STRAWBERRY PEACH HEART TARTS

I never understood why Pop-Tarts are allowed to be breakfast, but pie isn’t. Aren’t they basically just little hand pies?

Strawberries and peaches are both grown in Louisiana, and we’re proud of them. During peak fruiting season, the Louisiana town of Ponchatoula throws a huge party: “The Ponchatoula Strawberry Festival,” complete with rides, live music, parades, and strawberry-eating contests.

PASTRY INGREDIENTS

2 ½” cup all-purpose flour

1 tsp salt

2 TBS sugar, cane

½ cup vegan butter, cold

½ cup vegetable shortening

2 TBS water, chilled

4 TBS unsweetened non-dairy milk, chilled

Cookie Cutter (I used a 3 ½” wide heart shape, but you can use any shape/size you want)

FILLING INGREDIENTS

4 TBS water

1 TBS sugar

¼ tsp cornstarch

1 cup diced strawberries (about ½ lb)

1 cup diced peach (about 1 peach)

ICING INGREDIENTS

1 cup powdered sugar

1 ½ TBS unsweetened non-dairy milk

1/4 tsp vanilla extract

Optional: food coloring, sprinkles, and sugar topping

WHAT TO DO

Start with the dough prep. In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together flour, salt, and sugar.
Chop your butter and shortening into 1” chunks, then use a dough cutter (or fork) to cut the butter and shortening into the flour. Keep cutting until the dough resembles gravel.
Add cold water and non-dairy milk. Use your hands to knead the dough until all ingredients are well combined and the dough resembles play-doh. Split the dough into two equal balls and then wrap (or cover) and store in the fridge while you prepare your filling.
Heat a small pot over medium heat and add water, sugar, cornstarch, and peaches (reserve the strawberries). Bring to a boil and then reduce heat to a gentle simmer. Cook for 10 minutes, then add strawberries and continue cooking for another 20 minutes, or until fruit has broken down and most of the liquid is gone. It should look a bit like roadkill, but taste delicious. Don’t forget to scrape the bottom occasionally to avoid sticking and burning. Trust me...it can definitely burn. If you are a skilled multitasker, move to the next step. Otherwise, just watch your strawberries and peaches!
Set your oven to 350*F, and remove one of your dough balls from the fridge. Use a rolling pin to roll out the ball on a floured surface. The dough sheet should be about ⅛” thick or less. The thinner, the better, without making it so thin that it falls apart! Lightly flour your rolling pin if your dough feels sticky.
Use a cookie cutter to cut out as many hearts (or whatever shape you’re using) as you can out of the first dough ball, re-rolling after cutting out your first sheet. I got about 15 hearts total using my 3.5” wide heart cutter, just to give you a frame of reference. You could also use a knife or pastry roller if you want to make rectangles, but it is kind of tricky to get the tops and bottoms to line up perfectly without the cookie cutter.
Transfer your shapes (tart bottoms) to the baking sheet. If your filling hasn’t finished cooking and cooling yet, throw your baking pan in the fridge and wait. I recommend using this time to make your icing--just whisk all ingredients together, and add food coloring of your color choice (if using). Beet powder makes a great natural food coloring, FYI!
Once your filling has finished cooking and cooling, scoop ½ TBS of filling onto each tart bottom. You may want to adjust this amount up or down depending upon how big your tarts are, but just leave at least ¼” bare around the edges for sealing.
Pull out the other dough ball from the fridge. Re-flour your surface and repeat the cookie cutter process from earlier to form top pieces. Set top pieces over the filling, and then use the prongs of a fork to press and seal the edges together. Finally, use the fork to poke the top of each tart 2-3 times to let out steam.
Bake for 30 minutes, or until edges are light golden brown. If you haven’t already made your icing, use this time to do it. Or hey--just relax and enjoy the yummy smells. You’ll need to wait for the pastries to cool anyway, so they’ll be time later.
Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely before icing, or else you’ll wind up with a drippy melted mess of icing. Sprinkle with sugar and sprinkles (if using) and enjoy fresh. These may also be frozen to keep longer!