Wednesday, May 16, 2012

This Week at the Market: Jam

I am in farmer’s market heaven! Here in Topeka, we not only have the large Saturday morning market, but we also have three more during the week: One on Monday at the library, another on Wednesday outside of the Capitol building, and finally one on Friday in the middle of downtown.

Since we were in Missouri visiting my parents for Mother’s Day this past weekend, I decided to check out today’s market at the Capitol. I was a little late getting there, so many of the stands were sold out of the prime produce. Still, I found one last basket of tomatoes and some radishes.(This is a photo I took from last summer. I was so busy looking around that I forgot to take one today.)  

I was drawn to a stand full of Julie’s Jams and Jellies from Creek Bottom Produce in Perry, Kansas. What caught my attention was a jar of apricot jam. I love apricot jam! As a kid, it was tops on my morning toast or warm biscuit, even more so than grape jelly. It had been years since I had any of this wonderful, burnt-gold nectar, so I immediately bought a jar.

The recipe possibilities filled my mind when I got to my kitchen. Toast topped with the jam, a rustic tart, and turnovers were my first ideas.

I settled on homemade toaster pastries. Well, almost homemade since I used refrigerated pie crust. (I know, but regular readers are well aware of my pie crust phobia from past posts. Besides, I had a package in the freezer.)

My husband, Michael, (also known as The Picky Eater) turned up his nose at the idea of apricot jam in the pastries. So I made some with a sour cherry jam I had in the pantry.


The pastries came out great—flaky, slightly sweet, and oozing with apricot filling. I’ll be enjoying them every morning for the rest of the week!








Homemade Toaster Pastries

1 package refrigerated pie crusts (2 crusts in the package)
1/4 cup jam of your choice
1 egg, beaten
Sugar for sprinkling

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Unroll the pie crusts onto a lightly floured surface. Roll with a rolling pin to square the edges as much as possible. (But don’t roll the dough too thin.) Cut each crust into 8 equal rectangles. (The edges from the end pieces may be a bit jagged.)

Place half of the rectangles onto the baking sheet and brush with the beaten egg. Spoon about 2 tablespoons of the jam into the center and spread out, leaving a 1/4-inch border along the edge of the pie crusts. Top with the remaining rectangles, and trim with a knife or pizza cutter to match the bottom crusts. Use a fork to seal the edges and poke holes into the tops of each pastry. Brush the tops with the beaten egg and sprinkle with sugar.

Bake for 7 to 9 minutes until the edges are lightly golden brown.

7 comments:

  1. Great idea! I just made my first homemade jam (posting it tomorrow) and I need creative ways to put it to use. I think the ready made crusts have gotten so good, it's silly not to use them.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Mmm, this would be a good use for the apricot jam I have in my pantry. You guys have such a wonderful market.
    -Gina-

    ReplyDelete
  3. You definitely put that jam to excellent use! Delicious!

    ReplyDelete
  4. I toasted one of the pastries in the toaster oven this morning...mmmm, so good even the day after!
    Sue, you are absolutly right. Cooks, even most well-known ones on television, use frozen puff pastry or phillo dough for their recipes. So I shouldn't feel guilty about ready-made pie crusts that taste better than any I've created! LOL
    Gina, we do have a great farmer's market here in Topeka. We're so lucky! I'm glad you found some inspiration from the post.
    Thanks, Joanne!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Sounds like something my kids would thank me for it I made it. Good idea about the filo.

    ReplyDelete
  6. I have another friend who loves to make these--always coming up with variations. Fun! Happy Weekend.

    ReplyDelete
  7. These look wonderful…don’t you just love browsing the farmers market! Such a fun way to spend a morning!

    ReplyDelete