You can make the nostalgic Strawberry Pop-Tarts right at home using ingredients you recognize for a delicious treat! Topped with an easy-to-make icing and sprinkles, these can be decorated for any holiday or occasion.
Was it just my family, or were strawberry pop-tarts a go-to breakfast or snack to bring to school?
This time, we're taking those classic flavors but going a bit more homemade. Using a version of my homemade strawberry jam recipe for the filling, plus a quick easy icing to go on top, everyone is going to love these pastries!
The Coined Breakdown
- Total Cost per serving: $0.61
- Total Cost (6 pastries): $3.68
- Those Other Guys: $2.99 per box
Ingredients
- Pie Crusts - Use your favorite homemade recipe, or grab the store-bought kind. No judgement either way!
- Strawberry Filling - We're going to take my strawberry preserves recipe and tweak it just a bit. By blending the berries until smooth, and cooking them down until they're extra thick, we make the perfect filling for these pop tarts.
- Easy Icing - A few ingredients like powdered sugar, corn syrup, and water will create a thick icing that's perfect for spreading on top. And don't forget any sprinkles for decoration!
Variations and Substitutions
Other Fruit Pop-Tart Ideas: Most fruit-filled homemade pop tart recipes will work with the same ingredient amounts listed in the recipe card. Try blueberry, cherry, mixed berry, or apple!
Pumpkin Pie Pop-Tarts: These are packed with a pumpkin pie filling and topped with maple-cinnamon icing. They taste so good, especially for the Fall.
Royal Icing or Cookie Icing: You can use either royal icing or sugar cookie icing on these cookies! The cookie icing uses corn syrup; it comes together easier, but takes longer to completely dry. Royal icing uses merengue powder which is a more specialty ingredient; but it dries in about an hour for stacking and transporting.
How to Make Strawberry Pop Tarts at Home
Step 1: First, let's make the filling.
Cook down strawberries, sugar, and lemon juice. When the pot begins to boil, use an immersion blender to get everything nice and smooth.
Continue cooking until the liquid has reduced and the jam is really thick. Remove from heat, and set aside to completely cool.
Step 2: Next, cut the pie dough into 12 even rectangles. I like to make a stencil out of parchment paper.
Poke holes into 6 rectangles; this will be your top crusts. Go ahead and add a little over a tablespoon of filling to the bottom crusts.
Brush the borders with egg wash, then place the top crusts on top and crimp the edges together using a fork.
Step 3: After the pop-tarts bake and cool, mix together your icing and make it thick enough to spread.
Add the glaze to the cooled pastries and top with any sprinkles you want.
Step 4: Let the pastries rest until the icing has set, then serve and enjoy. It's that easy!
Recipe Pro Tips
- Reduce your jam. For the best filling, continue cooking the blended jam until it's really thick and the liquid has reduced.
- Don't let the filling spill out! There's a few tricks to keep your filling contained within the pop tart. First, leave a ⅜th-inch border between the filling and the edge of the pastry. Next, don't smash down the top pastry when placing it on the filling. And finally, when you're sealing with a fork: seal the right side first, then the left. Then seal the top and bottom. I've found crimping in a clockwise or counter-clockwise direction tends to make the pastries shift.
- Keep the icing thick. Add just a tiny amount of water at a time to thin the icing - if needed. You want it to be thick enough, almost like peanut butter, to spread; a thin icing will fall right off the pastry. Simply add a small amount of frosting (probably less than you think you need) and distribute it with a spatula.
Recipe FAQs
Both versions taste delicious on these strawberry toaster pastries! It's really up to you.
Cookie Icing: Uses more common pantry ingredients, but takes at least 18 hours to set. You can eat it almost immediately, but do not stack or transport the pastries before it has fully dried. This icing also is not toaster-safe.
Royal Icing: Uses merengue powder which is more of a specialty ingredient, but fully dries in 1 - 2 hours. Homemade pop tarts topped with royal icing can be heated up in the toaster.
There could be a few reasons why this is happening.
1. Reduce your jam. If the strawberry jam has too much liquid, it will leak out of the pastry sheets.
2. Vent the pastry. Don't forget to add ventilation holes to the top crusts! This way, steam has somewhere to escape.
3. Too much filling. Leave a ⅜-inch border between the filling and the pastry edge.
4. Be gentle. Don’t smash down the top pastry; just lightly place it on top of the filling to avoid spreading.
5. Seal opposite sides first. When sealing with a fork, seal one side first, then go to the opposite side and seal. In other words; don’t seal in a clockwise or counter-clockwise direction. I've found this causes the pastry sheets to shift around.
