Make Your Own Homemade Pop Tarts

So you love pop tarts? Well homemade ones are so super yummy that you'll never go back to the box. They are really very simple too.

First thing you need is pie crust dough. 

You can make your own or buy the premade rolls from the dairy section of your grocery store. 

Next you need to cut them to size. We did 3" by 6". 

We used a ruler and a pizza cutter to get nice cuts.

Next you'll want to place half your pieces on a nonstick cookie sheet 

(we use nonstick aluminum foil to make cleanup a breeze). 

Choose your filling. 

We used strawberry preserves but you could use just about any jam or jelly or even diced fruit. 

Measure out about 2 TBS and spread on each slice.

Now place your remaining sheets on top and press down around the edges to make a light seal.

With a fork press down to "tighten" the seal all the way around each pocket and pierce the top a few times to make steam vents. 

Take 1 egg yolk and 1 TBS water and mix together to make an egg wash and brush over the tops of all the pockets.

Now bake at 350 for about 10 minutes or until golden brown.

Lastly give a good sprinkle of powdered sugar and enjoy!

Pizza Night!

So around here we usually have homemade pizza every Thursday but last night we had to go out to get new fish for Izzy's tank and decided to treat ourselves to Steak N Shake. Boy was it yummy and it was a nice change to eat out somewhere. That's something we don't normally do as our budget just doesn't have room for too much frivolous stuff.

That being said I wanted to share our dough recipe. I double it and make it 3 times over (for a total of 6 pizzas) so I only have to make dough every 6 weeks. I freeze each pizza dough in a quart freezer bag and flatten it out (it thaws quicker this way) and take it out of the freezer and put it in the fridge the night before we want pizza and then put it on the counter a few hours before we wanna cook. Just open the bag so it can get air to proof.

Garlic Pizza Dough
3/4 cup warm water
1 envelope active dry yeast (or about .25oz if using bulk)
2 cups all purpose flour (plus possible extra)
1 teaspoon sugar
3/4 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 & 1/2 teaspoons garlic powder (optional)

Pour water into small bowl and stir in yeast. Let stand until dissolved (about 5 minutes)

Using stand mixer - mix flour, sugar, salt and garlic. add yeast mixture and olive oil slowly on low speed. should quickly make a ball. if still sticky add more flour by the tablespoon until ball is smooth (should take a minute or 2)
Transfer to lightly oiled bowl, turn dough to coat with oil. cover bowl and let rise till doubled (about 1 hour). Punch down dough and roll out how you want. Cook @ 450 for 12 - 20 minutes (less for thin crust, more for thick crust) or until cheese is golden.

I skip the rising steps and put mine straight into quart zip-locks and plop them in the freezer.