Mini Taro Pop Tarts

Sweet taro filling stuffed into a flaky pie crust makes this a fun and unique twist on one of our childhood favorite breakfast items!

My mom has an obsession with taro. If she could eat one thing in this world, it would probably be taro! So this recipe was made specifically with her in mind (I hope you're reading this, Mommy)! If you've never had taro before, the texture and taste is somewhat reminiscent of a sweet potato, but so different at the same time. You can create savory and sweet dishes with this root plant, but we're going to go sweet for these mini pop tarts.

I had to make a trek to an Asian market because the taro root isn't something you would traditionally find at your local conventional market. Most Asian markets will sell the taro root whole, and you will have to cut through the rough brown exterior to get to the light purple root-y goodness; or some will sell already clean and peeled taro vacuumed sealed in a bag. I went with the latter in this case for convenience sake!

While my preference is naturally easy bakes, I must warn you, this recipe is slightly more involved, but so worth it (at least to me and my mom)! I tackled these mini pop tarts over a span of 2 days to break up the prep work. Trust me, you'll thank me later because it's much easier that way!

Day 1: Make the sweet taro filling and pastry/pie crust (store both in the refrigerator if preparing the day before)

Day 2: Assemble and bake the pop tarts

Note: If spending 3+ hours prepping pie crust is not your thing, don't worry! You can easily use store bought pie crust from the refrigerated section of your local grocery store. It's a huge time saver and your pop tarts will still taste delicious!

Prep Time: 4 hours

Bake Time: 25 minutes

Total Time: 4 hours and 25 minutes

Yield: Makes 10 - 14 pop tarts (depending on how small or large you'd like to make them)

INGREDIENTS

For the Pastry / Pie Crust:

• 2 & 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (spoon & leveled)

• 1 & 1/4 Teaspoons salt

• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, chilled and cubed

• 3/4 cup vegetable shortening, chilled

• 1/2 cup ice water

For the Taro Filling:

• 1 & 1/2 pounds of taro, cubed (basically 1 medium sized taro plant)

• 1 teaspoon salt

• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature

• 1/3 cup granulated sugar

• Egg Wash: 1 large egg mixed with 2 tablespoons of milk

Note: we are basically cooking the whole taro plant so you will get A LOT of filling from this; MUCH more than is needed for these pop tarts. This is going to sound crazy, but I can just eat the filling by itself so I was completely ok with the excess of filling! Feel free to eat the leftover filling spread onto some milk bread, or with some mochi, or however creative you are feeling! If you don't want such an excess of taro filling, feel free to cut the recipe in half and use the taro for other purposes.

For the Glaze:

• 3/4 cup confectioners sugar , sifted

• 1 tablespoon whole milk, plus more as needed

• 1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

• Sprinkles (optional)

INSTRUCTIONS

1. For the pastry: First, mix the flour and salt together in a large bowl. Add cold unsalted butter and shortening. Using two forks or a pastry cutter, cut the butter and shortening until the mixture resembles coarse meal (pea-sized crumbles with a few larger bits).

2. Measure 1/2 cup of water in a glass. Add ice and stir it around. Slowly drizzle in the very cold water 1 Tablespoon at a time, stirring with a large spatula after every Tablespoon of water that you add. Stop adding water when the dough begins to clump.

3. Roll out the dough on a floured work surface. The dough should come together easily and should not feel overly sticky. Form the dough into a ball and divide in half. Flatten each half into 1-inch thick discs using your hands. Wrap each tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours (I prefer overnight).

4. Make the filling: Remove the outside rind of the taro completely and cut into 1 inch cubes.

5. Fill a large pot of water and place cubed taro inside. Bring water to a boil and then reduce the heat and let the taro cook for about 20-25 minutes or until the taro is tender (and is soft enough to be mashed with a fork). You want a smooth filling so you're looking for the taro to be cooked all the way through.

6. Drain the taro from the water. Place the cooked taro in a food processor or blender. Add the salt, butter, and sugar and blend until smooth.

7. Assemble the pop tarts: Remove 1 chilled dough disc from the refrigerator and allow it to sit at room temperature for about 15 minutes. This will help make the dough easier to roll and work with. Keep the other disc in the refrigerator.

8. After 15 minutes, place disc onto a lightly floured work surface, and roll it out into a rectangle about 1/8 inch thick and 9×12 inches in size. Gently cut each piece of dough using the round cookie cutter (I prefer at least 3 inches in diameter) until there is no more dough to press into.

9. Place each of the dough circles onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. The pop tarts will not spread in the oven much, so you can place them relatively near one another. Place the baking sheet in the fridge. It's important to always keep the dough chilled. Roll 2nd disc out into a rectangle and cut more rough dough circles using the cookie cutter just like you did with the first half of the dough. These dough circles will be the tops of your homemade pop tarts. Place the baking sheet into the refrigerator and remove the first batch of dough circles (which we will now use to fill and assemble with the sweet taro filling).

10. Take the first batch of dough circles and using a pastry brush, lightly brush the egg wash over the entire dough circle.

11. Depending on the diameter of your dough circles, place a generous spoonful of taro filling in the middle of the pop tart dough, leaving enough space around the edges in order to seal the pop tarts later. Repeat until all the dough circles have been spooned with taro filling.

12. Remove the second sheet of dough circles from the refrigerator and evenly top each of the filled pop tarts.

13. Using your fingertips, lightly press down on the dough circles to ensure the pop tart is sealed. Then, using a fork, crimp the edges of the pop tart to seal the dough. It also give it a pretty look!

14. Once all the pop tarts have been sealed and crimped, use a tooth pick to light poke about 4-5 small holes in the pop tart to allow the steam to escape when baking. This will prevent your pop tart from "puffing" up too much and will result in a much more flaky, crisp pop tart.

15. Using a pastry brush, light brush the tops of the pop tart with the remaining egg wash. This will help give the pop tarts a pretty golden sheen after baking.

16. Place the pop tarts in the refrigerator for 15 minutes.

17. In the meantime, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (for standard oven).

18. Bake the pop tarts for about 22-25 minutes or until lightly golden brown. Cool completely before applying the glaze.

19. Make the glaze: Whisk all of the glaze ingredients together in a medium bowl until it reaches a spreading consistency. You want a fairly thick glaze, but not too thick that it is hard to spread. Add another teaspoon or two of milk if needed. Use a spoon or knife to glaze each pop tart and sprinkle with jimmy sprinkles if desired.The glaze will slightly harden in about 30 minutes.

20. Last but not least, enjoy!

The pop tarts will be best enjoyed the day of baking, but can be stored in an air tight container at room temperature for an additional day if needed.