Baxter's Pop Tart Review

The title of this post kind of says it all. I finally got around to making home made pop tarts this weekend. Many steps were involved. I'm not sure I've ever baked anything this involved. My friend here is quite the baker and has her own very successful blog: Beantown Baker. She is incredible. I'm just a step away from a disaster every time flour is involved. Luckily, most of the recipes I've tried have been fairly successful. I really want to be a better baker. So far the cupcakes, lemon bars, and blueberry muffins have been successful. I can make a mean batch of box mix brownies too! These pop tarts were risky given all the steps involved and my lack of ability to follow directions.

First I made some chocolate ganache. I used Trader Joe's Belgian dark chocolate, heavy whipping cream, and a lot of butter.

I'll admit to eating a few spoonfuls strait from the bowl. It was soooooo good! Somewhere in the "health neighborhood" of Pioneer Woman and Paula Dean.

Then I made pie dough. I followed nearly all the directions. I chopped up the butter and then froze it. I mixed it with my fingers until there was a texture like sand. I added a few tablespoons of ice water and mixed until it all stuck together in a "big gloppy mess."

The dough was refrigerated another 2 hours while I did everything I could to NOT eat the entire bowl of chocolate ganache. Piecing together the pop tarts wasn't the easiest part, but I got them together. Sleep deprivation and a severe case of inpatients got the pop tarts into the oven instead of back into the fridge. Oops! 

Are you doing the mental math? This took some serious will power on my part! The pop tarts ended up a little rugged, but looked scrumptious all the same. I was so pleased! Couldn't wait to share them with my friends who I visited this weekend.

My bags were packed, so I took the bus to go get the zip car. When I got back, this is what I found...

Baxter would like you all to know that they were delicious! He thinks the crust could be a little thinner next time, and would prefer that not quite so much plastic wrap be used to cover them up. It was a bit of a barrier to consumption, but he seems to have gotten around it for the most part. Only a few crumbs left behind. All of that work and all I could were some measly crumbs covered with Baxter slobber from the corners of the plastic wrap! I concur on the crust thickness. Next time I will work to make it thinner. Otherwise, they would have been a great treat to share with friends. Sorry no one will get to try them this time.

Lucky for some friends who are coming for dinner. Pop tarts and ice cream anyone? These are safe in the fridge for now!

For all those who may be worried about Baxter's consumption of dark chocolate ganache: he's fine. This guy has eaten so much chocolate over his life time. He may have a million allergies, but chocolate seems to have zero negative effect. Thankfully, he only got about 1/3 cup of ganache. It's my fault for leaving them within his reach. They were down in a shopping bag. He managed to carefully take the tray of pop tarts out of the shopping bag without breaking the tray, peal back the plastic wrap without tearing the plastic wrap, and devour the pop tarts. Keeping stuff out of his reach is nearly impossible. Trust me, I will not be training him to open the fridge for me. That's about the only place food is safe!