Nostalgic blueberry pop tarts with a twist!
Ingredients for filling:
2 cups of blueberries (fresh or frozen will work)
1/4 + 1/8 cups sugar
A slurry of 1 tbsp cornstarch & 1 tbsp hot water
3/4 tsp of lavender, crushed
A few pinches of salt
Directions for filling:
-Add blueberries and sugar into a pot. Melt the sugar at medium heat.
-Add 1 tbsp cornstarch to 1 tbsp hot water and mix. Make sure the water is hot so that the cornstarch combines without lumps.
-Add cornstarch slurry to the blueberry mixture along with the crushed lavender* and simmer until it thickens up to the consistency of jam. Remove from heat and allow to cool completely.
*most lavender is technically safe to eat, English lavender is best for eating! It’s also called culinary lavender
Ingredients for pastry:
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup cold unsalted butter, cubed
1 1/2 tbsp sugar
3/4 tsp salt
2 egg whites
4 tbsp cold cream
1 egg for egg wash
Directions for pastry:
-Combine flour, sugar and salt in a large bowl.
-Cut in cold butter until the pieces are pea sized. I use a pastry cutter but you could also use your hands
-Whisk egg whites and cream together and then add to the flour, mixing until everything is combined. The mixture is ready when it’s no longer crumbly and doesn’t stick to the sides of the bowl. You may need to add a little water or flour to achieve the desired consistency, just do so at 1 tbsp at a time so you don’t add too much.
-Split dough into 2 balls. Flatten the balls into disks and then wrap each disk in plastic wrap and stick in the fridge to chill for 30 minutes.
-After 30 minutes, roll out each disk into a rectangle that’s about 6 x 16 inches. Cut 8 smaller 3 x 4 inch rectangles from each larger rectangle. You should end up with 16 smaller rectangles.
-Poke several holes in the top 8 rectangles with a fork so that they don’t puff up in the oven.
-Place the 8 bottom rectangles on a parchment lined baking sheet and begin filling with the blueberry mixture. You’ll only need about a spoonful for each rectangle. Careful not to overfill!
-Seal the edges with your finger first and then with a fork. Stick back in the fridge to chill for at least 30 minutes.
-Whisk together the last egg and brush it on the tops of the poptarts once they’re done chilling
-Bake at 400 degrees for 25 minutes or until the poptarts are golden brown.
Ingredients for icing:
3 cups confectioners sugar, or more if needed to make the icing very thick
1 1/2 tbsp cream
2 tsp of blueberry lavender filling, strained through a cheesecloth so it’s not lumpy
More lavender if you’d like to sprinkle a little on top
Mix together all the ingredients. You want the icing to be very thick so that it doesn’t slide off the poptarts so add more sugar if you need to.
Let the poptarts cool completely before icing and enjoy :)