Homemade Pop Tarts
These easy Homemade Pop Tarts are made with pie crust and simple pantry ingredients (no corn syrup or preservatives). Includes two nostalgic filling flavors! The post Homemade Pop Tarts appeared first on Budget Bytes.
Nothing screams nostalgia more than a Pop Tart. In reality, it’s a dessert disguised as breakfast, but I’m here for it. These easy Homemade Pop Tarts are free of all those mysterious, hard-to-pronounce ingredients (and no high fructose corn syrup!) and utilize pantry staples you probably already have on hand! For me, it required zero trips to the store and resulted in a super cute, budget-friendly treat my family loves. I couldn’t decide on just one flavor, so I made two different fillings, and I’m sharing both here with you today!
Easy Recipe for Homemade Pop Tarts
I threw this recipe together one weekend morning when I was craving something special but didn’t want to leave the house. I discovered a box of pie crusts left over from the holidays in my freezer. Then, I raided the refrigerator and found blueberry jam at the back…and this copycat homemade Pop Tart recipe was born! Let me tell you, my daughter was thrilled with these! We also ended up making a batch for her babysitter’s family. Huge hit.
Budget Saving Tip
In retrospect, you could easily keep the circular pie shape and cut it into pie-like slices or cut your rectangular dough shapes into smaller squares to get more servings for your money. However, I was going for maximum nostalgia and wanted to make it look as close to the real thing as possible. But, you do you! (And share your favorite flavors and shapes in the comments below!)
Homemade Pop Tarts
Equipment
- Rolling Pin
- Baking Sheet
- Parchment Paper
Ingredients
Brown Sugar Filling:
- ¼ cup brown sugar $0.13
- 1 tsp flour $0.01
- 1 tsp cinnamon $0.08
- 1 Tbsp salted butter, melted $0.12
- ¼ tsp vanilla extract $0.16
Blueberry Jam Filling:
- ¼ cup blueberry jam* $0.44
- 1 tsp corn starch $0.02
Homemade Pop Tarts:
- 1 package of pre-made pie crusts** $2.77
- 1 egg, beaten (optional)*** $0.49
Cinnamon Frosting:
- 1 cup powdered sugar $0.55
- 2 Tbsp heavy cream $0.20
- 1 tsp cinnamon $0.08
Berry Frosting:
- remnants of juice from the jam-filling process $0.00
- 2 Tbsp heavy cream $0.20
- 1 cup powdered sugar $0.55
- ½ Tbsp sprinkles $0.18
Instructions
- Gather ingredients and preheat oven to 400℉.
- Make cinnamon sugar filling: Combine brown sugar, flour, cinnamon, melted salted butter, and vanilla extract in a small bowl and mix with a fork. Set aside.
- Make berry jam filling: Combine blueberry jam and corn starch. Set aside.
- Flour a large work surface and roll out pie crusts, one at a time, to be even thickness. I like to make my pie crusts fairly thin so I get another serving out of this recipe, but the trick is to cut one rectangle in whatever size you prefer and then use that one as your guide to cut the rest, making them all the same size.
- Add 1-2 Tbsp of prepared filling to one prepared rectangular crust at a time, reserving a rectangle of crust for each to place over the top. Do not overfill your tarts.
- Place reserved rectangle crusts over the top of each filled side and prick once or twice with a fork or toothpick (to help some air escape during baking), then seal each tart by gently pressing the crusts together with a fork.
- Optional: Beat one egg and brush each tart to give it a nice shine.
- Bake for 15-18 minutes on parchment-lined baking sheets until top crusts are golden brown. If you experience a blow out, don’t worry! Once they cool and it comes time to frost them, it won’t be an issue.
- While they're cooling, make the brown sugar frosting and the berry frosting. To make the brown sugar frosting, simply combine 1 cup powdered sugar, 2 Tbsp heavy cream, and cinnamon in a bowl, whisking until smooth. To make the berry frosting, I like to use up any leftover juice from the jam that’s still in my mixing bowl (for color!) along with the remaining 2 Tbsp cream and the remaining cup of powdered sugar.
- Once they're are completely cooled, frost each Pop Tart generously. Top the berry tarts with sprinkles. Decorate the berry tarts with sprinkles before serving. Enjoy!
See how we calculate recipe costs here.
