Homemade Pop Tarts are so much better than store bought
The packaged toaster pastry in its shiny foil sleeve is a childhood classic for many families in the United States, and this homemade blueberry version was created to beat it.
The recipe comes from Crowded Kitchen as part of their Better Than Store Bought series, and it also appears in the authors’ first cookbook. The premise is simple: the from scratch tart tastes far better than the boxed snack.
The authors explain that they loved pop tarts as a kid, but a store bought one eaten more recently did not taste nearly as good as they remembered. That gap between memory and reality is exactly what led to this recipe.
The crust is the first clue that something better is happening. It is built from four pantry staples, all purpose flour, butter, granulated sugar, and salt, plus a stream of very cold water, and it behaves much like a pie crust.
The dough comes together in a few simple steps, so even a nervous baker can manage it. A food processor does most of the heavy lifting.
The filling is like a jam, only it is sweetened with honey instead of regular sugar. Blueberries and lemon give it a tart, bright character, and the same method works with just about any fruit. Strawberries, blueberries, cherries, and raspberries have all been tried with good results, so you can follow the season and your own cravings.
Then there is the icing. Real blueberry pop tarts have white icing, while this version turns a deep magenta because the color comes from blueberry puree rather than food coloring. The tarts are delicious without icing, but a spread of berry glaze makes them look like the snack everyone remembers. Kids and adults both tend to reach for them.
One honest caution: rolling out and cutting the dough takes a little patience. Everything else is described as surprisingly easy, which is a fair trade for a flaky, buttery pastry that actually tastes like blueberries.
This recipe makes 8 pop tarts and serves 8. Prep takes about 30 minutes, baking takes about 50 minutes, and the dough chills for 1 hour, so plan on roughly 2 hours 20 minutes from start to finish. Here is everything you will need, grouped the way the recipe card groups it.
For the dough
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 cup unsalted butter, chilled and cubed
4 teaspoons granulated sugar
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/2 cup very cold water
Butter is the ingredient that decides how flaky the finished pastry turns out, so keep it in the refrigerator until the moment you cube it. If you enjoy working with pastry, the same relaxed approach shows up in a classic Homemade Pie Crust Recipe, which is a helpful next step once you get comfortable with this dough.
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For the filling
1 lb (450 g) blueberries, fresh or frozen
3 tablespoons honey
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon lemon zest
1 large egg yolk, beaten, for sealing the edges
For the glaze
1 cup powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon lemon juice
Sprinkles, optional
Plus 2 tablespoons of the cooked filling and 1 tablespoon water to make the berry juice
Frozen blueberries work here just as well as fresh ones, which means you can bake these tarts any month of the year instead of waiting for a summer carton.
Component
Key players
What it does
Dough
Flour, chilled butter, sugar, salt, cold water
Builds a flaky crust sturdy enough to hold the filling
Filling
Blueberries, honey, lemon juice, lemon zest
Cooks down into a thick, tart jam
Glaze
Powdered sugar, lemon juice, blueberry juice from the reserved filling
Adds the magenta finish and a little tang
How to Bake Homemade Blueberry Pop Tarts
The method moves through three phases: making and chilling the dough, cooking the filling, and assembling and baking the tarts. Read through once before you start, because the dough needs a full hour in the refrigerator.
Make the dough. In a food processor, combine the flour, butter, sugar, and salt and pulse a few times until the butter pieces are about the size of peas. Stream in the cold water, pulsing as you go, until a crumbly dough forms.
Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and gently knead it into a ball. Divide it in half, wrap each half in plastic wrap, and flatten each one into a rectangle about 1 inch thick. Refrigerate for 1 to 2 hours.
Cook the filling. Add the blueberries, honey, lemon juice, and lemon zest to a saucepan over medium heat. Gently smash the blueberries, then reduce the heat to medium low and simmer for 20 to 25 minutes, stirring and mashing occasionally, until the mixture thickens.
Take it off the heat and let it cool completely. Spoon 2 tablespoons of the filling into a small bowl and set it aside for the glaze.
Assemble the tarts. Preheat the oven to 300°F (150°C) and line a sheet pan with parchment paper. On a well floured surface, roll one half of the dough into a large rectangle about 1/8 inch thick, then trim it into a straight edged rectangle that measures 14 by 10 inches.
