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Why It Works
- Freeze-dried strawberry powder absorbs excess liquid in the filling, creating a jammy paste that stays put during baking and doesn’t ooze when you take a bite.
- A cookie-like pastry dough mimics the signature crumbly texture of a true Pop-Tart.
- Baking at a low temperature preserves the pale, iconic look of the pastry.
When life gets stressful, I find myself reaching for the snack foods of my childhood—the ones I had to beg my parents for. As a former latchkey kid fending for myself after school, I had a soft spot for the packaged foods that were easy enough for a grade-schooler to heat and eat: chicken nuggets, French bread pizza, and strawberry Pop-Tarts were top of the list.
For some reason, it was always the berry or fruit-forward flavors like strawberry that did it for me. Cinnamon-sugar and chocolate Pop-Tarts just leaned too hard into a cloying sweetness that even my sugar-happy kid palate couldn’t fully embrace. What can I say? At the tender age of 11, I already had a well-established Pop-Tart hierarchy. Today, I’m amazed at how bland and overly sweet they taste, with only a vague hint of real fruit flavor—which to me is a great reason for making a homemade version that delivers the nostalgic format with a much better flavor.
You’ll find plenty of recipes that claim to replicate Pop-Tarts, but most take shortcuts, relying on premade pie crusts or puff pastry. In reality, those are hand pies. Anyone who grew up eating Pop-Tarts knows that the pastry isn’t supposed to be flaky—it’s crumbly, like a sugar cookie, and has a flavor more akin to a sugar cookie than a pastry as well.
And the filling? It shouldn’t be oozy; it should be thick and jammy, closer to the consistency of the inside of a Fig Newton. This recipe developed by our Birmingham, Alabama–based colleague Nicole Hopper gets all of that right, delivering a homemade version that looks, feels, and tastes like the Pop-Tarts you remember—only better. No dusty shelf-staleness, no cloyingly sweet, artificial-tasting filling—just a tender, freshly baked pastry with a bright, jammy center that actually tastes like fruit. These DIY Pop-Tarts are a baking project straight out of my childhood dreams.
Serious Eats / Victor Protasio
The Key Techniques for Making the Perfect Copycat Pop-Tart
Freeze-dried strawberries are a must. To achieve that signature thick, jammy filling, you need more than just cooked-down rhubarb and sugar. Adding freeze-dried strawberry powder helps absorb excess moisture, preventing the mixture from being too loose or wet. It starts rehydrating as soon as it’s stirred into the filling, helping to create a thick, rich paste that holds its shape as the Pop-Tarts bake. The result? A thick, rich filling that stays put when you take a bite—no oozing, no mess. Using freeze-dried strawberries also gives the fruit filling a more intense strawberry flavor than you’d get with fresh berries.
Just use a ruler. You’ve spent all this time recreating a favorite childhood treat—you want them to look the part, too. True Pop-Tarts have sharp, neat edges. The only way to achieve that is by measuring carefully and cutting precise three- by four-inch rectangles. A bench scraper is also handy here: Its straight edge helps you cut clean, crisp lines for neat, uniform pastries. Measure twice, cut once. Seriously.
Don’t be stingy with the filling. It’s easy to either overfill or underfill hand pies and similar pastries—leading to a messy, leaking pastry or, worse, a sad, empty one. But this thick, jammy filling makes it easy to get it just right. It’s sturdy enough to stay put during baking, so you can be generous without fear of overflow. Just be sure to leave a small, clean quarter-inch border around the edges, and you’ll have enough room to seal each one properly.
Bake low and slow. The secret to a tart that tastes and looks right is a low oven temperature. While most pastries bake at high heat to encourage crisp, flaky layers, Pop-Tarts are a different story. Since the dough is more like a sugar cookie than a pie crust, baking at 300°F—about 100° lower than you’d bake many other pastries—gives the pastry time to cook through without developing too much color. The result is that soft, pale golden exterior that’s key to capturing the classic Pop-Tart look.
This recipe was developed by Nicole Hopper; the headnote was written by Kelli Solomon.
Serious Eats / Victor Protasio
Homemade Strawberry Pop-Tarts Recipe: Your ’90s Breakfast Upgraded
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For the Filling:
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12 ounces chopped fresh rhubarb (340 g; about 2 2/3 cups), from 4 large stalks
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6 ounces granulated sugar (170 g; about 3/4 cup plus 1 1/2 tablespoons)
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1 teaspoon vanilla paste (see notes)
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1/2 teaspoon grated orange zest from 1 medium orange
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1/4 teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt; for table salt, use half as much by volume
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3/4 ounces (21 g) freeze-dried strawberries, finely ground (about 1/4 cup), see notes
For the Dough:
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9 ounces all-purpose flour (255 g; 2 cups)
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1 teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt; for table salt, use half as much by volume
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7 ounces cold unsalted butter (198 g; 14 tablespoons), cubed
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5 1/4 ounces light corn syrup (149 g; 7 tablespoons)
For the Icing:
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1 large egg white (see notes)
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6 ounces powdered sugar (170 g; 1 1/2 cups), plus more as needed
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2 teaspoons (10 g) fresh lemon juice, from 1 small lemon
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1/4 teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt; for table salt, use half as much by volume
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1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
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1 drop pink gel food coloring (optional)
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Freeze-dried strawberries (see notes)
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For the Filling: In a medium saucepan, combine rhubarb and sugar. Cook over medium-low, stirring occasionally, until sugar has dissolved, about 5 minutes. Increase heat to medium, and bring to a boil. Cook, stirring occasionally, until rhubarb thickens to a gel-like consistency, about 15 minutes. Remove from heat, and stir in vanilla paste, orange zest, and salt. Using a fine-mesh strainer, sift freeze-dried strawberry powder into rhubarb mixture, discarding any seeds and solids in the strainer. Stir until combined. Using an immersion blender, blend mixture in saucepan until smooth, 1 to 2 minutes, taking care to break up any clumps of strawberry powder. (The mixture should be a very thick and sticky paste.) Spread filling into a shallow dish; set aside to cool to room temperature, about 30 minutes; chill in the refrigerator until cold, about 30 minutes.
