Although it looks simple on the outside, I filled my pop-tarts with strawberry curd, pastry cream, and yuzu curd leftover from different projects! The perfect sweet & sour breakfast toaster pastry!

For the pie crust, the baking powder and vinegar are optional, but they give extra flake and rise to the pastry.

You can substitute the curds with other fillings, such as various fruit jams, chocolate, Nutella, marshmallows, cinnamon sugar, or any type of pie filling.

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Pastry

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• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

• 8 Tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, cubed and frozen

• 1 Tablespoon granulated sugar

• Pinch salt

• Pinch baking powder (optional)

• 3-4 Tablespoons ice water + drop of vinegar
  OR 1/4 cup buttermilk
   

Fillings and Icings
 

• Jam, chocolate, Nutella, cinnamon sugar, or another pie filling

  • For the above pictures, I used yuzu curd and strawberry curd mixed with some pastry cream

• Guava paste and cream cheese to make pastelitos de guayaba (pictured below)

• Egg wash or milk
   

• Coarse sugar if not using icing

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• 1/2 cup powdered sugar

• 2 teaspoons milk, plus more as needed

  • Or can use fruit juice/puree/extract for color and flavor

• Drop vanilla extract

• Sprinkles, or thicker frosting for decoration (optional)

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Instructions

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1. For the pastry dough: Using a food processor or a stand mixer with a paddle attachment, pulse together the flour, frozen cubed butter, sugar, salt, and baking powder until the texture is like coarse sand.
   *You can also do this by hand with two knives, a pastry blender, or your hands

2. Slowly stream in the ice water and vinegar (or buttermilk) while pulsing, just until a dough starts to form. You may need to turn the dough out on the counter and finish it by hand. Press into a 1-inch thick square, cover, and refrigerate at least 1 hour
   *Make sure you work quickly so the butter doesn't melt into the dough. The tiny bits of butter coated in flour from step 1. will help create the flakiness in the finished pie dough.
   *Refrigerating the dough here will also prevent the butter from melting in the rolling step, and will relax the gluten

3. Remove the dough from the fridge and roll out into a 1/8-inch thin rectangle. Cut rectangles about 3x4-inches, and place half the rectangles on a baking tray lined with parchment.

4. Brush all the rectangles with egg wash or milk. With the rectangles on the baking tray, spread 1 heaping Tablespoon over the pastry, leaving a 1/4-inch border around the edges. Cover with the remaining rectangles (egg wash side up). Press the seams down with a fork to seal, or a chopstick/skewer (if you don't want the fork tines on your pastry). Trim the edges with a knife to straighten the shape. Sprinkle with coarse sugar.

5. Poke holes on the surface of the top pastry to let steam escape during baking. Refrigerate for 30 minutes to 1 hour. If you cut slits, it will allow too much filling to ooze out in the oven

6. Preheat oven to 375°F.

7. Bake the pop-tarts until golden brown on the edges and bottom, about 20 minutes. Rotate the tray halfway through for even baking

8. Let cool completely on the baking tray. Transfer to a wire rack for decorating.

9. For assembly: Whisk the icing ingredients together until desired consistency. A thicker icing will create a neater rectangle design, but you can add more liquid to create a thinner glaze.

10. Using an offset spatula, butter knife, or back of a spoon, spread icing on each pop-tart to create desired design. You can use a toothpick or skewer to neaten the edges if you want a rectangle of icing. Cover with sprinkles (optional) or pipe a design on top with more icing.

11. Let set completely at room temperature until icing hardens, about 1 hour. (Or eat immediately)

12. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days, or in the fridge for up to a week. When you want to eat, reheat in a 350°F oven for 10 minutes.