Cut the rectangle in half lengthwise, then cut each half into 4 rectangles, which gives you 8 rectangles. Repeat with the second half of the dough so you have 16 rectangles of the same size.
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Use a fork to dock several holes in the center of 8 of the rectangles. These will be the tops. Into the centers of the other 8 rectangles, spoon about 1 1/2 tablespoons of filling and spread it into a thin layer, leaving a border around the edges.
Brush the beaten egg yolk around the border of the filling, then place one of the docked rectangles on top and press the edges down to secure. Crimp and seal the edges with the tines of a fork. Move each finished tart to the sheet pan and repeat with the rest.
Bake. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until the tops and edges are very lightly browned and the bottoms are golden brown. Transfer carefully to a cooling rack and let them cool completely before glazing.
Glaze. Stir the reserved 2 tablespoons of blueberry filling with 1 tablespoon of water, then strain the mixture through a fine mesh sieve into another bowl, pressing to extract as much blueberry juice as you can.
Whisk in the powdered sugar and lemon juice until smooth. Spread as much glaze as you like over the cooled tarts and finish with sprinkles.
Nutrition, per serving as listed on the recipe card: 469 calories, 62 g carbohydrates, 5 g protein, 24 g fat, 15 g saturated fat, 61 mg cholesterol, 587 mg sodium, 2 g fiber, and 29 g sugar.
Top Tips from the CK Test Kitchen!
These notes come straight from the test kitchen, and they are the difference between tidy tarts and a leaky sheet pan.
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Keep the butter cold. Chilled butter that does not melt during processing is what gives the crust its flaky layers. Cut it into even pieces so it incorporates evenly.
Reduce the filling fully. Simmer until the blueberry mixture has cooked down in volume and thickened. A runny filling can run out of the tarts while they bake.
Dock the tops. Those little fork holes let steam escape. Without them, the edges of the pop tarts may burst and the filling will leak.
No food processor? No problem. Stir the dry ingredients together, then grate in the butter or chop it in with a bench scraper, and work it into the flour with your fingers until it looks crumbly.
Store them properly. Leftover pop tarts keep in an airtight container for 3 days at room temperature, or up to a week in the refrigerator.
If the filling still looks loose when the timer goes off, keep simmering. Thick filling stays inside the pastry, and thin filling does not.
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The oven stays at 300°F (150°C) for the whole bake, which is why the tops finish very lightly browned while the bottoms turn golden brown. That gentle heat also gives you a wider window before anything scorches, so a couple of extra minutes will not ruin the batch.
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Once the glaze sets, the tarts hold up well enough to pack for a lunchbox, a bake sale table, or a weekend brunch plate, which is exactly the kind of portable dessert these are built for.
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More Better Than Store Bought Snacks You’ll Love
If you bake these, take a photo and share it with the authors on Instagram, because they love seeing what comes out of your kitchen.
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Rate the recipe when you make it, and tell them in the comments whether you went with the magenta glaze or left the tarts plain. Either way, you will understand why homemade beats the foil wrapper every time.
More Better Than Store Bought
The pop tarts belong to a wider series of homemade versions of favorite packaged snacks, and the cookbook collects those projects in one place, so you can keep building your own better than store bought shelf.
If you like comparing approaches, this take on easy homemade blueberry pop tarts is a good place to see how another kitchen handles the same pastry. Start with this recipe first, then branch out once the dough feels familiar in your hands.
FAQs
How do you make homemade blueberry pop tarts from scratch?
Pulse 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, 1 cup chilled cubed unsalted butter, 4 teaspoons granulated sugar, and 2 teaspoons kosher salt in a food processor, streaming in 1/2 cup very cold water until a crumbly dough forms, then chill the wrapped halves for 1 to 2 hours. Simmer 1 lb blueberries with 3 tablespoons honey, 1 tablespoon lemon juice, and 1 teaspoon lemon zest for 20 to 25 minutes, then cool. Fill and seal the rectangles with beaten egg yolk and bake at 300°F for 30 to 35 minutes. The recipe makes 8 pop tarts.
Can you use frozen blueberries for the pop tart filling?
Yes, the filling calls for 1 lb (450 g) of blueberries, fresh or frozen. Add frozen berries straight to the saucepan with the honey, lemon juice, and lemon zest without thawing first, then simmer for 20 to 25 minutes. Frozen berries release more water, so keep cooking until the mixture thickens and a spoon dragged across the pan leaves a clear trail.
