Strawberry Pop Tarts

I know, three strawberry recipes in a row!  But I still have an abundance of strawberries in my fridge!  I’ll try to make something strawberry-less this coming week, I promise!  However, until then, you’ll just have to try my strawberry pop tarts!  Made with real ingredients such as butter and fresh strawberries, they taste a lot less processed than the real thing meaning these are healthier (probably not by much but still!)

Like most American’s I grew up eating pop tarts.  We didn’t have them all the time, they were treats and man are they good!  My favorite flavor is still brown sugar cinnamon (maybe in the future homemade ones will appear on here).  The thing about pop tarts are that they are loved by everyone.  Children love them, busy parents love them, I bet if you gave one to your grandmother she would even find a soft spot for them!  Pop tart sales have been on the incline since they were invented, and last year Kellogg’s sold over 2 billion boxes with strawberry and brown sugar cinnamon being the top two flavors.  Now that’s a lot of pop tarts!

So, what genius invented these things?!  Good question!  In 1963 the cereal company Post struggled to compete with Kellogg’s.  They decided to stray away from the cereal business and create a new breakfast favorite; one that didn’t have to be refrigerated and was made with fruit!  But they made a very bad mistake.  Post announced their new product before production, giving already wildly successful Kellogg’s time to create the Pop Tart.  It got the name Pop Tart from the Pop Art movement that was occurring at the time.  The original Pop Tarts included the flavor strawberry (along with brown sugar cinnamon, apple currant and blueberry), and they were all unfrosted.  It took until 1967 for Kellogg’s to create a frosting that didn’t melt and burn as they cooked in a toaster!  Since then there have been over 30 different flavors!

Time for some homemade strawberry Pop Tarts!

 

Strawberry Pop Tarts

The Pastry

• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• 11 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 egg
• 2-4 tablespoons water

1. In a large bowl (or food processor) combined flour, sugar and salt.
2. Add in cubed butter and mix until butter is pea sized.
3. Add the egg and 2 tablespoons water, add more water if dough is too dry.
4. Divide dough in half, shape into discs and place in fridge while you make the filling.

Strawberry Filling

• 1 1/3 cups diced strawberries
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice

Icing

• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 2 tablespoons milk (or water)
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla exract
• a few drops of red food dye (optional)
• red sprinkles (optional)

1. In a small saucepan add all the ingredients.
2. Stir constantly as you cook the filling over medium heat.
3. Bring to a simmer until thickened, continue to stir and simmer for 2 more minutes.
4. Pour filling into a bowl and set aside. 
5. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
6. Take one disc of dough out of the fridge.  Flour counter top and roll crust out until 1/8 inch thick.  Trim edges to form a large square (or rectangle) shape.
7. Cut diagonally every 3 inches and horizontally every 5 inches. 
8. Place rectangles on sheet trays, re-roll used dough.
9. On half of the rectangles, egg wash the entire strip of dough.
10. Place a heaping tablespoonful of strawberry filling in the center of each egg washed rectangle and spread out, leaving a 1/4 inch margin along all edges of the dough. 
11. Gently place a piece of dough without egg wash on top.  Press lightly along the edge, press down with a fork to seal it.  (It’s ok if some filling leaks out that will probably happen to a few as they cook)
12. Egg wash the entire assembled pop tart, poke some holes with a fork to allow steam to escape while baking.
13. Bake pop tarts for 15 minutes, rotate and continue to bake 10-15 more minutes.  They’re done when they start to brown.
14. While pop tarts are baking, make the icing!  (or don’t it’s totally up to you if you want naked pop tarts)
15. In a small bowl combine powdered sugar, vanilla, milk and red food dye.  Whisk until fully combined, it should be a thicker icing.
16. Once pop tarts are cool, spoon some icing on top and spread out along top of pop tart.  Sprinkle with some red sprinkles while icing is still wet. 

And that’s how you make my strawberry pop tarts!  They’re just as addicting as the real thing!