Name: Easy Homemade Strawberry Pop Tarts
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 12 min
Total time: 42 min
Yield: 8
Ingredients: Refrigerated pie crust (2 pack), at room temperature; 1/2 cup strawberry preserves or jam; 1 large egg, room temperature; 1 tbsp milk (or water); 1 cup powdered sugar; 2 tbsp milk; 1/2 tsp vanilla extract; sprinkles for topping (optional)

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I’m not ashamed to admit that I am that parent that occasionally buys her kids boxed pop tarts for busy mornings. They are easy enough for the girls to put in the toaster and eat on their way to the bus. But I always wanted to make homemade strawberry pop tarts.

When we started watching what we were eating and reading the ingredients on these packaged foods, I realized that the store-bought pop tarts probably weren’t the best option. Plus, I don’t know about you, but they don’t taste the same as they did when we were kids.

As much as I’m not a fan of rolling dough for any reason, I vowed to try to make my girls homemade strawberry pop tarts every once and a while as a treat. Now that they’ve tasted these, they can’t imagine eating the boxed version ever again.

Before I share our homemade strawberry pop tarts recipe, let me share a few tips.

If you want to save even more time, you can purchase frosting from the store instead of making your own.

Make sure to wait until the pop tarts are completely cool before adding the icing. Otherwise, it will just melt and run right off.

If you have one, I recommend using a silicone cutting board. They are super easy to clean and the dough won’t stick to it as much!

What if I don’t like strawberry preserves?

If you aren’t a fan of strawberry preserves, you can substitute the filling with anything you’d prefer. We’ve tried hazelnut spread and caramel (which was amazing by the way).

How can I store these homemade strawberry pop tarts?

I usually place them in an air-tight container and leave them on the counter for a couple of days. If you don’t think you’ll be able to eat them all that quickly, you can keep them in the fridge for a week, or in the freezer for up to 2 months.

Can you describe how they taste?

They taste like pie, but in a convenient shape that you can hold in your hand and eat without getting messy.

Can I toast them?

We haven’t tried to toast them. My girls usually just eat them at room temperature. But if you want to put them in a convection oven, I would put it on the lowest setting and start at just a couple of minutes. You don’t want the icing to melt all over your toaster.

I’ve tried to show the steps in the photos above for you, to make it a bit easier to make these homemade strawberry pop tarts.

Step 1: Using an index card or a piece of paper, cut the pie crust into 3×5′ pieces.

Step 2: Lay the rectangle pieces on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet.

Step 3: Put a heaping tablespoon of strawberry preserves or jam in the center of half of the pie crust rectangles.

Step 4: Whisk the egg and 1 tbsp of milk in a bowl. Use a pastry brush to brush egg wash along the edges of the rectangles that have the preserves.

Step 5: Spread the preserves out so that it fills the pie crust rectangle (but doesn’t touch the egg wash).

Step 6: Pick up one of the empty rectangles and place it on top of one of the rectangles with the preserves and egg wash. Press the edges with your finger, all the way around so that there are no open holes where the filling can leak out. Repeat with the remaining rectangles.

Step 7: Using a fork, press along each side of each pop tart.

Step 8: Using the pastry brush, brush each pop tart with egg wash.

Step 9: Cut small slits in the top of each pop tart, using a knife. This is to let steam out, so they don’t burst in the oven.

Step 10: Bake at 400º for 12 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely on a cooling rack.

Step 11: Whisk together the powdered sugar, 2 tbsp of milk, and 1/2 tsp vanilla extract until fully combined. Spoon some on top of each pop tart.

Step 12: If you choose to decorate them, sprinkle them each with sprinkles.