Serious Eats / Victor Protasio
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For the Dough: While filling chills, in a food processor, pulse flour and salt until combined, 2 to 3 pulses. Add butter, and pulse until mixture resembles coarse meal, about 15 pulses. Add corn syrup, and pulse until mixture begins to clump together into a crumbly dough, about 10 pulses.
Serious Eats / Victor Protasio
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Place dough onto a clean work surface, and gently press once or twice until dough holds together. Divide dough into 2 even portions (about 10 1/2 ounces; 297 grams each). Shape each portion into a 1-inch-thick square, and wrap tightly in plastic wrap. Refrigerate until firm, at least 1 hour or up to 2 days.
Serious Eats / Victor Protasio
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To Assemble: Line two 13- by 18-inch rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper; set aside. On a generously floured surface, unwrap and roll 1 dough portion into a roughly 10- x 13-inch rectangle (between 1/8- to 1/4-inch thick), making sure to frequently lift and turn dough to prevent sticking, dusting underneath as needed. Using a sharp knife, trim edges to form a 9- x 12-inch rectangle; discard trim or reserve for another use (see notes). Cut dough into nine 3- by 4-inch rectangles. Place rectangles on prepared baking sheet, and freeze, uncovered, until firm, about 10 minutes.
Serious Eats / Victor Protasio
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Unwrap 2nd dough portion, and repeat rolling and cutting process to create another nine 3- by 4-inch rectangles. Place rectangles on second parchment-lined baking sheet. Using a cake tester or wooden skewer, prick dough at about 3/4-inch intervals. Chill, uncovered, in the refrigerator while working with first portion of dough.
Serious Eats / Victor Protasio
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Remove unpricked dough rectangles from freezer. Working directly on the baking sheet, use a small offset spatula to spread about 1 1/2 tablespoons strawberry-rhubarb filling onto each rectangle, leaving a 1/4-inch border around the edges. (You should have about 1 tablespoon filling leftover; cover, chill, and reserve for the icing.) Using a pastry brush, very lightly brush edges of each rectangle with water.
Serious Eats / Victor Protasio
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Remove pricked dough rectangles from refrigerator. Carefully place 1 pricked rectangle over each filled rectangle, taking care to match up the edges, and gently press out any air bubbles. Using your fingers, press edges to seal. Trim edges, if desired. Repeat process with remaining filled rectangles and pricked rectangles. Loosely cover with plastic wrap, and freeze tarts until firm, about 15 minutes. Adjust oven rack to middle position, and preheat oven to 300°F (150°C).
Serious Eats / Victor Protasio
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Bake tarts until tops are slightly puffed, dry, set to the touch, and edges are very lightly golden, 28 to 30 minutes. Let cool completely on baking sheet, about 45 minutes.
Serious Eats / Victor Protasio
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For the Icing: In a large bowl, whisk egg white and reserved 1 tablespoon filling until frothy. Gradually whisk in sugar until smooth, followed by the lemon juice, salt, vanilla, and food coloring, if using. If necessary, add more confectioners’ sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, or water, 1 teaspoon at a time, until icing falls off the whisk in thick ribbons and takes 10 seconds to disappear back into the bowl. (See notes if you prefer not to use raw egg whites.)
Serious Eats / Victor Protasio
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Using a pastry brush, brush icing over tops of cooled tarts. Garnish with crushed freeze-dried strawberries. Let stand at room temperature, uncovered, until icing is set, at least 4 hours or up to 24 hours. Store tarts in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week.
Serious Eats / Victor Protasio
Special Equipment
Medium saucepan, fine-mesh strainer, food processor, 13- by 18-inch rimmed baking sheet, parchment paper, cake tester, whisk, rolling pin, pastry brush
Notes
Feel free to substitute with an equal amount of vanilla extract if you don’t have vanilla paste.
Freeze-dried strawberries can be finely ground in a mortar and pestle, food processor, or spice grinder. Alternatively, freeze-dried strawberries can be placed in a zip-top bag and crushed with a rolling pin or wine bottle until finely ground.
If you are concerned about the raw egg whites in the icing, you can use store-bought pasteurized eggs or cook the icing to 150°F (66°C) over a water bath, and hold it there for three minutes.
Our senior editor Genevieve recommends saving the pastry scraps, cutting them into cookies, then brushing with butter and sprinkling with cinnamon-sugar and baking at 300°F (150°C) until golden brown.
The pastries can be served at room temperature or warm. To heat, toast in an oven or toaster oven at 300°F until warmed through, about 10 minutes.
Make-Ahead and Storage
Dough can be made ahead and stored for 2 days in refrigerator or frozen for up to 3 months. Filling can be stored for up to 2 days in the refrigerator.
Assembled, unbaked pastries can be frozen for up to 2 months.
Store fully baked and iced tarts in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week.
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