Homemade Toaster Pastries

Before you start

A homemade toaster pastry is really a flat hand pie: two rectangles of pie dough sealed around a thin layer of jam, baked until flaky, then iced. Made with an all-butter crust, it is richer and more tender than the boxed version and shatters at the edges.

The main risk is leaking. Jam boils in the oven, and a thin filling escapes through any gap. Thicken it with a little cornstarch, keep it to a modest spoonful well inside the edges, seal with a fork and cut steam vents in the top. Chilling the assembled pastries before baking keeps the butter cold so the edges puff instead of slumping.

Ingredients

• Pastry300 g (2½ cups, spooned and leveled) all-purpose flour
• 1 tbsp granulated sugar
• 1 tsp fine salt
• 225 g (1 cup) cold unsalted butter — cut into 1 cm cubes
• 90 to 120 ml (6 to 8 tbsp) ice water
• 1 large egg — beaten with 1 tbsp milk, for sealing and brushing
• Filling180 g (½ cup + 2 tbsp) strawberry jam
• 1 tsp cornstarch
• Icing120 g (1 cup) powdered sugar
• 1½ to 2 tbsp milk
• ¼ tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tbsp rainbow sprinkles

Method

1. Mix the flour, sugar and salt. Cut in the cold butter until the largest pieces are pea-sized. Drizzle in 90 ml ice water and toss until the dough holds when squeezed, adding more water a tablespoon at a time if needed.
2. Divide the dough in half, shape each piece into a flat rectangle, wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
3. Stir the jam and cornstarch in a small saucepan over medium heat until it bubbles and turns glossy, about 2 minutes. Cool completely; warm filling melts the pastry.
4. Roll one piece of dough on a floured counter to a 23 x 30 cm (9 x 12 in) rectangle about 3 mm (⅛ in) thick. Trim the edges straight and cut it into a 3 by 3 grid of nine 7.5 x 10 cm (3 x 4 in) rectangles. Repeat with the second piece.
5. Place nine rectangles on a parchment-lined sheet. Brush the edges with egg wash and spoon about 1 heaping tablespoon (20 g) of filling into the center of each, leaving a 1.5 cm (½ in) clean border.
6. Prick the remaining nine rectangles several times with a fork, lay them over the filling and press around the edges with your fingers, then crimp firmly with the fork. Refrigerate for 20 minutes. Heat the oven to 190°C (375°F).
7. Brush the tops lightly with egg wash. Bake for 22 to 26 minutes, until deep golden brown at the edges and on the bottoms. Cool on a rack for at least 30 minutes.
8. Whisk the powdered sugar, vanilla and enough milk to make a thick icing that holds its shape. Spread it on the cooled pastries, staying away from the crimped edges, and add sprinkles right away before it sets.

Tips for success

• Use a ruler. Even rectangles stack neatly and line up perfectly when you cover them.
• If the dough softens while you cut, slide the whole sheet onto a tray and chill it for 10 minutes before moving on.
• Seedless jam or a smooth fruit butter fills more evenly than chunky preserves.

Substitutions

Homemade pastry

Two store-bought rolled pie crusts work. They are round, so you get about 6 pastries, and the crust is less flaky than all-butter dough.

Strawberry jam

Use a brown sugar and cinnamon filling: 100 g brown sugar, 1 tbsp flour, 2 tsp cinnamon and 1 tbsp melted butter, with a cinnamon icing on top.

Butter in the pastry

Replace a quarter with cold shortening for a more tender, slightly less flavorful crust that is easier to handle.

Variations

Chocolate hazelnut

Fill each with 1 tbsp chocolate hazelnut spread, which needs no thickening, and top with a cocoa icing.

Troubleshooting

Filling leaked out

Too much filling, a thin jam, or weak seals. Thicken the jam, keep to 20 g each, leave a full border, crimp hard and do not skip the vent holes.

Pastry shrank and lost its shape

The dough was stretched while rolling or went in warm. Lift rather than stretch the dough, and chill the assembled pastries before baking.

Icing slid off

The pastries were still warm or the icing was too thin. Cool fully and add milk a few drops at a time.

Storage

Keep iced pastries in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days. To reheat, warm un-iced pastries in a toaster oven; iced ones melt in a slot toaster. Unbaked, assembled pastries freeze for up to 2 months and bake from frozen with 4 to 5 extra minutes.

Safety notes

Raw pastry dough brushed with egg wash should not be eaten before baking. Let the filling cool a few minutes after baking because hot jam burns. Contains wheat, milk and egg.