We are almost halfway through the month of January and we haven’t had too many cold, snowy, or rainy days. January tends to be the toughest month when it comes to the weather, so I’m super grateful not to have to deal with snow or rain too much. The projects at work have picked up for both Kevin and I. In between fairly hectic weekdays, I still try to plan ahead for meals as much as I can to reduce the amount of cooking I need to do during weekdays. This year, one of the meals I’ve been trying to change up is breakfast. Breakfast is usually a grab and go type of meal for me. Over the last few weeks, I’ve been grabbing a banana and a vanilla almond milk yogurt to bring along with me to work. Kevin typically skips breakfast and launches right into his daily tasks when he gets to work. I’ve been trying to think of creative ways to get Kevin to actually eat something in the morning for breakfast. One of the recipes I’ve been working on is sweet and savory pastry pockets. Over the weekend, I made a version of a sweet pastry pocket loosely inspired by my favorite ice cream flavor from Graeter’s Ice Cream. The sweet pockets are filled with black raspberry jam, melted bittersweet chocolate chips, and toasted crushed almonds. My love for Graeter’s Ice Cream (specifically the black raspberry chocolate chip flavor) dates back to when I first moved to Ohio. Some of Kevin’s colleagues who have been living in Ohio for quite some time recommended for us to try Graeter’s Ice Cream, a popular ice cream chain throughout Ohio. When I first tasted the black raspberry chocolate chip flavor, I was hooked. I loved the sweetness and slight tartness of the black raspberry paired with the creamy chocolate chips. Since then, Kevin and I have been going to Graeter’s Ice Cream whenever we happen to drive by one of their shops. Lucky for us, we don’t have to drive all the way to a Graeter’s Ice Cream shop to enjoy their ice cream. We can actually find pints of their ice cream in most supermarkets throughout Ohio. To further enhance the black raspberry flavor, I even folded the jam into the frosting used to decorate the tops of the sweet pastry pockets. For the savory version (since I can’t just have sweet without savory), I filled the pastries with crispy bacon, sharp cheddar cheese, and baby kale. The smoky, salty bacon, paired nicely with the savory, sharp cheddar cheese, and crisp, almost peppery baby kale. Together, the two versions of pastry pockets made for the best balance for an afternoon snack. Kevin and I each had a sweet version and a savory version of the pastry pockets and saved the rest to bring along for breakfast during the weekdays. Kevin raved about how delicious the sweet black raspberry, chocolate, and almond pastry pockets were. I personally loved the savory bacon, cheddar, and baby kale pastry pockets. Hopefully, with these lovely pastry pockets, Kevin will at least eat something in the morning before he gets to work.
For the pastry pocket dough:
(The pastry pocket dough is a double recipe of my pie dough recipe.)
· 3 cups all-purpose flour
· 1 teaspoon kosher salt
· 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
· 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into small cubes
· ½ cup cold water
For the sweet pastry pockets:
For the sweet (black raspberry, chocolate, and almond) filling:
· 4 ounces bittersweet chocolate chips, melted (see step 4)
· 10 whole raw almonds, toasted and crushed (see step 4)
· 4 ounces black raspberry jam
For the egg wash:
· 1 large egg
· 1 tablespoon of water
For the black raspberry frosting (to top the sweet pastry pockets):
· 1 cup confectioners’ sugar
· 2 teaspoons black raspberry jam
· 2-3 teaspoons water
· Colorful sprinkles for topping (optional)
For the savory pastry pockets:
For the savory (bacon, cheddar, and baby kale) filling:
· 3 strips bacon, cooked and crumbled
· 2-3 ounces cheddar cheese, cut into small rectangles
· 6-8 leaves of baby kale
Directions:
1) Prepare the pastry pocket dough the evening before. In a food processor, combine the all-purpose flour, kosher salt, and granulated sugar. Pulse the ingredients for about 5-10 seconds. Add the cubed unsalted butter, and pulse for another 5-10 seconds. Pour in the cold water and pulse until a dough begins to form, about another 5-10 seconds. Divide the dough in half and form each half into a round disc. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and store in the refrigerator until ready to use. The next day, take the dough out of the refrigerator and let it sit for about ten minutes before beginning to roll out the dough.
