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| Mango Cream Cheese Pop Tarts |
These fun pop tarts are like childhood baked into a pastry -- with a grown up twist. Flaky buttery pastry combined with fruity mango and cream cheese. These are what pop tarts are suppose to taste like! Make them for a crowd or keep them in the fridge and reheat in the toaster oven when you need a breakfast on the go. They're delicious and you know what's in them because you made them!
Therapeutic topic of the week: Why do we crave specific foods?
Studies show that thinking about certain foods can make cravings. This type of imagination or mental imagery takes up brain power. You can even be using so much brain power that it can get in the way of you completing a task, making you think: "I have to eat that food". You can use this same concept the other way as well. Use a cognitive task to distract you long enough from craving food. This sometimes happens when you are really busy (or a mom!) and "forget" to eat.
E. Kemps, M. Tiggemann. A Cognitive Experimental Approach to Understanding and Reducing Food Cravings. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 2010; 19 (2): 86 DOI: 10.1177/0963721410364494
Mango Cream Cheese Pop Tarts Recipe
Adapted from Tasting Table
INGREDIENTS
Dough
1½ sticks unsalted butter
1 cup granulated sugar
2 cups all-purpose flour
1½ tablespoons baking powder
¾ teaspoon salt
½ cup buttermilk
1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese
Fruit filling
1 to 2 tablespoons honey
1 tablespoon cornstarch
2 cups canned mango pulp
Sugar Glaze
1 cup confectioners' sugar
2 tablespoons mango pulp
1 tablespoons water
¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup confectioners' sugar
2 tablespoons mango pulp
1 tablespoons water
¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
DIRECTIONS
1. Make the dough: In a standing mixer, beat together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt. Add the flour and buttermilk into the butter mixture, alternating mixtures until a dough forms. Divide the dough into two balls and wrap in plastic wrap. Chill in the refrigerator for 2 hours.
2. Place the cream cheese between 2 sheets of plastic wrap and roll into a rectangle about ¼-inch thick. Place on a sheet pan and store in the refrigerator until ready to use.
3. Make the fruit filling: In a small bowl, whisk together 1 tablespoon of honey and the cornstarch. In a medium saucepan set over medium heat, combine the mango pulp and cornstarch mixture and cook until the fruit comes to a simmer. Lower the heat and cook until it thickens stirring occasionally, about 10 minutes. Taste for sweetness and add more honey as needed. Remove the filling from the saucepan and chill in the refrigerator until ready to use.
4. To assemble: Remove one dough ball from the refrigerator and place on a lightly floured surface. Roll out to a large rectangle, about ¼-inch thick. Cut the dough into eight 4-inch-by-3-inch rectangles, rerolling the dough if necessary. Place the rectangles on a parchment-paper-lined sheet pan and chill in the refrigerator. Roll out the second ball of dough and cut into slightly larger rectangles. Place the rectangles on a second parchment-paper-lined sheet pan and chill in the refrigerator.
5. Remove the cream cheese from the refrigerator and cut into 2-inch-by-3-inch rectangles. Remove the first set of rectangles from the refrigerator and carefully top each with a cream-cheese rectangle and a tablespoon of the reserved mango filling, leaving a ½-inch border.
6. Use a dab of water to slightly dampen the edge of the dough. Remove the second set of dough from the refrigerator and top the first set of rectangles and fruit with the dough. Seal with a pastry cutter or use a fork dipped in flour to finish the seal. Trim the edges of the dough slightly as needed and chill the pop tarts in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
7. Preheat the oven to 325°. Place the pop tarts in the oven and bake until golden brown, about 25 to 30 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through baking.
8. Make the sugar glaze: In a small bowl, whisk together the confectioners' sugar, pulp, water and vanilla extract. Whisk in the food coloring if using. Cool the pop tarts on a cooling rack, drizzle with the sugar glaze and serve.
1. Make the dough: In a standing mixer, beat together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt. Add the flour and buttermilk into the butter mixture, alternating mixtures until a dough forms. Divide the dough into two balls and wrap in plastic wrap. Chill in the refrigerator for 2 hours.
2. Place the cream cheese between 2 sheets of plastic wrap and roll into a rectangle about ¼-inch thick. Place on a sheet pan and store in the refrigerator until ready to use.
3. Make the fruit filling: In a small bowl, whisk together 1 tablespoon of honey and the cornstarch. In a medium saucepan set over medium heat, combine the mango pulp and cornstarch mixture and cook until the fruit comes to a simmer. Lower the heat and cook until it thickens stirring occasionally, about 10 minutes. Taste for sweetness and add more honey as needed. Remove the filling from the saucepan and chill in the refrigerator until ready to use.
4. To assemble: Remove one dough ball from the refrigerator and place on a lightly floured surface. Roll out to a large rectangle, about ¼-inch thick. Cut the dough into eight 4-inch-by-3-inch rectangles, rerolling the dough if necessary. Place the rectangles on a parchment-paper-lined sheet pan and chill in the refrigerator. Roll out the second ball of dough and cut into slightly larger rectangles. Place the rectangles on a second parchment-paper-lined sheet pan and chill in the refrigerator.
5. Remove the cream cheese from the refrigerator and cut into 2-inch-by-3-inch rectangles. Remove the first set of rectangles from the refrigerator and carefully top each with a cream-cheese rectangle and a tablespoon of the reserved mango filling, leaving a ½-inch border.
6. Use a dab of water to slightly dampen the edge of the dough. Remove the second set of dough from the refrigerator and top the first set of rectangles and fruit with the dough. Seal with a pastry cutter or use a fork dipped in flour to finish the seal. Trim the edges of the dough slightly as needed and chill the pop tarts in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
7. Preheat the oven to 325°. Place the pop tarts in the oven and bake until golden brown, about 25 to 30 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through baking.
8. Make the sugar glaze: In a small bowl, whisk together the confectioners' sugar, pulp, water and vanilla extract. Whisk in the food coloring if using. Cool the pop tarts on a cooling rack, drizzle with the sugar glaze and serve.
