Homemade Strawberry Jelly PopTarts

For the Dough 

1. In a large bowl, whisk flour, confectioners’ sugar, and salt together.
2. Add your butter chunks, using your hands to squeeze the butter into the flour. Keep working with it until the butter chunks disappear into the dough. You do not want the butter chunks to completely mix, meaning that you should still see chunks of butter in this dough at all stages.
3. Add the egg yolks into the flour mixture using a wooden spoon. When the egg mixture fully mixes into the pastry, add 2 tablespoons of milk. Dough should be tacky, not dry. If dough is dry, add another tablespoon of milk. Use your hands to form the dough into a ball. Massage the dough to smoothen the ball.
4. Split your dough into two equal parts. Flatten each before wrapping the two parts in plastic wrap. Place the dough disks in the fridge for 30 minutes to an hour. This step is absolutely necessary.

For the Filling

1. In a medium saucepan, whisk cornstarch and water together.
2. Add strawberry jam to the pan and stir over medium heat. Let the mixture reach a boil, stirring constantly for 2 minutes. Remove the jam from the heat and transfer to a bowl to ensure it doesn’t burn.
3. Let it cool until ready to use. Mixture will be thick.

For Assembly

1. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
2. Remove the first dough disk from the fridge. On a clean surface sprinkled with flour, roll the dough out using a rolling pin. Dough should be ⅛ inch thick… very thin. Cut dough into 3×4 inch rectangles using a sharp knife or pizza cutter. You should get 3-4 rectangles from this first dough disk.
3. Repeat this process with your second dough disk.
4. Place the rectangles on the baking sheet.
5. Combine your egg with your dash of milk or water. This should be just a teaspoon of liquid or so… don’t add too much or you will dilute your egg wash. Use a pastry brush, clean paint brush, or even a paper towel to brush your egg wash on HALF of the rectangles. 
6. Place about 1 ½ tablespoons of jam into the center of the rectangles WITH the egg wash already on them. Ensure that you have half an inch of space around the sides of the rectangle.
7. Place one of the remaining rectangles on top of each jammed pastry. Use a fork to crimp around the sides of the tart. This ensures that no jam will spill out.
8. Place the tarts in the freezer for 10 minutes.

For Baking

1. Thoroughly brush the tops of the pastries with the egg wash. Use a fork to create air pockets in each pastry. Ensure that the fork fully pushes through the top layer of the pastry. There is no need for the fork to go through both layers.
2. Bake at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for 15-18 minutes. The tarts will be light golden brown in color. To check to see if they are done, carefully use a spatula to check the bottoms of the pastries. Let cool before adding icing.

For the Glaze

1. To make the glaze, combine confectioners’ sugar and milk in a bowl with a spoon or whisk. Glaze should not be runny, but you should easily be able to stir it. It will still fall off of a spoon when the spoon is lifted out of the bowl of glaze. If the mixture is too thin, add confectioners’ sugar by the tablespoon. If the mixture is too thick, add milk by the teaspoon.
2. Use a knife or spoon to add the glaze to the tops of the tarts. Do not do this until the tarts are cool. Depending on the consistency of your glaze, it may spread a bit, which is totally fine! Top with sprinkles if desired.