2) Preheat oven to 400°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Set aside.
3) On a lightly floured surface, roll one dough disc into a flat square about ¼ inch in thickness. Trim off any uneven edges. Save the trimmed dough for later use. Measure out about 3-inch by 3-inch pieces of dough. Use a knife or bench scraper to mark where you measured out 3 inches. Use the knife or bench scraper to cut out the 3-inch by 3-inch pieces of dough. My first batch of dough yielded about nine squares. Place the square pieces on the parchment lined baking sheet and pop the baking sheet into the refrigerator to chill the dough again. While the square pieces of dough are chilling in the refrigerator, repeat this process with the second dough disc and cut out slightly larger pieces of dough (about 3½-inch by 3½-inch squares with about ¼ inch thickness). Chill the squares in the refrigerator until ready to use. With the trimmed dough, reshape the pieces into one disc. Place the disc back in the refrigerator until ready to use for the savory pastry pockets.
4) When you are ready to begin filling the pastry pockets, begin by filling each square with a layer of melted bittersweet chocolate. I melted my bittersweet chocolate in the microwave at 15-second intervals. Top the melted bittersweet chocolate with a spoonful of crushed, toasted almonds. I toasted the whole raw almonds on medium heat in a skillet for about 3-5 minutes, placed them into a plastic bag, and crushed them using a rolling pin. Top the chocolate and crushed almonds with a spoonful of black raspberry jam.
5) Make the egg wash by whisking together the large egg and tablespoon of water for about 10 seconds. Brush each of the edges of the pastry pockets with egg wash. Remove the second baking sheet with the pastry squares from the refrigerator. Use a fork to pierce the square pieces of dough about 3 times on each piece of dough. Place each square piece of dough over the filled square pieces of dough. Press to seal all of the edges. Use the same fork to press down on each side of each piece of the pastry pockets until all pockets are sealed. Brush the egg wash generously over all of the pastry pockets. Prick the pockets again in the same spots.
6) Place the parchment lined baking sheet with the sweet pastry pockets into the oven and let the pastry pockets bake for about 23-25 minutes. While the sweet pastry pockets are baking, begin by removing the reshaped dough disc from the refrigerator and following the same process above to cut out squares to make the savory pastry pockets. My reshaped dough disc yielded about 12 total squares, which made 6 savory pastry pockets. Fill each of the savory pockets first with the cheddar cheese, then with the crispy bacon, and finally with the baby kale. Use the remaining egg wash to brush all of the edges. Place the slightly larger squares (pierced 3 times with a fork) on top of the filled bottom squares, seal the edges with a fork, and generously brush on egg wash. Prick the pockets again in the same spots. Set aside.
7) When the sweet pastry pockets are done baking, remove the pastry pockets to cool on a cooling rack. Place the savory pastry pockets into the 400°F oven and bake for 23-25 minutes. When the savory pastry pockets are done baking, remove them to cool on a cooling rack.
8) Once the sweet pastry pockets are cool to the touch (about 30-45 minutes later), make the black raspberry frosting by combining the confectioners’ sugar, and two teaspoons of black raspberry jam in a bowl. Slowly drizzle in the water, a teaspoon at a time, as needed to help loosen up the frosting. When the frosting reaches a thick, but spreadable consistency, it is ready to use. You can also pop the bowl of frosting into the microwave for about 15 seconds to help it achieve a smoother consistency. Frost each of the sweet pastry pockets with a layer of black raspberry frosting and top immediately with sprinkles (if using) before the frosting hardens. Continue this process with the rest of the sweet pastry pockets until they are all frosted and topped with sprinkles.
Takeaways: The pastry pockets can easily be customized and filled with any ingredients you desire. Some other good options for the sweet pastry pockets include peanut butter and jelly, chocolate and peanut butter, or a combination of your favorite nut butter and jelly. For the savory pastry pockets, you can fill them with ham and cheese, pepperoni and mozzarella, spinach and feta, or your favorite cooked meats, cheese, and leafy greens. The possibilities are truly endless.
I accidentally pricked the dough before brushing on the egg wash. I ended up pricking the pockets in the same spots after brushing on the egg wash.