I f you follow my blog you know I am a sucker for something sweet for breakfast. As a kid we never got to have pop tarts so it was a huge treat when we slept over a friends and they had them for breakfast. Now that I’m an adult and get to grocery shop for myself, I can’t help but slip them into my cart every once in awhile 🙂 But I’ll say, this homemade version is even better than the store bought!
Painting the pie dough & recipe tips:
This is a technique I’ve wanted to try for the longest time and I thought making these strawberry pop tarts themed for Valentine’s Day would be perfect! It’s so pretty and although it’s an extra step, it really is easy!
- Adding white: No matter what color I use I always add white to help boost the color. This helps to add more pigment and cancel out the orange/yellow color of the dough. You will mix a little water with the white dye, then add in a little of the desired color until it gets to what you want! Remember the color will darken a bit in the oven.
- Don’t egg wash the hearts: do not egg wash the hearts or the dye will not stick!
- Pie dough: I use store bought because it’s quick, easy and delicious. If you want to use homemade go for it!
- Cookie cutters: I bought this set and use the smallest hearts for this recipe!
This recipe is so delicious and with a few extra steps you can make them super cute for Valentines Day. If you end up trying the recipe please leave a rating and comment below! To find other brunch and breakfast recipes click here!
Sweetheart Strawberry Pop Tarts
Ingredients
For the pop tarts:
- 2 refrigerated pre-made pie crusts
- ½ cup strawberry jam
- 1 tbsp corn starch
- 1 egg
- red, white and pink food dye
- sanding sugar or sprinkles
For the icing:
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 3-4 tbsp whole milk or heavy cream
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
For the pop tarts:
- Preheat oven to 400º and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. In a small bowl, mix the strawberry jam with cornstarch. Crack the egg into a second small bowl and whisk to create the egg wash.
- Flour a large work surface and lay both pie crusts out on it. Roll the circles out to be 11 inches across. Use a knife or pizza cutter to cut the edges off to create two 9-inch squares. Then cut into 6 rectangles per pie dough (12 in total)
- Spoon 2 tablespoons of jam into the center of 6 of the rectangles, leaving about ¼ inch of dough around the edges. Brush the egg wash around the edges. Place pie dough overtop and gently press down and squeeze out the excess air. Use a fork to crimp the edges together on all sides. Repeat with remaining pie crusts.
For decor:
- In two small bowls add 1 teaspoon of water,1 teaspoon of white food dye and then either pink or red. Add more to reach desired color (they will bake up darker than they appear)
- Cut out 80 small hearts from the remaining pie dough (I use 12 around the edges and 1 in the center of each pop tart).
- Brush egg wash over the entire pop tart and add hearts around the edges overtop of the crimping. Use a food grade paint brush to paint the hearts, alternating colors. Do not egg wash over the hearts.
- Bake pop tarts for 16-18 minutes or until golden brown.
- Paint remaining hearts and bake for 6-8 minutes or until baked through.
To decorate:
- Once the pop tarts have cooled for at least ten minutes you can decorate! Whisk powdered sugar, vanilla and milk or cream until it reaches desired consistency. I like spreadable but not too thin. Spread icing on top and immediately sprinkle on sanding sugar or sprinkles. Add 1 heart to the center and serve!
Where did you get the small heart cookie cutter and what size
This is the set I bought and use the smallest or the next size up! https://amzn.to/49yqIqP
If I made the night before, would you recommend reheating in the morning or will it keep in the fridge assembled and then cook in the morning?
You can definitely bake them the night before and then warm them in the microwave before serving!