Homemade Cherry Pop Tarts Recipe

I don’t know how I’ve gotten this far in life without making Homemade Pop Tarts. I didn’t even know it was A Thing. Did you know it was A Thing? 

I guess it’s because my old-school Cuban generation was more in love with pastelitos de guayaba. FOR A MILLION GUAVALICIOUS REASONS, but that’s not important right now. 

So, my friends over at Melissa’s Produce sent me a box of fabulous fruits and some veggies and I was over the moon to find quite the stash in there.

The mangoes were just lovely and I have great plans for for the kiwis and the mini cucumbers. 

Sebastian grabbed one of the coconuts and I thought, “I’ll just make some pastelitos de coco (because Cuban!) and that will be that.” 

But then…

I saw the cherries. And they called out to me. 

I had every intention of just putting them into a bowl and letting my family enjoy the awesome, but my girls, Amy and Lucy both suggested I make Pop Tarts. Yes!! That’s it! Cherry Pop Tarts. 

Yeah, no.

Pastelitos are more my jam and besides I’m probably going to make a coconutty dessert anyway. (And, full disclosure: I’m not very good at making dough which is why I cheat when I make pastelitos and that’s really not important right now either.)

They got to me with these Famous Last Words: “How hard can this be?” 

I’m sure you can tell by the title of this post what I ended up doing, and can I just say, WOW! My Homemade Cherry Poptarts turned out so great! And they’re super easy-peasy. How come I didn’t know this before? 

I know. I know. I’ve been living in a guava pastry bubble. Shut up. 

I enlisted Lucy to help with the making while I documented the magic. And we were both completely delighted by the outcome. 

I may have to make them all the time now. Obviously, that was what they envisioned the entire time. 

I know. Shut up. 

Homemade Cherry Pop Tarts Recipe

INGREDIENTS:

Dough:

• 2 boxes Pillsbury Refrigerated Pie Crust

Filling:

• 2 cups fresh, pitted Cherries
• 1/4 cup sugar 
• 2 tsp fresh Lemon juice
• pinch of Kosher Salt
• 1 tbsp cornstarch
• 1 tbsp cold water

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Take the dough out of the refrigerator to thaw while prepping the filling.
2. Pit the cherries. (Use a paring knife to slice through cherries and slice out the pit)

Lucy and Adam pitting cherries.

3. In a small saucepan, stir together, cherries, sugar, lemon juice, and salt.

4. Cook together for about 3 to 4 minutes or until the cherries are soft and bubbly. I used a masher to get the cherries ready for what comes next. 

5. Lower heat. Whisk together the cornstarch and water and stir into the cherry.

6. Stir constantly until it is a thick jam. Pat yourself on the back and enjoy this moment. This is your Great British Baking Show Moment: You’re effortlessly making cherry jam. 

7. Remove from heat. Transfer to a bowl and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes to cool. 

Assemble the pop tarts:

1. On a lightly floured surface, prepare to roll out the refrigerated pie crusts. 

2. With a ruler and a paring knife, cut the dough into 3″x4″ rectangles. Roll out the extra dough and cut that into more rectangles. What you want is 2 sets of matching rectangles per tart. 

3. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and place the first set of rectangles on it. 

4. Whisk the egg and water together, then put a little bit (use your finger) around the edges of each rectangle. 

5. Place about 2 tablespoons of cherry filling in the center of each rectangle, reserving some filling to make the pink glaze at the end.

6. Lay another rectangle on top of each one, pressing the edges with your fingers.

7. Crimp the edges together by pressing with a fork. 

8. Continue doing this with all the remaining pop tarts.

9. Refrigerate for about 20 minutes. Also refrigerate the egg wash. 

10. While the pop tarts chill, preheat the oven to 400° F. with a rack placed in the center of the oven.

11. When the pop tarts are ready to bake, lightly brush the tops with the egg wash and sprinkle the tops with sugar. 

12. Use a fork or a skewer to poke small holes on the top of the dough to allow steam to escape. 

13. Bake for about 18-20 minutes or until golden brown. 

14. Remove from oven and let cool a little before glazing. 

Make the glaze:

1. Use a fork to mash the cherry filling until smooth, and stir in the water. Whisk in the powdered sugar in 1/2 cup increments until smooth and you achieve your desired consistency, using a little more or less as necessary. 

2. Pass through a sieve, then spread the glaze on your pop tarts and top with the sprinkles.

3. The glaze hardens pretty quickly so be sure to drop those sprinkles on immediately. 

4. Let it cool on a rack while the glaze hardens. About 40 minutes. Enjoy immediately. 

So, my girls were right. The cherry poptarts were delicious, and yes I will make them pretty often now. *starts dreaming up flavors* “Do we have any Nutella in the house??”

I’ll make another batch of these pop tarts right after I make some of my famous pastelitos. (I’ll warm up to them. See what I did there?) 

Thank you to Melissa’s Produce for providing the fabulous produce and for pushing us to be our best with these ongoing challenges!

An Epilogue:

I gave Lucy a few items in the box. Lucy calls me the next day: “I can’t wait for you to try my Kiwi Cucumber Agua Fresca!”

Kiwi Cucumber Agua Fresca Recipe

1. Bag of kiwis, peeled.
2. peeled cucumbers, blend.
3. Add 1/4 cup sugar.
4. Add juice of one lime.
5. 2-4 cups water (depending on how pulpy you like it.)
6. Strain.
7. Serve.

We are all believers now. Thanks again, Melissa’s! 

Please appreciate how my friend, Donna at Dangerous Cupcake Lifestyle ROCKED this challenge! 

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