Foreign Cinema’s Fruit “Pop Tarts”

Gayle Pire and John Clark’s ode to the classic kids’ breakfast treat is one of their Mission District restaurant’s most popular dishes. At the restaurant, they rotate the fruit filling with the seasons, but for this home version, which is adapted from “The Foreign Cinema Cookbook: Recipes and Stories Under the Stars” (Abrams; $40), feel free to use your favorite fruit preserves.

Tart dough

1 cup all-purpose flour

½ teaspoon granulated sugar

½ teaspoon kosher salt

½ cup (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into small

pieces

Tart assembly

1

1

cup jam or preserves, homemade or store-bought large egg whisked with 1 tablespoon water, for egg wash

Powdered sugar, for dusting

For the tart dough: In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, sugar and salt. Add the butter to the bowl. Work the flour mixture and butter together with your hands until the butter is evenly distributed in small bits. Sprinkle 2 tablespoons ice water evenly over the mixture, then work the dough vigorously with your hands until it is fairly smooth. (The dough can also be mixed in a food processor.) Press the dough into a disk, wrap in plastic wrap and let rest in the refrigerator for 30 minutes or up to 1 day.

While the dough rests, set a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

To assemble the tarts: Roll out the tart dough on a cold, lightly floured surface until it is about thick and at least 10 by 12 inches in size. Cut out eight 3 by 5-inch rectangles from the dough, using a postcard or file card as a template.

Use a bench scraper or large spatula to transfer 4 rectangles to the prepared baking sheet, spacing them evenly on the sheet. Spread 2 to 3 tablespoons of jam in the center of each pastry, then top them with the 4 remaining rectangles, lining them up evenly with the bottoms. Press the edges closed with a fork to tightly seal them all around. (The tarts can be tightly wrapped and refrigerated for up to 36 hours or frozen for up to 2 weeks at this point. Simply thaw in the refrigerator overnight, and let them come to room temperature as the oven heats.)

Brush the tops with the egg wash, then bake until the tarts are golden brown, about 25 minutes. Dust with powdered sugar and serve immediately.