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Homemade Strawberry Pop Tarts

Homemade strawberry pop tarts.

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5 from 6 reviews

This may be a bold statement, but, these are the best Homemade Strawberry Pop Tarts. These adorable little treats might be small in size, but they are huge on flavor. Homemade strawberry filling is tucked inside an easy-to-make buttery pastry, and finished with a simple vanilla glaze.

Ingredients

For Pop Tart Dough:

  • 2½ cups (300 grams) all-purpose flour, more for work surface
  • 1 tablespoon powdered sugar
  • ½ teaspoon (2 grams) coarse kosher salt (see note)
  • 16 tablespoons (230 grams) unsalted butter, cold, cubed
  • ⅓ cup (75 grams) whole milk

Strawberry Filling:

  • 1 pound strawberries, cleaned, hulled and sliced
  • ½ cup (100 grams) granulated sugar
  • Pinch of coarse kosher salt
  • 2 teaspoons cornstarch
  • 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
  • egg wash

Vanilla Glaze:

Instructions

Make the Dough:

  1. Add the flour, powdered sugar, and salt to the bowl of a food processor. Pulse until combined. Add in the butter and pulse 7 times. With the processor running, pour in the milk and process until the dough forms a cohesive ball.
  2. Scrape the dough from the bowl and place it onto a piece of plastic wrap. Form the dough into a rectangle and wrap tightly. Using a rolling pin, roll the dough out until it stretches to the edges of the plastic wrap to ensure a tight seal.
  3. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours, but preferably overnight.

Make the Strawberry Filling:

  1. In a medium pot, stir together the strawberries, sugar, and salt. Cook over medium heat until bubbling. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer for 5 minutes.
  2. Shut off the heat. Using an immersion blender (or a regular blender), puree the strawberry mixture.
  3. In a small bowl, whisk together the cornstarch and the lemon juice. Whisk the mixture into the pureed strawberries. 
  4. Return the heat to medium and bring the filling to a boil. Once the mixture has thickened, remove it from the heat.
  5. Chill the filling for at least 12 hours, or overnight.

Prepare the Pop Tarts:

  1. Remove the chilled dough from the refrigerator and let it rest at room temperature for 5 to 10 minutes, or until it is slightly softened and easier to roll. Then, divide the dough in half.
  2. On a well-floured work surface, roll out one piece of dough to a rough 9-by-13 rectangle, about ⅛-inch thick. Using a pastry wheel or chef’s knife, cut out as many 3-by-4-inch rectangles as you can. Repeat with the remaining dough. Then, gather up the scraps and roll out the dough in the same manner, cutting out as many rectangles as possible. This dough should yield 16 to 18 rectangles total. If the dough is very warm once all rectangles are cut, briefly chill them down in the refrigerator for 15 minutes.
  3. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and place half of the rectangles down on the baking tray.
  4. Use a pastry brush to brush the egg wash around the edges of the pastry.
  5. Place 1 heaping tablespoon of the strawberry filling in the middle of each rectangle. Place the remaining pastry rectangles on top, taking care to seal the edges well. Use a fork to crimp the edges. Finally, using a bench scraper,  trim the edges of the pastry. This makes the final product look neat and also seals the pop tarts well.
  6. Chill the tray of pop tarts in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes.

Bake and Frost the Pop Tarts:

  1. Preheat the oven to 375°F and place an oven rack in the middle part of the oven. Bake the pop tarts in the preheated oven until the bottoms are slightly golden, about 25 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool completely..
  2. In a small bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla. The glaze should be thick enough to keep its shape for a few seconds when drizzled off of a spoon; if it’s too thick, add more milk as needed.
  3. Spoon 1 tablespoon of glaze onto the middle of each cooled pop tart and gently smooth it down. Add sprinkles or coarse sugar before the glaze sets.

Equipment

Notes

Pop tarts will keep, covered, at room temperature, for about 3 days.

Weighing your flour is the most accurate way to measure. If you aren't going to weigh it, make sure to spoon it into the cup, and then level it off. If you scoop the flour out with the measuring cup and then level, it could change the outcome of the final product.

This strawberry filling recipe yields more than you will need for the pop tarts. You can use the extra strawberry filling in other pastries, breads, with ice cream, with oatmeal or even in place of jam on bread. Or, you can use it to make more pop tarts! It also freezes well.

Be mindful of the pop tart pastry getting too warm. If the butter in the dough has gotten soft, the dough will be difficult to roll out and hard to fill. Use the refrigerator if necessary in between steps.

Avoid overfilling the pop tarts with too much strawberry. Just like store-bought pop tarts, the resulting pastry should have a thin layer of filling. Overfilling may cause the filling to leak out and create a mess.

Follow all instructions for sealing the pastry together to ensure the shape of the pop tarts is maintained during baking. The final step of using a pastry bench scraper to trim the edges is crucial for cleaning them up and sealing the pastry. Avoid using a knife, as it will cut through the pastry. If you don't have a bench scraper, you can use a dull tool like a ruler.