Homemade Strawberry Pop Tarts – flaky and delicious homemade pop tarts with strawberry filling. So much better than anything you can buy in the store.
This post is sponsored by Imperial Sugar. All thoughts and opinions are 100% my own.
I don’t know about you, but growing up, pop tarts were a breakfast staple. It was a mixture of cinnamon and brown sugar or the strawberry variety. But let’s be honest, the older we got, the more they kind of tasted like cardboard and weren’t that great.
Well, all that changes when you make them at home! They’re one of the funniest and most delicious treats you can have.
Click HERE for the full recipe.
Strawberry Pop Tarts
If you don’t know what a pop tart is, it’s basically a flaky pie crust with a fruit or other filling and a topping on top. The store-bought variety is warmed up in the toaster before eating. These homemade ones are super fresh, you know all the ingredients, and they’re relatively easy to make.
I’ll be honest they’re a process but it’s a lot hands off and just waiting. Plus, you can break it down and do everything in stages, so it’s completely manageable!
what you will need
- all purpose flour
- granulated sugar
- Salt
- butter
- Cold water
- Fresh strawberries
- cornstarch
- lemon juice
- powdered sugar
- milk
- egg
How to make homemade strawberry pop tarts
Click HERE for the FULL recipe
Make the filling
You can start preparing your strawberry filling. They basically just make a quick jelly that you can make a few days in advance if you like.
- Remove the stems and chop your strawberries. Put them in a saucepan with the sugar, cornstarch, and lemon juice.
- Bring the mixture to a boil and cook until the berries are nice and soft, about 10 minutes. Use a potato masher or fork to mash them until mostly smooth. You can also use a hand blender if you want it smooth.
- Cook for about 10 more minutes until the mixture is nice and thick. Take it from the stove and let it cool off.
make the crust
- Put the flour, sugar and salt in a food processor. Pulse a few times just to mix the ingredients.
- Add butter cubes and process until crumbly.
- Pour in cold water and knead into a nice dough.
- Remove the dough from the food processor and form it into a smooth ball with your hands. Flatten slightly in a bowl, cover with cling film and chill in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.
Making the pop tarts
- Once the dough is chilled, take it out of the fridge and cut it in half so you have 2 roughly equal pieces.
- On a well-floured surface, roll each ball into an approximately 12×9 inch rectangle.
- Using a sharp knife or pizza cutter, cut out rectangles about 3×4 inches in size. Repeat with the 2nd piece of dough. You can combine the leftovers to roll out the dough again. In total, you should have 24 pieces of 3×4 dough.
- Using a toothpick or bamboo skewers, poke holes in the top of half of the rectangles to allow steam to escape while cooking.
- Place the other half of the rectangles on a baking sheet lined with baking paper and fill with the strawberry jelly. You will use about 2 tablespoons of filling per pop tart.
- Whisk the egg and milk for the egg wash and gently brush the edges of the dough with it.
- Cover each pop tart with the remaining rectangles and gently press down on the edges to seal. Use a fork to curl the edges.
- Brush the top with the remaining egg milk and bake for 18-22 minutes until nicely golden brown.
- Take out and let cool completely.
- The use of the glaze is optional. Simply mix powdered sugar and milk together to create a spreadable consistency. Spread on top of a cooled pop tart, if desired.
How do you store pop tarts?
It is best to store them in an airtight container. At room temperature they stay fresh for 2-3 days. However, they are best served on the day they are made. You can reheat them in a toaster oven or toaster oven for just a minute or two to warm them up (only if they don’t have frosting or they will melt and make a mess).
You can also FREEZE pop tarts! You should freeze them before coating them with the glaze. Then you take out a cake, let it thaw and then put it in the toaster or toaster oven to warm it slightly before adding the icing.
Can I use store bought pie crust?
Yes, you can use the pre-made pie crust that comes in a roll. Simply roll out on a floured surface and roll up slightly to thin. You won’t get as many pop tarts out of the recipe due to the slightly smaller amount of batter. But the process of assembling will be the same.
Can I prepare the strawberry jam in advance?
Yes, you absolutely can! If you have canned or frozen jam from strawberry season, you can use that. You can even use store-bought jam if you like. You only need some kind of jam or even mix the flavor with this mixed berry jam as a filling.
recipe tips
- Homemade pop tarts can be time consuming, so break them up into pieces. One day make the strawberry jam and have it waiting for you in the fridge. Make the pie crust in the morning and leave it in the fridge for assembly in the afternoon.
- Freezing leftovers works well. They’re best eaten the day they’re made, but if you omit the glaze and give them a crispy crisp after thawing, they’ll be absolutely delicious.
- Mix up the fruit filling, the same recipe works with all types of berries. So if you have some raspberries in your fridge, use these!
- Frosting is optional, just like store-bought pop tarts, you can buy with or without frosting for specific flavors.
- The food processor will bring the cake batter together in about 5 minutes. Just don’t skip the chilling time or it will be very difficult to roll the dough and very messy.
- Combine the leftovers to roll out more pop tarts, but I just like making these. They get coated in too much flour the second time around and aren’t nearly as flaky when baked.
I’m sharing this recipe over at Imperial Sugar today. Click Homemade Strawberry Pop Tarts for the FULL printable recipe.
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