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Puff Pastry Pop Tarts Recipe
Ash Tyrrell

Puff Pastry Pop Tarts Recipe

I still remember the first time I pulled a tray of these out of the oven and the whole kitchen smelled like warm jam and butter. I grew up on the boxed version, but once I tried making my own with puff pastry, I never looked back. There's something about that flaky, golden crust that a toaster pastry just can't match.
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Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Servings: 6
Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients
  

  • 2 sheets puff pastry thawed – the base of the whole recipe, so don't rush the thawing step
  • ½ cup fruit jam strawberry, raspberry, or your favorite – use a thicker preserve so it doesn't leak out while baking
  • 1 large egg beaten – this is your egg wash for that shiny golden crust
  • 1 cup powdered sugar – forms the base of the glaze
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract – adds warmth and rounds out the glaze flavor
  • 2 tablespoons milk or water – thins the glaze to a spreadable consistency
  • Sprinkles optional – purely for that classic pop tart look

Method
 

  1. Lay your thawed puff pastry sheet on a lightly floured surface. Roll it gently with a rolling pin to smooth out the fold lines. Use a pizza cutter to slice each sheet into six even rectangles, giving you twelve pieces total.
  2. Spoon about a tablespoon of jam onto the center of six pastry rectangles. Leave a small border around the edges so the filling doesn't spill out. Don't overfill, since too much jam makes sealing the edges much harder.
  3. Brush the borders of the filled pieces with a little egg wash. Place the remaining six rectangles on top and press the edges together with your fingers. Crimp all the way around with a fork to lock in the filling.
  4. Transfer the assembled pop tarts to a parchment-lined baking sheet. Pop the tray in the fridge for about 10 minutes before baking. This short chill keeps the pastry from losing its shape in the oven.
  5. Preheat your oven to 400°F and brush the tops with the remaining egg wash. Bake for 18 to 20 minutes, until the pastry is puffed and deeply golden. Let them cool completely on a wire rack before glazing.
  6. Whisk the powdered sugar, vanilla, and milk together until smooth and pourable. Spread the glaze over each cooled pop tart with a spoon or offset spatula. Add sprinkles right away if you're using them, since the glaze sets quickly

Notes

  • I always keep my puff pastry cold until the moment I'm ready to cut it, since warm dough gets sticky and hard to work with.
  • I mix a teaspoon of cornstarch into runnier jams before filling, which stops them from leaking out during baking.
  • I crimp the edges twice with the fork, once lightly and once firmly, to make sure nothing escapes in the oven.
  • I let my pop tarts cool completely before glazing, or the icing just slides right off.
  • I poke two or three small vents in the top of each pastry so steam has somewhere to go.