Homemade Heart Shaped Strawberry Pop Tarts for a Nostalgic Breakfast Treat

Homemade Heart Shaped Strawberry Pop Tarts

If you grew up tearing open a foil pouch before school, you already know the flavor I am chasing here.

These homemade heart shaped strawberry pop tarts take that same crisp, sweet memory and rebuild it in your own kitchen with a buttery crust, a spoonful of strawberry jam, and a simple vanilla icing.

They come together quickly, they make 12 pastries, and they are exactly the kind of treat that turns a lazy Saturday breakfast into a small celebration.

What are Heart Shaped Strawberry Pop Tarts?

This recipe is a from scratch homage to the store bought strawberry pop tarts of childhood, made with simple ingredients you probably already have on hand. Instead of a packaged pastry, you start with pie crust, roll it out, and cut it into heart shapes. Rectangles work just as well if you want the classic look.

Each pastry is filled with strawberry jam, and you can use homemade jam or your favorite jar from the store.

The edges get sealed with a light egg wash, then the tops are crimped with a fork and poked with a few holes so steam can escape in the oven. Once they cool, they get a coat of vanilla icing and a shower of sprinkles.

The result is a crisp, flaky, jam filled treat with a soft sweet glaze on top. It is breakfast, it is dessert, and it is a very good excuse to get flour on your counter on a Sunday morning.

Why this recipe works

Pie crust is the whole trick. It bakes up crisp and buttery, which is exactly the texture that made those foil wrapped pastries so satisfying, and it holds a filling without turning soggy as long as you leave a clean border around the jam.

You also get to choose your own adventure with the crust. A homemade all purpose pie crust gives you the best flavor and the most control, and there is a separate tutorial on this blog for making pie dough from scratch if you want to go that route.

Store bought refrigerated pie crust works beautifully too, and honestly, on a busy weeknight that is the version I reach for.

The filling is just as flexible. Store bought strawberry jam keeps things simple. If it is strawberry season near you, though, homemade jam made with fresh local berries takes these pastries somewhere special, and you will taste the difference in every bite.

Finally, the icing uses pantry staples: powdered sugar, milk, and pure vanilla extract. It is the same style of vanilla icing used in the Giant Blueberry Pop Tart recipe on this site, which means you already know it works.

Equipment for heart shaped strawberry pop tarts

You do not need a drawer full of specialty tools. Here is what actually earns its spot on the counter.

• A rolling pin. I like a dowel style pin because it gives you good feel for the dough, but any rolling pin you own will do the job.
• A wine bottle. Seriously. Lay it on its side and roll. It works in a pinch, and it makes everyone in the kitchen laugh.
• Half sheet pans for baking the cut shapes. They give you enough room to space the pastries out so the edges crisp instead of steam.
• Mixing bowls. A stand mixer is not required for this recipe. A bowl and a whisk handle the icing perfectly well.
• An offset spatula. It is the unsung hero here. It lifts the cut shapes off the counter without stretching them, and it spreads the icing in smooth, even strokes.
• A heart shaped cookie cutter. Any size you like, as long as you cut pairs that match.
• A fork for crimping and a pastry brush for the egg wash.

If you are baking with kids, put the sprinkles in a small bowl and let them go to town. It is messy. It is also the part they remember.

Ingredients for heart shaped strawberry pop tarts

The list is intentionally short, which is part of what makes this recipe feel like a nod to the classics. Here is what you need.

For the pop tarts

• 1 (2 count) box refrigerated pie crust, or one batch of homemade all purpose pie dough
• 1/2 cup strawberry jam or preserves
• 1 large egg
• 1 tablespoon water

For the vanilla icing

• 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
• 2 tablespoons milk
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• Food coloring, optional
• Multicolor sprinkles, optional but very encouraged

A couple of notes from my own kitchen. The single egg is only there for the egg wash, so you do not need a second one for the dough.

The milk is what thins the icing, and you may need a little more or a little less than the recipe says depending on the day. If you have vanilla bean paste in the cupboard, it is a wonderful swap for the extract.

Sprinkles are technically optional. In my house they are not optional at all, and I will not pretend otherwise.

Possible ingredient substitutions

There is a lot of room to play here. The jam is the easiest place to start, since any fruit preserve you love will work in place of strawberry. The crust is flexible too.

Homemade pie dough can step in for the refrigerated kind, and the refrigerated kind can step in for homemade. Vanilla bean paste can replace the pure vanilla extract if you want a deeper, more floral note in the icing.

Just keep the egg wash as written, because that is what helps the tops seal and the crust turn golden.

Flavor variations for homemade strawberry pop tarts

Once you have the method down, the filling becomes a blank canvas. Three versions I keep coming back to:

• Raspberry. Swap the strawberry jam for raspberry jam, then stir about 2 tablespoons of pulverized freeze dried raspberries into the icing. The color is gorgeous and the flavor is bright.
• Blueberry. Take the flavors from the Giant Blueberry Pop Tart recipe and use them in smaller cut crust portions. Same idea, hand held size.
• Nutella and banana. Skip the jam, fill with Nutella and sliced banana, and finish with the chocolate glaze from the homemade yeasted donut recipe. It is rich, it is a little ridiculous, and it disappears fast.

