Homemade Pop Tarts

Pin for Later

Who loves pop tarts? Although not the healthiest, I think a lot of us have some childhood nostalgia when we think about the treats we loved growing up. Pop tarts were one of those treats. Thankfully they have healthier, organic brands of pop tarts these days but they just aren’t the same. I attempted to make homemade pop tarts and I was actually surprised by them.

Homemade pop tarts are nothing like the real pop tarts by any means, but they do come close. The fresh baked dough makes all the difference rather than the preservative-filled cookie/cracker texture of a real pop tart.

The entire process was a little more tedious than I planned for and there are definitely a few things I want to improve for next time. One of those is being really careful with cutting out the dough to make sure they are all equal and rectangular. There were definitely a few dough sheets that didn’t line up which made the jam leak out during baking.

Overall, I like these a lot and there are tons of flavor and filling options to make any of your favorite pop tarts possible. I made strawberry pop tarts used our organic strawberry jam from Costco. You can use any flavor jam or fruit preserves. It does taste much like jam than the filling in store-bought pop tarts, but they are still tasty. I mean, that filling in real pop tarts isn’t good anyhow and is dyed to be more vibrant in color.

In this recipe I used pie crust sheets but I might try pastry dough next time to see how the texture might be different. I would also like to try making my own dough from scratch, but being my first attempt, I didn’t want to chance it.

Also with the icing, I plan to make it thicker next time. It definitely came out a little runny and I barely added much liquid to the powered sugar. It soaked right into the pop tart so it didn’t have that distinct icing taste on top like I hoped. Either way, these were gobbled up by my family in minutes.

Homemade Pop Tarts

makes about 8 pop tarts

Ingredients:

• 2 9 inch pie crust sheets (not pre-filled in pie tins)
• 3/4 cup strawberry jam
• 1/2 cup powered sugar
• Splash of milk or dairy alternative (I used soy milk – use more or less for desired consistency)
• Floured surface
• Sprinkles

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. On a lightly floured work surface, roll our the pie crusts (which come round).
3. Roll them out to look like a rectangle or square as much as possible.
4. Cut off any circular ends.
5. Cut the dough into 8 equal sheets per pie crust (16 sheets total).
6. Poke holes with a fork in 8 of the sheets which will be the top pieces.
7. Heat the jam in a sauce pan until bubbly.
8. Add a spoonful of jam to each bottom sheet (no holes), leaving room around the edges.
9. Add the top sheets (with holes).
10. Crimp the sides of the pop tarts with a fork.
11. Bake for 7-8 minutes. I baked for 8 for some crispy edges but the dough was still soft in the middle. I also used parchment paper to prevent sticking.
12. Let them cool.
13. While cooling, make the icing.
14. Combine the powered sugar and a splash of milk and stir.
15. Add to the pop tarts and top them with some sprinkles.

If you’re looking for another great childhood favorite here is a recipe for homemade Oreo ice cream.