These Frosted Strawberry Almond Pop-Tarts feature a buttery and tender pie dough filled with a fruity strawberry jam and finished with a sweet almond icing. Each bite offers a delightful combination of bright strawberry jam and flaky crust. It’s a pure nostalgic childhood treat.
Ingredients You’ll Need & Why It Works:
Pie Crust —
All- Purpose Flour: The protein content in all-purpose flour is ideal for achieving the desired flaky texture in this pie dough. Flour absorbs liquids in the dough and helps bind all other ingredients together, providing the necessary structure for these delicious pop-tarts.
Granulated Sugar: Sugar’s unique property of attracting liquids ensures that the pop tarts’ crust remains moist and tender while also giving them a crisp texture.
Table Salt: Including a pinch of salt into your pie dough can work wonders in harmonizing the sweetness and intensifying the natural flavors of the other ingredients.
Unsalted Butter: Unsalted butter serves multiple purposes in this recipe. Firstly, the butter’s fat lipids help to minimize the elongation of gluten strands by interfering with gluten formation. This, in turn, contributes to producing pie crust that is flaky and crumbly, thanks to the butter’s high fat and low moisture content. Not only that, but butter also imparts tenderness and enhances the flavor of these pop tarts.
Ice Water: Maintaining the right butter temperature is vital for a flaky and tender pie crust. Ice water comes in handy to achieve this, as it prevents the butter from getting too soft. Adding the right amount of ice water to the dough is also essential. Too much water will produce a tough dough, while too little water will lead to a crumbly crust that is difficult to form into a cohesive ball.
Large Egg: Including an egg in this pie crust is key to achieving the right texture. The egg yolk, packed with an emulsifier called lecithin, helps to bind fats and liquids in the dough. It also contributes to the overall flavor of these pop-tarts. The egg white, mostly protein and water, provides the structure these pop-tarts need to hold their form.
Pop Tart Filling —
Strawberry Jam: Feel free to use your favorite store-bought strawberry jam or recipe.
Lemon Juice: Lemon juice is used to brighten up the flavor of the sweet strawberry jam.
Almond Glaze—
Powdered Sugar: Powdered sugar is commonly used to make icing or glaze. The cornstarch or tapioca added to powdered sugar helps thicken while also sweetening the glaze.
Heavy Cream: Due to the high-fat content of heavy cream, adding one tablespoon to the glaze effectively binds all the ingredients together, creating a smooth and thick texture. Alternatively, you can use milk in a pinch, but remember that milk has less fat and more water content. Start by adding 1/2 a tablespoon and gradually increase it until you reach the desired consistency thick enough to glaze the pop-tarts.
Almond Extract: Almond extract complements strawberry jam beautifully.
Salt: Adding a small amount of salt to the glaze helps tone down the powdered sugar’s sweetness.
Tips for Making Strawberry Almond Pop Tarts:
Cold Dough — One important thing to remember is always to keep the dough cold, which helps maintain a flaky and tender crust. So, it’s best to work quickly when cutting out the rectangles.
Alternative To Cookie Cutter — If you don’t have a 3 x 4.5″ cookie cutter, another option is to cut out the rectangles using a sharp knife. Roll the dough out to a thickness of 1/8″, then using a ruler, measure ten 3 x 4.5″ rectangles and cut them. Transfer cutouts to a sheet pan and freeze for 20 minutes.
Freezing Dough Before Baking — It’s important to freeze the pop-tarts for at least 20 minutes before baking. This simple step can prevent the dough from spreading too much during baking. It also prevents the jam from seeping out of the crust.
Almond Glaze — The glaze should have a thick consistency that is still easy to spread. If it is too thick, add more heavy cream as necessary. However, if the glaze is too spreadable or thin, it will slide off the pop-tarts and not set properly. The easy fix is to add more powdered sugar to make it thicker.
