Homemade Strawberry Pop Tarts
These Homemade Strawberry Heart Pop Tarts are a heart-shaped pop tart made with a homemade pastry filled with strawberry jam. They’re a great weekend project to get your kids in the kitchen and the perfect Valentine’s Day treat.
So read on for all the detailed tips and tricks for working with pastry and making homemade pop tarts. Or just grab your rolling pin, hit that Jump to Recipe button, and let’s make some homemade strawberry pop tarts!
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Ingredients
This recipe has instructions for making your own pastry for the pop tarts and homemade strawberry jam. You can also buy both of these things from the store.
But, if you have the time, it’s always better to make things from scratch, whether it’s pizza dough rough puff pastry, tomato sauce or basil pesto, or salad dressing. That way, you know what’s in it, you can control the sugar and salt, and, bonus, it usually costs less.
If you’ve got extra strawberries after making this recipe, check out this strawberry and apple pie or unsweetened strawberry applesauce. Or make dehydrated strawberries and use them in homemade granola or powdered in meringues.
Please see the recipe card below for complete information on ingredients and quantities.
Cooking with kids
I learned that the most important thing to get my kid excited about being in the kitchen is to let them pick out recipes they want to make or even create their own recipes. My kid’s fig bacon jam pasta is a great example.
My kiddo had been asking for these strawberry pop tarts ever since we made Nutella pop tarts. Pop tarts are way more fun than helping cut the salad vegetables!
How should a kid start in the kitchen? Carefully.
A good lesson is that dull knives are the most dangerous! So kiddo uses regular knives, and we teach her about the hazards in the kitchen and safety. Always cut away from yourself. And when working with kids, accept that it’ll take twice as much time as it should.
Recipe tips and tricks
The biggest challenge in making these strawberry pop tarts from scratch is making the homemade pastry. The most important thing to remember is to try to keep the dough cold.
Roll out the pop tart dough on a lightly floured countertop to about a quarter inch thick and use a cookie cutter to cut out hearts or other shapes and place them on a cookie sheet lined with parchment or a silicone mat.
Fill and bake. If you can, try not to over-fill your homemade strawberry heart pop tarts. But don’t worry if you do. I’m a classic over-stuffer, from these strawberry pop tarts to potstickers to these chicken empanadas.
To make frosted strawberry pop tarts, make the optional glaze. Once the pop tarts have cooled completely, drizzle on the glaze. Add sprinkles, if you like, and then let the glaze set for at least an hour.
Recipe FAQs
Of course. There’s no limit to what you can make. However, the downside of small shapes is that you can only put a small amount of filling in them, so you get a higher ratio of pastry to filling. Actually, that may not be a downside for you.
Store any extra in the fridge for a week or two. If you want to make more and store it for longer, check out the National Center for Home Food Preservation to make sure you do this safely.
Absolutely. You might need to be careful with them in the toaster if the pop tarts are small.
If you’re looking for more Valentine’s Day dessert ideas, check out these red velvet brownies or my 1-2-3-4 heart cake.
Related pastry recipes
Or make another easy Ugly Duckling Bakery pie and pastry recipe like:
Love this recipe? Please leave a 5-heart 💜💜💜💜💜 rating in the recipe card below. Let me know how much you loved it, or any problems you had, in the comments section further down.
Recipe
Strawberry Heart Pop Tarts
Equipment
- Stand mixer or food processor
Ingredients
Strawberry jam filling
- ½ pound strawberries, stemmed and hulled
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
Pop tart dough
- 2 cups (250 grams) unbleached all purpose flour
- 2 tablespoon granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup (228 grams or 8 ounces) unsalted butter, cold
- ¼ cup milk
- 1 egg
Instructions
Strawberry jam filling
- In a small pot, combine the strawberries, sugar, lemon juice, and a splash of water over low heat until the strawberries are falling apart and the mixture has thickened. Feel free to smash the berries with a potato masher.½ pound strawberries, stemmed and hulled, ¼ cup granulated sugar, 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- If you want to remove the seeds, put the jam through a fine mesh sieve. Let cool.
Tart dough
- In the bowl of a stand mixer or food processor, combine the flour, sugar, and salt.2 cups (250 grams) unbleached all purpose flour, 2 tablespoon granulated sugar, 1 teaspoon salt
- Add the butter and mix on low speed 1 to 2 minutes until the pieces are the size of peas.1 cup (228 grams or 8 ounces) unsalted butter, cold
- Crack the egg into the measuring cup used to measure the milk, and whisk to combine. Add this to the mixer bowl and mix on low until the dough just starts to come together.¼ cup milk, 1 egg
- Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead only until the dough comes together. Divide into two equal amounts, flatten into disks, and wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate one for 1 to 2 hours prior to use. The other disk can be placed in a freezer bag with the air squeezed out and stored in the freezer for up to 3 to 6 months.
Assembly
- When ready to roll and fill the pop tarts, preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Roll out the dough on a lightly floured countertop to about ¼ inch thick and use a cookie cutter to cut out hearts or other shapes and place them on a cookie sheet lined with parchment or a silicone mat.
- Depending on the size of your cookie cutter, spoon a teaspoon or two of jam into the center of one heart.
- Dip your finger into a bowl of cold water and gently wet the edges of the heart.
- Cover with a second heart cut-out, and use a fork or your finger to seal the edges well. Repeat with the remaining cut-outs.
- If your house is warm and the dough has gotten soft, place the baking sheet in the freezer for 15 to 30 minutes prior to baking.
- Bake for 40 minutes, until the tops of the pop tarts have turned a golden brown. You may need to rotate your baking sheet halfway through.
- Remove to a cooling rack and cool completely prior to glazing and decorating, if desired.
Notes
Nutrition
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