Kim-Joy’s recipe for melting snowmen pop tarts

These are great fun to make, and you can create lots of different personalities for the snowmen. Use whatever sweets and treats you have lying around to create your own unique versions.

For the pastry:
225g plain flour
135g salted butter, at room temperature
40g caster sugar
2½-3 tbsp of beaten egg

For the filling:
Your favourite jam

For the royal icing:
200g icing sugar
40g egg white (about one large egg; top up with water if needed)

To decorate:
10 white marshmallows
Sprinkles that look like buttons
Pretzel sticks or anything edible that looks like twigs (for the arms)
Edible black ink pen (or black food dye mixed with a little water – paint on using a paintbrush)
Orange fondant or orange chewy sweets (for the nose)

First make the pastry. Put the flour in a mixing bowl, then chop and add the butter. Rub the butter into the flour until it resembles fine breadcrumbs. Don’t overwork it.

Stir in the caster sugar. Beat the egg in a separate small bowl, then add 2 tbsp to the mixing bowl and beat with a fork, gradually combining it with the rest of the mixture (add more egg if the mixture seems a little dry). Use your hands to form the pastry into a ball.

Roll out the pastry on a generously floured surface, to about the thickness of a £1 coin. Make 20 5cm x 8cm rectangles with a pastry cutter or a knife.

To create each pop tart, spoon a teaspoon of jam into the centre of a rectangle, then wet the edges with a little water and place a second rectangle on top. Press the edges together to close, then use the back of a fork to ensure a good seal.

Place on a baking tray lined with greaseproof paper. Repeat until you have used all the pastry.

Place the pop tarts in the fridge for 20 to 30 minutes, and heat the oven to 200C (180C fan)/400F/gas mark 6.

When chilled, bake for about 15 minutes or until golden brown. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.

To make the royal icing, whisk together the icing and egg white until smooth. Cover with clingfilm. Prepare the marshmallow heads, using the edible pen (or watered-down black food dye) to draw on eyes and mouths. Add noses using bits of orange fondant, or cut pieces of chewy orange sweet. Poke into the marshmallow.

When the tarts are fully cooled, spoon over the icing, position the marshmallow heads on top and add your edible decorations for buttons and arms.