Longtime TABLE contributor Quelcy Kogel has strong feelings about pie. And she’d like to empower you in the same direction, all day long, with pie for every meal. Here’s her breakfast recommendation, but please enjoy the full menu for lunch, dinner and dessert, as well!

Start your day with the nostalgia of a chocolate-cherry pop tart. The effort of it makes the appeal of the processed, commercial version very understandable, but the light sweetness and the flaky, buckwheat and brown-rice flour crust is worth every step. For lunch, take a picnic of tomato tartelettes to your favorite shade tree, and languish in the only time of year when tomatoes taste like anything.

Ingredients

Cherry Filling

4 cups cherries, pitted

1/2 cup honey 

Juice of 1 lemon

1 tsp. vanilla extract

Pinch of sea salt

1 tbsp. balsamic vinegar

½ tsp. crushed black pepper

 

Crust

1 cup white whole wheat flour or unbleached all-purpose flour

3/4 cup brown rice flour 

¼ cup buckwheat flour

16 tbsp. (2 sticks) unsalted butter, chilled

2 tbsp. chilled vodka

4 to 5 tbsp. cold water

1 egg beaten

 

Glaze

3/4 cup powdered sugar

2 tbsp. raw cacao powder

2 tbsp. milk or water (I recommend oat milk)

1 tbsp. vanilla

 

Garnish (Optional)

Freeze-dried strawberries or beets, for garnish 

Sea salt

Dried rose petals

 

Instructions

 

For the Cherry Filling

In a medium pot, bring the cherries, honey, and lemon juice to a boil. Boil 8 to 10 minutes or until the mixture has thickened and becomes jam-like. Stir in the vanilla and a pinch of salt. Let Cool.

For the Crust

In a large bowl, whisk together the flours. Scatter the butter pieces over the top, and work with a pastry blender, or your fingers, to combine, until the mixture resembles gravel, with lots of butter chunks the size of large peas.

 

Drizzle the vodka into the flour mixture, then the water, 1 tbsp. at a time, tossing the dough with a rubber spatula to moisten evenly. Add just enough liquid for the dough to hold together when you give it a squeeze, and add it directly to the dry floury bits that like to hang out on the bottom of the bowl.

 

Working The Dough

 

Knead the dough in the bowl 10 to 20 times to bring it together. Dump the dough onto the counter or a cutting board, and drag portions of the dough across the counter with the heel of your hand (this makes the mixture come together and yields a flakier dough). Gather the dough into a ball (a metal bench scraper helps). Flatten the dough into a disc, wrap it loosely in plastic or beeswax wrap. Chill the dough for 30 minutes.

 

For extra-flaky crust:

On a lightly floured surface, roll the chilled dough disk into a rectangle that is about ¼-inch thick. Fold it in thirds like you’re folding a letter, then roll up from a skinny end into a loose spiral. Gently press to flatten it slightly, and chill for 30 minutes. 

 

Optional:

For extra, extra flake, repeat this step once more.

Shape the Crust:

Remove the dough from the fridge, unwrap it, and place on a lightly floured surface. 

Roll it into a rectangle of 1/8-inch thickness. Cut the dough into rectangles. For more uniformity and ease of assembly, it helps to cut a template out of wax paper or cardboard measuring about 3 x 4.75 inches. Gather any scraps and re-roll the dough until you have used it all. 

 

To Assemble

Place a heaping tablespoon of the cherry jam on one half of the rectangle. Lay the other half of the dough over the filling and seal the edges by crimping them with the back of a fork. Place the pop tarts on a parchment-lined baking sheet(s). Cover the baking sheet(s), and chill in the fridge for 30 to 60 minutes.

Bake

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Brush the tarts with the beaten egg, and bake the pop tarts for 25 to 30 minutes, until the crust is golden brown. Let cool slightly.

 

For the Glaze
Sift the powdered sugar and cacao into the bowl of a stand mixer. With the mixer on low, slowly stir in the milk and vanilla, a little at a time, to make a smooth, pourable glaze. Drizzle over the pop tarts, and garnish according to your tastes. 

 

Yield: 6 pop tarts

STORY, PHOTOGRAPHY and STYLING BY QUELCY KOGEL

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