There’s nothing better than fresh Michigan cherries…
That’s all.
Okay, not really… but seriously, they are SO GOOD.
It’s funny though… I used to think I didn’t like cherries because I had only had a maraschino cherry which is THE MOST DISGUSTING THING ON THE PLANET (as I’ve stated before) but then I tried a REAL Michigan cherry and my mind was forever blown. Like woah. So juicy, tart, sweet, and delicious.
Any who, some of our friends went to Traverse City, Michigan (basically the cherry capital of the whole wide woooorld) this summer and were extra sweet and brought us back a bunch of fresh Michigan cherries that they had HANDPICKED. So kind!!! Thanks Danny and Kelley 🙂
I thought about what I wanted to do with these delicious babies for about one day then decided on making cherry pop-tarts before I ended up eating them all just as is ha! Now I have to say… as pop-tarts go, I was DEFINITELY a brown sugar fan as a kid but as an adult, I find I’m enjoying new kinds like HOMEMADE CHERRY POP-TARTS. Yes please!
Ready for that recipe?! I thought so.
One more thing… if you don’t have fresh cherries, you could use frozen ones or another fresh stone fruit but I highly recommend FRESH CHERRIES if you can find them/swing it.
OK I’m done talking.
… for now 😉
fresh michigan cherry pop-tarts
Ingredients
- 1 box (2 sheets) frozen puff pastry, thawed
- 3 cups stemmed and pitted fresh cherries
- 1 large egg, beaten
- 1 tablespoon water
- 1/4 cup honey, melted
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- few sprinkles of flour
- coarse sugar, garnish
Instructions
- PREP: Thaw puff pastry sheets. Stem and pit your cherries. Make egg wash: whisk together egg and water until well combined and yolk is completely broken and incorporated into the water. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine pitted cherries, melted honey, cornstarch, lemon juice, vanilla extract, and salt then mix to combine/coat cherries using a rubber spatula or wooden spoon. Once the cherries are coated, smash about ½ of them using the back of your mixing utensil against the edge of the bowl.
On a floured work surface, roll out one pastry sheet using a floured rolling pin to about ¼-inch thick (this only took me about 4 back and forth rolls total – two vertically, two horizontally). Slice rolled out pastry sheet into nine rectangles then transfer them to the parchment paper lined baking sheet (these are the bottoms of the pop-tarts). Repeat process of rolling and slicing with the second pastry sheet. Using a pastry brush, brush the edges of the bottom rectangles (the ones on the parchment paper lined baking sheet) with the egg wash then top ¼-⅓ cup of cherry mixture in the middle of the rectangle. Place the top rectangles over the cherry filling, lining them up the edges (best you can ha!) then crimp the edges together with a fork. Continue until all nine pop-tarts are sealed then slice 2-3 slits in the tops using a sharp knife so the pop-tarts can vent while baking. Brush the tops of the pop-tarts with egg wash then top with coarse sugar. Chill the pop-tarts in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes.
- While the pop-tarts are chilling, preheat your oven to 375F. Bake the pop-tarts for 30-35 minutes, or until the tops are golden brown, rotating the baking sheet half way through. Remove pop-tarts from the oven and allow to cool slightly on the pan then serve warm!
If you try this recipe, let me know! Leave a comment or tag a photo #appetitesanonymous on instagram!! I’d love to see your cherry pop-tarts in action. Peace out, friends!
xx ab