Wild Berry Poptarts & Foraging

 

Hiking the other weekend there were berries EVERYWHERE! First time we saw them we started grabbing them all and then realized that the whole hike was going to be this way. We may not be 100% sure which is a blueberry & which is a huckleberry but both are edible & we ate them all.

We got pretty good at grabbing them off their branches while walking, without stopping. Joshua perfected his 2-handed method in which he shovels them all into his mouth at rapid pace. We also stopped to forage gobs of them ever hundred feet. At one point I realized I hadn't picked a berry for about 1/4 of a mile and I was like what am I doing they're free I need to get them. (side note: my thrifty mother I've decided is to blame that since it's free I need to get them all :)  )

 

Also the berries are perfect in warm oatmeal and we loaded ours up the next morning. I want to eat it everyday!

 

Then all of our foraging caught up to us when we got home and realized we had more berries than we knew what to do with as well as all the blackberries we'd picked recently. My solution of course, to bake them into everything. I started with pop tarts. I really love pop tarts, without shame.

Wild Berry Poptarts:
from here

 2 cups flour
1 tbs sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup butter, cold
1 large egg
2 tbs milk
1 egg, to brush on top
3/4 cup berries
1 tbs water
1 tbs cornstarch

1    in a food processor blend flour, sugar, salt, and cut up butter until butter is in pea size pieces
2    put mixture in bowl and whisk in egg and milk, gather dough into one ball and dump onto a floured surface. knead a few times, break into 2 even balls, wrap in plastic wrap, and place in fridge
3   mix water and cornstarch in a small bowl and then place in saucepan with berries
4   bring mixture to a boil and mash berries with the back of a for a little, simmer for 2 minutes while stirring frequently, set aside
5   pull out one dough ball and place on well floured parchment paper, form into a 3x5 rectangle and moll out into a 9x12 rectangle, using a pizza cutter or knife cut the dough edges straight and then cut into 9 3x4 rectangles and place in fridge
6   repeat with second dough ball and place it in the fridge also
7   pull first parchment sheet out and lightly whip an egg in a small bowl
8   brush the pastries lightly with the egg and place 1 tbs of berry mixture in the middle of the rectangles, spread around leaving a wide border around each.
9   pull out the other parchment sheet and cover each bottom half with another rectangle. using your fingers lightly press the 2 halves together around the entire rectangle. then press the tines of a fork around all the edges to ensure the 2 halves stay together.
10  poke the fork a few times in the top of each pop tart to make sure the steam can escape and then brush the top of each lightly with egg
11  place on baking sheet and put in fridge while your oven preheats to 350 degrees F
12  bake for 20-25 minutes, the tops should be golden brown, let cool slightly and serve
We chose to individually wrap them and freeze them before baking them so we could pull them out and make them fresh each morning. Perfect!