Storing & Freezing Instructions Strawberry Almond Pop Tarts —
Storing — Pop-tarts are best enjoyed right away. If you have any leftovers, store them in an airtight container in the fridge to keep them fresh for up to a week (since they contain butter, leaving them out for a few days can cause them to become rancid). To reheat, bake them for 5 minutes at 350°F. With unfrosted pop tarts, you can toast them to restore their freshness and spread on the glaze after it cools.
Freezing — To freeze unbaked pop-tarts, freeze them on the sheet pan for about 30 minutes first. Then, place them in a resealable bag with a layer of parchment paper between them. When you’re ready to bake, follow step 4 in the recipe instructions.
If freezing baked pop-tarts, place them in a resealable bag or an airtight container safe for freezing. When you’re ready to enjoy them, take the pop tarts out of the freezer and follow the above reheating instructions.
Pop tarts can be kept frozen for up to 3 months.
Frosted Strawberry Almond Pop Tarts
Equipment
- 3"x 4.5" rectangle cookie cutter
- Rolling Pin
- Thickness rings for rolling pin , optional
- 2 sheet pans
Ingredients
Pie Crust —
- 225 g all-purpose flour
- 1½ tbsp (18g) granulated sugar
- ¼ tsp salt
- 10 tbsp unsalted butter cold
- 4 – 5 tbsp ice cold water
- 1 egg for egg wash
Strawberry Filling —
- 1/2 cup strawberry jam
- 1 tsp lemon juice
Almond Glaze—
- 1/2 cup (60g) powdered sugar
- 1 tbsp (15ml) heavy cream more as needed
- 1 tsp almond extract
- ⅛ tsp salt
Instructions
Pie Crust —
- Combine all-purpose flour, sugar, salt, and cold unsalted butter in a food processor. First, add 4 tbsp of ice-cold water. Pulse the ingredients until they begin to come together. If the dough is still too crumbly, add another tbsp of water. Transfer the dough onto a work surface and quickly shape it into a cohesive square. Divide the pie crust into two even pieces. Cover the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for an hour.
Pop Tarts —
- Line 2 baking sheet pans with parchment paper, ensuring they will fit into the freezer. Set aside. Lightly flour your workspace. Roll the dough out for the bottom layer of the pop tarts to a thickness of 1/8". Using a 3 x 4.5" cookie cutter, cut out 5 rectangles. Transfer them to the first sheet pan. Refer to the tips section for further instructions if using the alternative cutting method. Put the sheet pan in the freezer while you roll out the tops of the pop tarts. Repeat the process by rolling out the dough and cutting 5 more rectangles. Place the second sheet pan of cut rectangles in the freezer and remove the first sheet pan.
- Spoon about 1 tablespoon of strawberry jam onto the middle of each bottom layer, spreading it evenly but leaving about 1/4" of the edges uncovered (this will allow enough space to seal the pop tarts). Return the sheet pan to the freezer for 15 minutes to partially freeze the jam, preventing it from seeping out the sides once the tops are added. Remove the sheet pan with the jam from the freezer and brush a layer of egg wash onto the sides of each pop tart.
- Remove the second sheet pan from the freezer. Place a rectangle on top of one of the bottom rectangles. Carefully press down on the sides to seal the pop tarts. Repeat this step until all pop tarts have tops. Next, use a fork to seal the sides of each pop tart, making indentations all around. Using a toothpick or the tip of a bamboo skewer, create 5-6 small holes on the tops of each pop tart. Place the sheet pan into the freezer for 20 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Prior to baking, lightly brush each pop tart with egg wash. Bake for 25-28 minutes or until they turn golden brown. Remove the pop tarts from the oven and cool to room temperature before applying the almond glaze.
Glazing The Pop Tarts —
- Combine powdered sugar, heavy cream, salt, and almond extract in a bowl. Whisk until smooth and well combined.
- Once the pop-tarts have cooled to room temperature, spoon the glaze onto each pop-tart and spread it evenly. Sprinkle on your choice of sprinkles onto the tops. Allow the glaze to set for approximately 30 minutes.
Leave a Reply