This holiday dessert is the next best thing when you're too lazy to make pie

November 24, 2017 12:32 PM

For those of us who love to eat but aren't necessarily the next contenders on Top Chef or The Great British Baking Show, this recipe is for you.

Holiday season is in full swing, and with the presents and parties come the feasts with family and friends.

And while everyone knows homemade is better, there are those of us who just don't have time (or the inclination) to make something totally from scratch, no matter how much it might impress our relatives. Lazy girls, we see you and we get you.

That's where this amazing toaster pastry recipe comes in. For those of us who love to eat but aren't necessarily the next contenders on Top Chef or The Great British Baking Show, this recipe is for you. Create your own mini pastry rectangles and then fill them with the jam of your choice (we stuck with a Thanksgiving theme of cranberry sauce, pumpkin butter, and apple butter). Seal the edges with a fork, brush with egg, and then bake. Drizzle the finished pastries with icing and you've got an Instagram-worthy dessert, minus the kneading and heartache that comes with making a crust from scratch. (Plus, no complicated slicing necessary!) It's easy as...well, easier than pie.

The best part: You will have dough scraps leftover from this recipe. What you do with them is up to you. If you roll them out to make more, smaller pastries, go right ahead. If you just secretly eat the raw dough while no one's looking...we won't tell.

Here's how to make your new, go-to holiday dessert:

Thanksgiving Toaster Pastries

INGREDIENTS:

1 pre-made pie crust

1 egg

3/4 cup powdered (confectioner's) sugar

2 1/2 tsp. water

2 tsp. each cranberry sauce, pumpkin butter, and apple butter

DIRECTIONS:

1. Unwrap the pre-made crust, then roll it out with a rolling pin to get a center area of 9" x 8".

2. Cut into 6 3" x 4" rectangles. (You will have excess dough from the trim. Set aside to reuse or discard.)

3. Beat an egg with a fork, and brush it over the rectangles.

4. Spoon 2 teaspoons of cranberry sauce, pumpkin butter, or apple butter in the center of three of the rectangles.

5.Top with the remaining rectangles. Using your fingertips, gently press down to seal the edges of the dough around the filling.

6.Transfer tarts to a parchment-lined baking sheet. Using the tines of a fork, press down on the edges of the tart to create a design. Poke a few holes in the centers of each tart with a fork.

7.Refrigerate, uncovered, for 30 minutes.

8. Bake at 350 degrees F until they’re light golden brown, 20 to 25 minutes.

9. Make the frosting: In a bowl, mix 3/4 cup confectioners' sugar with 2 1/2 teaspoons water.

10. Drizzle or spread the frosting on the completely cooled tarts, and top with orange and brown sprinkles while the frosting is still wet.

Serves 3.

Nutrition (for the pumpkin butter): 220 cals, 2 g protein, 30 g carbohydrates, 0 g fiber, 11 g sugar, 11 g fat ( 4.5 g sat), 220 mg sodium.