Homemade pie crust vs store bought

Both work, and neither is a compromise. Homemade all purpose pie dough gives you the best flavor and a crust that tastes unmistakably yours. Refrigerated pie crust is the easier route when you want pop tarts on the table without planning ahead, and it still bakes up crisp and buttery. Pick the one that fits your day.

How to Make Heart Shaped Strawberry Pop Tarts

Here is the whole process, step by step. Prep takes about 25 minutes and the pastries bake for about 15 minutes, so plan on roughly 40 minutes of hands on time plus cooling.

Step 1, Roll out the pie dough

Preheat the oven to 375°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Lightly flour your work surface, then roll out your pie dough, homemade or store bought, to about 1/4 inch thickness. Even thickness is what gives you an even bake.

Step 2, Cut out the heart shapes

Use a heart shaped cookie cutter to cut out your shapes and move them to the prepared baking sheet.

You can gather and re roll the scraps, though after two rounds of re rolling the texture starts to change, so it is usually not worth pushing past that.

Step 3, Fill the pie crust with jam, crimp the edges, and poke holes in the tops

Spread strawberry jam onto half of the hearts, leaving about a 1/4 inch border around the edge. Those clean borders are what let the tops seal. The remaining hearts become the lids.

Beat the egg with the water in a small bowl until no streaks remain, then brush it onto the borders of the filled hearts. Press the top crusts into place.

Use a fork to lightly crimp the edges all the way around, then poke a few holes in the top of each pastry so steam can escape. Brush a little more egg wash over the tops.

Step 4, Egg wash and bake

Slide the pan into the oven and bake for about 15 minutes, until the outsides are golden brown.

The egg wash is what gives them that glossy finish. Let them cool completely before you even think about icing.

Step 5, Make the vanilla icing and frost the cooled pop tarts

While the pop tarts bake, whisk the powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla together in a small bowl until smooth. Add food coloring if you want a pink glaze, which I think looks especially sweet on the heart shapes.

If the icing feels too thick, add milk 1 tablespoon at a time. If it is too thin, add powdered sugar 1 tablespoon at a time, until you reach the consistency you like.

Once the pop tarts are completely cool, spread the icing over the tops and add the sprinkles right away. This part matters more than you would think.

Sprinkle immediately. Once the icing sets, nothing sticks, and you are left with a plain glazed pop tart and a very sad bowl of sprinkles.

This is also the moment to hand the bowl of sprinkles to a kid. Rolling dough, drizzling icing, and decorating are the jobs my own family fights over, and the pop tarts never look quite the same twice, which is half the fun.

They are best enjoyed the day they are made, while the crust is still crisp. They will keep for a day or two, but the jam slowly softens the pastry, so they are at their peak right away.

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Homemade Heart Shaped Strawberry Pop Tarts If you grew up tearing open a foil pouch before school, you already know the flavor I am chasing here. These homemade heart shaped strawberry pop tarts take that same crisp, sweet memory and rebuild it in your own kitchen with a buttery crust, a spoonful of strawberry jam, and a simple vanilla icing.

• Total Time: 0 min
• Yield: 12 pop tarts 1x

Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

For the Pop Tarts
1 (2-count) box refrigerated pie crust
1/2 cup strawberry jam/preserves
1 large egg
1 Tbsp water

For the Vanilla Icing
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
2 Tbsp milk
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
Food coloring
Multicolor sprinkles

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Instructions

For the Pop Tarts
1-Preheat oven to 375°F: Preheat oven to 375°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Roll out pie crusts on a lightly floured surface to about 1/4-inch thickness.
2-Use heart-shaped cookie cutters (or any other: Use heart-shaped cookie cutters (or any other shape) to cut out heart shapes from the pie crust, and place them on your prepared baking sheet. Feel free to re-roll any scraps. More than 2 times of re-rolling scraps is probably not worth it – the texture will be much different than the first roll!
3-Use an offset spatula or a knife: Use an offset spatula or a knife to spread the strawberry jam onto half of the heart shapes (the remaining halves will be the tops). You’ll want to leave about a 1/4-inch border around the shapes, that way we can egg wash the sides before adding the tops.
4-Beat the egg and water in a: Beat the egg and water in a small bowl until no streaks remain. Use a pastry brush to brush the egg onto the borders of each pie crust with jam. Top with the remaining pie crusts.
5-Use a fork to lightly crimp the: Use a fork to lightly crimp the edges of each pop tart, then use the fork to also poke a few holes in the top of each one. Brush more egg wash over each pop tart.
6-Bake for 15 minutes or until the: Bake for 15 minutes or until the outsides of the pop tarts are golden brown. Cool completely.

For the Vanilla Icing
7-Meanwhile, whisk the powdered sugar, milk, vanilla,: Meanwhile, whisk the powdered sugar, milk, vanilla, and food coloring (if using) until smooth. If the icing is too thick, add more milk, 1 Tbsp at a time, until you reach your desired consistency. If the icing is too thin, add more powdered sugar, 1 Tbsp at a time, until you reach your desired consistency.
8-Spread your desired amount of icing onto: Spread your desired amount of icing onto each pop tart and immediately sprinkle with your sprinkles (if you wait too long the icing may set up and the sprinkles will not stick to the icing!).

Last Step:

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• Prep Time: 25 min
• Cook Time: 15 min
• Method: bake