Homemade Pop Tarts

Even though I homeschool my children, mornings can still be pretty hectic around here.  There are always things that need to be done, and sometimes I find myself secretly wishing that I was born with 8 arms, like an octopus.  But, I wouldn’t call myself octomom for understandable reasons.  Maybe I’d be Mrs. Happy Octohomemaker…. 😉

For those crazy mornings where I find myself wishing I had extra appendages – pop tarts are a great solution for me.  But, I find myself straying further & further away from foods like that – and am on a quest to make them myself instead.  I mean, have you ever looked at the ingredient list of a box of pop tarts?  If not, let me help you out there… here is the ingredient list for the chocolate fudge variety of PopTarts.

Say huh?  I don’t even know what most of that stuff is.  And, I guarantee I don’t have any sodium stearoyl lactylate in my pantry.

Making your own pop tarts is SO easy.  I bet you have heard of all the ingredients inside of it.  First, let’s start off with some monocalcium phospate… JOKING!  Let’s start off with a pie crust dough instead.  You can make your own or use one already made if you wish.

Start by rolling out your pie crust into a squarish shape.

Then, using a pizza cutter – cut your pie crust into small rectangles – about the size of a storebought poptart.  If you are using storebought pie dough, you should be able to get 6 rectangles from each pie crust. Add one tablespoon of your favorite jam or jelly to the middle of half of the pie crust rectangles.

Top with the other half of pie crust rectangles.

Seal the edges – I usually press them with my fingers, then again with the edge of a fork.  Make sure you seal them completely so that your filling doesn’t come out in the oven.

Bake at 425 degrees for about 8 minutes.  Watch them closely!

Once cooled, you can top them with a simple glaze if you desire.  Just add a little milk to some powdered sugar & stir.  Drizzle it on top of the pop tarts.

I like to make a couple of batches on Sunday evenings for easy grab & go breakfasts in the week.  You can also make them in large batches (without the icing) & freeze them.  Then simply pop in the toaster oven when you’re ready to eat them – and glaze if desired once warmed.

My favorite thing about this ‘recipe’ is it’s not really a recipe – more of a how-to!  Use this tutorial to make as many or as little as you wish.

Check out the video below to watch me make these live on Fox8 news, along with homemade toaster strudels.