Yes, you can make homemade pop tarts up to 3 days ahead! Simply bake, let cool completely, and ice with the glaze. Then store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
When you're ready to eat, you can let the pastries come to room temperature on the counter or reheat in a toaster oven/microwave until just warm.
Yes, these can be frozen.
Add the pastries (after the icing has fully dried) to a freezer-safe bag or container, and freeze for up to 4 months. When you're ready to serve, let the pop-tart come to room temperature on the counter before eating.
Other Tasty Snacks You'll Crave!
If you tried this Strawberry Pop-Tarts Recipe, or any other recipe on my website, please leave a star rating and let me know how it went in the comments below. I love hearing from you! Thanks for visiting!
Strawberry Pop-Tarts
Equipment
- Sauce Pot
- Silicone Spatula
- Immersion Blender
- Rolling Pin
- Knife or pizza cutter!
- Pastry Brush
- Fork to crimp edges
- Sheet Pan
- Parchment Paper
- Kitchen Scissors
- Wire Rack
Ingredients
Crust
- 1 box refrigerated pie crusts (2 ct. each)
- 1 count egg (for egg wash)
Strawberry Jam Filling
- 8 ounces strawberries
- 2 tablespoons granulated white sugar
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
Easy Icing & Sprinkles
- ¼ cup powdered sugar (2 ounces)
- 1 tablespoon corn syrup (or ½ tablespoon merengue powder - see notes below)
- 1 teaspoon clear vanilla (optional)
- 1 pinch salt
- water (to thin)
- sprinkles
Instructions
- Sit the pie crusts on the counter and let them come to room temperature.1 box refrigerated pie crusts (2 ct. each)
- Crack the egg in a small bowl and whisk to create an egg wash. Set aside.1 count egg
Strawberry Jam Filling
- Rinse your strawberries, remove the tops, and slice them into quarters.8 ounces strawberries
- Add the sliced berries, sugar, and lemon juice to a pot and cook on medium heat until it begins to boil, stirring frequently.2 tablespoons granulated white sugar, 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- Cook for about 20 minutes. While it is boiling, use an immersion blender to blitz the berries.
- Once the jam is really thick and most of the liquid has reduced (see pictures above), remove from heat and set aside to cool completely.You should be able to swipe a spatula through the pot and the jam takes awhile to fill the hole back up!
Pastry Assembly
- Roll the pie crusts to about ⅛-inch thickness.
- Cut out 12 even-sized rectangles. You will need to combine the scraps and roll them back out into a thin sheet, so you can use up all of the crust.To get even shapes, cut out a "stencil" that's 3 inches long and 4.5 inches tall using parchment paper.
- Poke holes into 6 of the rectangles - this will be the top crusts.
- Add about 1-2 tablespoons of completely cooled filling to the middle of the 6 bottom crusts; these are the ones without any ventilation holes.Spread the filling into a rectangle, leaving about a ⅜-inch border for sealing.
- Brush your egg wash on the border. Then, top each pastry with the top crusts.
- Crimp and seal the edges with a fork.
- Add all six pastries to a parchment paper-lined sheet pan. Bake for 18-20 minutes until they just begin to take on some color.
- Remove from the oven, and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
Easy Icing
- In a small bowl, combine all icing ingredients except for the water.¼ cup powdered sugar, 1 tablespoon corn syrup, 1 pinch salt, 1 teaspoon clear vanilla
- Add a tiny amount of water, if necessary, to thin it out. The consistency should be very thick and able to spread easily - almost like peanut butter.water
- Top the pop tarts with the icing, add sprinkles, and let everything rest until the glaze has set. Enjoy!sprinkles
Notes
- Sugar Cookie Icing is made with corn syrup. The syrup helps bind the ingredients together and causes the icing to dry with a beautiful glossy top. It fully sets after 18 hours, so do not stack or transport the pastries before then.
- Royal Icing is made with egg whites, or meringue powder. It's not overly sweet, and can be piped easily for more control over designs. This icing fully dries in about 2 hours.
Did you make this recipe? Let me know what you think!