one big strawberry pop tart

oh so pretty in pink !!

one big pop tart flavor of the month haaaaaad to be strawberry.

although, it’s more of a quarterly pop tart than a monthly one but I digress. this pop tart is so fruity, flirty and fun. a real valentine’s treat for ur lover, or even better for a galentine’s situation - it’s just so cute and would look amazing on a brunch spread.

you could totally use a high quality strawberry preserve instead of making your own jam but I felt compelled to make life harder for myself and show off that I can make anything from scratch. besides, valentine’s day isn’t for shortcuts it’s for crafts!! that being said, bone mamman strawberry preserves would be great if you want a shortcut.

and if you really wanna shortcut it up, you can use store bought puff pastry for more of a flakey, toaster strudel vibe - just make sure to use an all-butter dough (not pillsbury which is oil and a bunch of other bs) since this is a pretty simple 2 part recipe - it’s worth splurging on the higher quality products, or of course, making your own :)

leftover dough scraps do in fact work magnificently as repurposed mini heart shaped pop tarts. just make sure to not overfill them and really close them shut!

I love LOVE and I love BIG POP TART!!

strawberry pop tart:

all recipes below

• 1x strawberry jam filling

• 1x strawberry glaze

• 1x pie crust

• handful of crushed freeze dried strawberries (or sprinkles, or both)

strawberry jam filling:

• 1 lb frozen strawberries

• 1/4 cup sugar

• 1/4 cup honey

• 2 tbsp lemon juice

• pinch of salt

• 2 tbsp cornstarch

• 2 Tbsp water

• 1/2 tsp vanilla

1. for the jam: to a small pot add the frozen strawberries, sugar, honey, lemon juice, and salt.

2. cook over medium heat, stirring, until fully thawed and beginning to bubble, 8-10 minutes. mash strawberries lightly with a fork or against the side of the pot, leaving some texture. continue to simmer for another 15-20 minutes until noticeably reduced and glossy.

3. in a small bowl, stir together the cornstarch and 2 tbsp water. add to bubbling strawberries and cook 30 to 60 seconds until thickened and shiny. it should fully coat the back of a spoon.

4. stir in the vanilla and transfer to a shallow dish. refrigerate until fully chilled, it will continue to firm up.

this recipe makes more than you need, but when I’m already making jam - I rather have some extra. feel free to half the recipe if you want to make just about enough for the pop tart filling!

pie crust recipe:

you could use puff pastry but it will give off more toaster strudel energy, although I certainly wouldn’t mind that, just a diff vibe! this is my go to pie crust recipe from nyt copied below for convenience!

• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (300 grams)

• 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt

• 20 tablespoons unsalted butter, cold and cut into cubes (use a high-fat, european-style unsalted butter for best results - I use kerrygold)

• 4 to 8 tablespoons ice water, as needed, I usually land around 6

• 1 beaten egg, for egg wash

1. in a food processor, pulse together the flour and salt. add butter and pulse until the mixture forms lima bean-size pieces. slowly add ice water, 1 tablespoon at a time, and pulse until the dough just comes together. It should be moist, but not wet. **I don’t have the room for a full ass food processor so I did this by hand and just used my fingers to break the butter pieces up.

2. turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and gather into a ball. separate into 2 equal parts. cover tightly with plastic wrap and flatten each piece into a rectangular disk with the help of the wrap - this just make rolling out easier. refrigerate for at least 1 hour and up to 2 days.

strawberry glaze:

• 1 cup powdered sugar

• 3 tbsp milk, give or take - start with 2 and check consistency

• 1 tsp vanilla bean paste/extract

• 1.5 tsp strawberry jam

• drop of red food coloring (optional)

• pinch of salt

1. in a medium bowl, mix together the powdered sugar, vanilla, salt and milk. remove 1/4 cup of the glaze, transfer to a small bowl. this will be for the drizzle.

2. to the remaining original bowl of glaze, add 1 tsp of strawberry jam and mix to combine.

3. to the small bowl of glaze, add a tiny drop of red food coloring (or pink if you have it) you can also add beetroot powder, powdered freeze dried strawberries or just keep it white!

4. transfer the colored glaze to a piping bag or ziploc.

pop tart assembly:

1. remove one pie crust from the fridge

2. lightly flour your surface and roll the dough half into roughly a 8 x 12 rectangle. its okay if the edges aren’t perfect. using a ruler, or by eye, trim the edges to get a perfect rectangle.

3. transfer the rectangle onto a parchment lined baking sheet, cover with plastic wrap and place in the fridge to chill while you roll the next disk out into another 8 x 12 rectangle.

4. spread about 1 cup of the filling into the center and spread in to an even layer, leaving about a 1 inch border around all sides.

5. gently place your second rectangle on top of the bottom rectangle, lining up the edges of both crusts together. using a fork, press the sides down so they crimp together. take your time here to really work your fork to the bottom of the second layer to prevent leakage. I like to also use the edge of a knife to push in any scraggly edges after crimping.

6. place the entire pop tart in the fridge, covered, for about 20-30 minutes to firm everything up. in the meantime, preheat the oven to 375 F.

7. remove pop tart from the fridge, brush with a beaten egg and prick 4 slits on top of the crust to allow ventilation. bake until nice and very golden brown, about 25-30 minutes. keep an eye on it to make sure nothing is leaking out and burning.

8. once golden brown, remove from the oven and let cool until just slightly warm. spread a nice layer of the strawberry glaze on top, spreading across the surface. it will naturally spread so don’t go too close to the edge.

9. let the glaze cool and harden lightly, about 15 minutes. it should be dry to the touch before adding your drizzle.

10. with the pink glaze, pipe a large drizzle across the surface. sprinkle with some crushed freeze dried strawberries or sprinkles and a touch of flaky salt!

11. cut into rectangles and enjoyyyy :*

i hope you try it & have a wonderful weekend lovers!!!!

xoxo, katie

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