I have a lot of talents....

....Pastry is not one of them.  Today I decided I wanted to try a recipe for home made Pop Tarts I had been eyeing up for quite some time.

Suzanne McMinn
and
Deb Perelman

make it look so easy and delicious.  They fooled me into thinking I could strike a truce with Pastry.  Pastry and I have never gotten along.  I cannot roll a pie crust out in one piece to save my life.  I usually leave it up to the experts:  Grandma Jean and Richard.  Maybe I am a bit crazed because Spring Break has started and it is still cold and snowy outside and the thought of having the kids home with me for the week has me panicked.  Maybe I still haven't recovered my marbles from losing them to sleep deprivation at the Sparks sleepover this past weekend.

I chose Deb's recipe and dove in.  I could get the dough rolled out (with many breaks outside to let it firm up while rolling) but when it came time to transfer my little squares (measured with a RULER, people!!!) they folded up and got all mushy.  I quickly lost patience with all of this.  I decided to make mini pop tarts and tried to put a dab of filling at one end and then fold the pastry over, pirogi-style.  (Pirogi dough and I are not best friends either, for the record)  The dough didn't co-operate.  After fiddling with this for a the first few squares, I gave up and decided that free-form jam tarts were the order of the day.  I smooshed the uncooperative dough into a circle, put a dab of filling in the center and then smooshed the edges in.  They sure aren't pretty but the kids don't care.  I am quite disappointed.  I probably overworked the dough or something, but the pastry is crumbly and turns to mush in my mouth.  It is too salty.

I am not going to make these again.


PS:  Please click the links I provided at the beginning of the post to find out what my culinary creations were supposed to look like.

Before baking

They don't look much better after!