on toons & pop-tarts

I like baking. That's no secret to most people reading this blog.

A few friends have said I should start a food blog, which I definitely should not do (because I don't cook often enough, and my photography's not that good, and the list goes on...). But I'm still charmed by the idea.

Well, a few days ago, I was similarly charmed by a recipe via Smitten Kitchen for mini homemade pop-tarts.

So I made 'em.

And took pictures of them.

And then, after pondering long and hard and sitting inside on a rainy night...I decided to blog about them.

(And so begins a maybe-possibly, we'll-see-how-it-goes, not-making-any-promises, foodish-bloggy-thing.)

***

I spent a lot of hours on these little tartlets. And while biting into one, I'd tell you it was worth it. Most of the rest of the time, though, like while washing the food processor for the 3rd time or waiting at 2:00am for the tarts to finish chilling before baking, I'd recommend you coerce a friend into making them for you.

They're not easy.

Still, rather like fussy newborn babies, their cuteness compels you to raise them right. Mine didn't turn out quite as cute as SK's, but the flaky crust had something crazy-good going for it (we'll call it "butter"), and the at-a-glance factor was aww-inspiring. Couple the tender, yet sturdy exterior with three tasty fillings -- Nutella for the first two batches, then apricot-strawberry jam and blackberry jam -- and you've got 64 tiny tartlets and one sleep-deprived yet self-satisfied momma cook.

Admittedly, I wouldn't haul out my rolling pin this many times for just any occasion. It helped that I knew these pop-tarts were going to feed a fun batch of friends after one of the best mornings on record: cartoon-watching + cereal-eating in the film vault of the downtown library.

It was a morning I'll hold on to for a long while.

(Nostalgic toaster pastries, on the other hand, shouldn't be held on to for much more than a week, stored in an airtight container.)