Berry Pop Tarts |Cooking With Amanda

So who else adored pop tarts growing up? Figured they were definitely an acceptable breakfast on the way to school? I know I can't be the only one.

Weren't those things one of the best snacks that you could get? Basically it's berry pie that no one had a problem with you eating for breakfast. How did that even become a thing? How is that breakfast?

At any rate, I'm not really sure that my kids have ever even had pop tarts. And like I said, I loved them growing up. I kind of feel like my children are a bit deprived since I have never bought them. They would probably feel like they had died and gone to heaven if I ever busted out a box of pop tarts for breakfast! I'll have to do it sometime just for kicks — to see the looks on their faces.

Except that these homemade berry pop tarts are about a million times better then the real thing. And that's coming from someone that just said she was a fan. I'm not gonna lie, I would still happily eat a store-bought pop tart if you gave me one. No problem. And I would definitely enjoy it.

But if you gave me the option of a store-bought one or one of these homemade berry pop tarts? I would pick the homemade one every time.

These things are amazing you guys. Flaky pastry, homemade jam filling, and a sweet frosting - just like the real thing, but better.

I've used both this perfect pastry recipe (uses half of that recipe) and the one below for these pop tarts, and probably prefer my usual pastry recipe, but both are great. Any pie pastry will work just fine though, so you can use your favourite. For this amount of fruit filling you would need enough pastry for a double pie crust.

Pie for breakfast is still a great idea.

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Berry Pop Tarts Recipe

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Ingredients

For the Filling:

1 1/2 cups berries, fresh or frozen
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1-2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1/2 tablespoon cornstarch

For the Pastry:

2 cups all-purpose flour, 10 ounces or 280 grams
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon granulated sugar
3/4 cup unsalted butter, plus 2 tablespoons, cold and cut into cubes
4-5 tablespoons ice water, 60-75 milliliters

For the Frosting:

1 cup powdered sugar, 4 ounces or 113 grams
1-2 tablespoons milk
1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Directions

Make the filling: in a medium saucepan toss together the berries, lemon juice, sugar and corn starch. Cook, stirring, over medium heat for 4-5 minutes or until the berries break down and the sauce thickens slightly. Let it cool completely.
Make the pastry - in the bowl of a food processor, combine the flour, salt and sugar. Add the cold butter and pulse until the mixture looks like coarse crumbs. Add 4 tablespoons of ice cold water and pulse until the mixture is evenly moistened and starts to come together.
If it is still really dry add the remaining 1 tablespoon of water. Divide the pastry in half and form each half into a disc. Wrap each disc tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least one hour.
On a lightly floured surface, roll out one piece of the chilled pastry until it is very thin, and cut out nine 3x5 inch rectangles (there will be just enough pastry for 9 pieces, you will have to re-roll the scraps once or twice to get them all).
Lay the rectangles on a parchment lined baking sheet. Spoon 1 1/2 tablespoons of the berry filling onto each rectangle, leaving the edges bare. Roll out the other half of the pastry and cut out the top rectangles, laying them over top of the filling.
Seal the edges of the pop-tarts with a fork, and poke several holes in the tops with a toothpick to vent. Place the baking sheet in the freezer for 1-2 hours to chill.
Preheat the oven to 375°F. Bake the pop-tarts for 25-30 minutes. Let them cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes and then carefully move them to a wire rack to cool completely.
Whisk together the powdered sugar, milk and vanilla until the frosting is the desired consistency (start with 1 tablespoon of milk, add more if needed) and spoon the frosting onto the cooled pop tarts. Top with sprinkles if desired.

Notes

Any combination of berries works well that you like, I used a mix of strawberries, raspberries and blueberries.
I found the filling sweet enough with just 1 tablespoon of sugar, but it will depend a bit on your berries, add another tablespoon if you want it sweeter.