Homemade Apple Pie Pop Tarts

It's been ridiculously cold recently. I kind of love it. People tend to look at me funny when I say that I love winter, but as I've mentioned before on this blog I get super cranky in the heat and humidity of summer. I like how the air smells on those crazy cold nights. This kind of cold weather makes me crave apple pie.

There are just some desserts that I will only eat in the middle of winter. Piping hot apple pies full of delicious chunks of juicy apple goodness along with a big scoop of vanilla ice cream is one of them. It has to be flavoured with plenty of spices and wrapped up in a very short, buttery pastry.

When Lisa made us these amazing cherry pop tarts with vanilla bean glaze, I immediately put them on my must-try list of recipes and every now and then I would wistfully dream about the thin flaky pastry and that amazing glaze. This weekend I finally found the time to try out the recipe and satisfy my apple pie cravings by making these Apple Pie Pop Tarts with a Cinnamon Glaze.

I just had one for breakfast today and they are amazing. The pastry recipe is perfection, the dough is super easy to work with and handle, plus it stayed flaky and short even though I had to re-roll the scraps several times. I loved how thin I could roll the pastry so that the pop tarts were wonderfully delicate to bite into.

I went through a phase where I was having strawberry pop tarts every morning for breakfast. If it wasn't pop tarts, it was cocoa pops. It seems that I used to like starting the day off with an insane amount of sugar (I'm more of a bacon and egg type of girl these days). Pop tarts aren't as readily available in Australia, so it's great to have a recipe for a homemade version. Plus as Lisa mentioned, it's all made with real butter and no corn syrup. And it's wayyyy tastier.

The apple pie filling is quite simple. I freaked out a bit when I cooked up the apples as they released so much juice, so I added a bit of gelatin powder to the mixture but I don't think it really needed it. The mixture seems to dry out quite well in the oven thanks to the flour that is added. I tried not to add too much sugar to the filling so it is quite tangy, since the pop tart is covered with that beautiful cinnamon glaze. The apples are mixed up with a bit of cinnamon and real vanilla bean, and when you get a mouthful of the mixture, with that light pastry, the spiced glaze and a little crunch from the sugar crystal you will cry. Then you can come thank me :)

The glaze is a bit tricky to get right. If it's too runny it won't hold it's shape on the top of the mixture and will just go everywhere. I found the best way to get it right was to keep whisking in small amounts of icing sugar and then spooning it on to a tart to see how long it would take to settle, using the spoon to scoop up the stray drips. It's definitely worth investing the time to get the glaze just right, so that it has that thin layer that almost shatters as you bite into it. Just heavenly.

Apple Pie Pop Tarts with Cinnamon Glaze
(makes 8, adapted from spicy icecream's recipe)
3-4 apples, peeled and finely chopped (about 3 cups worth), I used a mixture of Granny Smith and Royal Gala but you can use any good baking apples
Juice from half a lemon
1 vanilla bean pod
1 tbsp (14g) butter
1 tbsp brown sugar
1 tbsp glucose syrup (optional, can be replaced with another tbsp of brown sugar)
1 tbsp flour

For the pastry:
2 cups plain flour
2 tbsp sugar
1 tsp salt
225g unsalted butter, cold, cut into cubes
1 large egg
2 tbsp milk
1 large egg, for brushing the dough

For the glaze:
1 cup icing sugar, sifted
1 1/2 tbsp milk
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
Optional: granulated or raw sugar crystals

Prepare the filling first. Place butter in a medium saucepan on medium-low heat until it goes golden brown, then add chopped apple, lemon juice, brown sugar, glucose and vanilla bean (split and seeds scraped) and return to the heat. Stir regularly until apples are slightly more tender and liquid has reduced slightly, about 5-10 minutes. Remove from the heat and cool completely. Add flour and stir to combine, then chill while preparing the pastry.

In the bowl of a food processor, combine flour, sugar and salt. Add the cold butter and pulse until only pea sized lumps remain in your mixture. In a small bowl, beat the egg with the milk. Add the mixture all at once to the dry ingredients and pulse until moisture is introduced to all of the flour mixture. Lightly dust a clean surface with flour and knead the dough until it starts to hold together. Divide the dough in two, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for about 30 minutes.

Remove one piece of dough from the refrigerator. On a well floured surface, roll the dough out to 3mm thick. Trim the dough into rectangles 14 x 8cm (this is why my stainless steel ruler is one of my most used kitchen utensils). Place the dough rectangles onto 2 baking trays lined with baking paper and refrigerate while you prepare the second piece of dough in the same way. Brush one set of 8 squares with a beaten egg. This will act as the glue for the top layer of dough. Spoon 1 1/2-2 tbsp of apple filling into the center of each brushed dough square (you may want to drain some of the excess liquid from the filling first). Top with a second piece of dough and use a floured fork to crimp the sides closed. Use the tines of the fork to create vent holes in each tart.

Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F). Let the tarts rest in the fridge while the oven preheats. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown on top. While the tarts bake, whisk together the icing sugar, cinnamon and milk for the glaze and set aside. Let baked tarts rest on a cooling rack to cool completely before glazing. If glaze is too runny, gradually sift more icing sugar into the mixture until it reaches the correct viscosity. Sprinkle a small amount of sugar crystals over each tart. When glaze has set, serve immediately or store in an airtight container. Best served within 2 days, warmed up for 20-30 seconds in the microwave.