly golden around the edges. Do not overbake these! Halfway through switch the positions of the pans, and rotate from front to back. Remove from the oven and let cool completely. Ice if you want, then let dry completely. Store in individual sandwich bags in a cool, dry place, or the fridge. Keeps for at lest 3 days (they've always been eaten by then here!). Makes 8.
Details
Prep time: Cook time: Total time: Yield: 8 pastriesFood for thought:
These are some other flavors we've done in the past that have gone over well.
- s'mores (chocolate chips, mini marshmallow, graham cracker crumbles)
- jam
- lemon curd mixed with marshmallow fluff
- sun gold tomato and pesto
- pepperoni pizza
- diced fruit
- cream cheese mixed with cinnamon and sugar
- brown sugar and cream cheese
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