How do you keep homemade pop tarts from bursting or leaking in the oven?
Dock the top rectangles with a fork so steam has a way out, and cook the filling down until it is thick rather than runny. Brush beaten egg yolk only around the border, place the docked top over the filling, press the edges down, and crimp them with fork tines. Keep that sealing border completely clean, because any filling or egg on the edge prevents the dough layers from fusing.
How should you store and reheat homemade blueberry pop tarts?
Store leftovers in an airtight container for 3 days at room temperature or up to a week in the refrigerator. To freeze, arrange baked unglazed tarts in a single layer, then stack them in a freezer bag. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator and refresh in a toaster oven or air fryer. A slot toaster works best on a low setting and without glaze, since icing can melt and burn.
Homemade Pop Tarts are so much better than store bought The packaged toaster pastry in its shiny foil sleeve is a childhood classic for many families in the United States, and this homemade blueberry version was created to beat it. The recipe comes from Crowded Kitchen as part of their Better Than Store Bought series, and it also appears in the authors’ first cookbook.
Total Time:140 min
Yield:8 pop tarts 1x
Ingredients
Scale
For the dough 2.5 cups all-purpose flour 1 cup unsalted butter, chilled and cubed 4 teaspoons granulated sugar 2 teaspoons kosher salt 0.5 cup very cold water
For the filling 1 lb blueberries, fresh or frozen 3 tablespoons honey 1 tablespoon lemon juice 1 teaspoon lemon zest 1 large egg yolk, beaten
For the glaze 1 cup powdered sugar 0.5 teaspoon lemon juice Sprinkles
Instructions
Method 1-In a food processor, combine the flour,: In a food processor, combine the flour, butter, sugar and salt and pulse a few times until the butter pieces are pea-sized. Stream in the cold water, pulsing as you go, until a crumbly dough forms. 2-Transfer the dough to a lightly floured: Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface and gently knead it into a ball. Divide the dough in half and wrap each half in plastic wrap, flattening each one into a rectangle that’s about 1 inch thick. Refrigerate for 1-2 hours. 3-To make the filling, add the blueberries,: To make the filling, add the blueberries, honey, lemon juice and lemon zest to a saucepan over medium heat. Gently smash the blueberries, then reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer for 20-25 minutes, stirring and mashing occasionally, until the mixture thickens. Remove from heat and cool completely. 4-In a small bowl, reserve 2 tablespoon: In a small bowl, reserve 2 tablespoon of the filling for the glaze and set aside. 5-Preheat the oven to 300˚F (150˚C) and: Preheat the oven to 300˚F (150˚C) and line a sheet pan with parchment paper. 6-On a well-floured surface, roll one half: On a well-floured surface, roll one half of the dough into a large rectangle about ⅛-inch thick, then trim it into a straight-edged rectangle that’s 14×10 inches. Cut the rectangle in half lengthwise, then cut each half into 4 rectangles for 8 total rectangles. 7-Repeat with the other half of the: Repeat with the other half of the dough. In total, you will have 16 rectangles of the same size. 8-Using a fork, dock several holes in: Using a fork, dock several holes in the center of 8 of the rectangles (these will be the tops). Into the centers of the other 8 rectangles, spoon about 1 ½ tablespoon of the filling and spread into a thin layer, leaving a border around the edges. 9-Around the border of the filling, brush: Around the border of the filling, brush the beaten egg yolk, then place one of the docked rectangles on top, pressing down the edges to secure. Using the tines of a fork, crimp and seal the edges of each tart. Transfer to the sheet pan, then repeat with the remaining pop tarts. 10-Bake the tarts for 30-35 minutes, until: Bake the tarts for 30-35 minutes, until very lightly browned on the top and edges and golden brown on the bottom. Carefully transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely. 11-To make the glaze, add the reserved: To make the glaze, add the reserved 2 tablespoon blueberry filling to a small bowl with 1 tablespoon water and stir to combine, then strain it through a fine mesh sieve into another bowl, extracting as much blueberry juice as possible. 12-Add the powdered sugar and lemon juice: Add the powdered sugar and lemon juice to the blueberry juice and whisk until smooth. Spread as much of the glaze as you’d like over the cooled tarts and top with sprinkles.
Last Step:
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Notes
Additional time: follow the resting and cooling steps (60 min).
