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Homemade Strawberry Pop Tarts

Homemade strawberry pop tarts.

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5 from 3 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

Pop Tart Dough:

  • 21/2 cups (300 grams) all purpose flour
  • 1 tablespoon powdered sugar
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 16 tablespoons (230 grams) unsalted butter, cold, cubed
  • ⅓ cup (70 grams) whole milk

Strawberry Filling:

  • 16 ounces strawberries, cleaned, hulled and sliced
  • ½ cup (100 grams) granulated sugar
  • 2 teaspoons cornstarch
  • 2 teaspoons lemon juice
  • egg wash

Vanilla Glaze:

  • 1 cup (115 grams) powdered sugar
  • 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
  • 2 tablespoons milk, more as needed

Instructions

Make the Dough:

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

Make the Strawberry Filling:

  1. Heat the strawberries and sugar over medium heat, stirring frequently, until the juices release. Continue to cook, while the filling is bubbling, for 5 minutes, ensuring that the bottom is not burning.
  2. Carefully puree the strawberry mixture with an immersion blender or a standard blender. Return the filling to the pot and return the heat to medium.
  3. In a small bowl, whisk together the cornstarch and the lemon juice. Whisk the mixture into the pureed strawberries, and bring the filling up to a boil.
  4. Once the mixture has thickened, remove the filling from 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 rest at room temperature for 5-10 minutes, or until the dough is slightly softened, so it is easier to roll. Divide the dough in half.
  2. On a well-floured work surface, roll out one piece of dough to a rough 9 x 13 rectangle, about 1/8” thick.. Using a pastry wheel or a knife, cut out 3 x 4 inch rectangles. Repeat with 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 16-18 rectangles.
  3. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and place 9 rectangles down on the baking tray.
  4. Whisk together one egg and a teaspoon of water to make the egg wash. Brush the egg wash on top of the edges of the pastry.
  5. Place 1 heaping tablespoon of strawberry filling in the middle of all rectangles. Place the remaining pastry rectangles on top, taking care to seal in the edges. Take a fork and press together the edges. Finally, using a pastry bench scraper, press down to cut off the edges of the pastry. This makes the final product look neat, but it also seals the pop tarts well.
  6. Chill the tray of pop tarts in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes. Once chilled, using a knife, gently pop holes through the top of the dough to let the steam escape during baking.

Bake and Frost the Pop Tarts:

  1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Bake the pop tarts on the middle rack until the bottoms are slightly golden, about 25 minutes. Transfer to a rack and let cool.
  2. Add the powdered sugar, milk and vanilla to a bowl and whisk together. The glaze should be thick enough to keep its shape for a few seconds when drizzled off of a spoon.
  3. Place one tablespoon of glaze in the middle of the pop tarts and gently smooth it down. If desired, you can decorate the tops of the pop tarts with colored sugar or sprinkles.

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.