Cherry Pop Tarts

It's cherry season so it's the perfect time to make these Cherry Pop Tarts. They have a soft and buttery crust with a delicious cherry filling. A vanilla glaze and sprinkles are added on top to make them look like the classic pop tart flavor, but trust me when I say these taste so much better!

These Cherry Pop Tarts have three different components: the flaky pie crust, sweet cherry filling, and super simple vanilla glaze.

A FEW NOTES BEFORE WE GET STARTED

• Chilled Butter:
  • It's very important that your butter is cold and is not pulled out of the fridge until you are ready to use it. Cold butter helps ensure your pop tart crust will be flaky and delicious.
  • If at any point your butter becomes too warm while you are working it into the flour or while you are rolling out and cutting the dough, pop the dough into the fridge or even the freezer to chill slightly before continuing.
• Measuring Your Ingredients: I strongly encourage that you use a kitchen scale to measure your ingredients and ensure that you have the most accurate measurements possible.
  • However, if you don’t have a scale on hand and will be using cup measurements, make sure to use the “spoon and sweep” method when measuring to avoid packing in too much of any dry ingredient.
• Oven Temperature: Make sure to preheat your oven for at least 15 minutes before you start baking.
  • I recommend purchasing an oven thermometer to get to know your oven so you can adjust your baking temperatures accordingly. Some ovens run slightly warmer or colder so its important to know yours to make sure your baked goods come out right.
• Check out My Favorite Baking Tools to see what I use when I bake.

Preheat oven to 350º. Whisk together the flour, sugar, and salt in a large bowl. Blend the chilled butter into the flour mixture with your hands or a pastry blender until the butter is about pea sized.

Pour the water over the flour mixture and stir together until it begins to form into a dough. Form the dough into a disk, wrap in plastic wrap, and chill for 20-30 minutes.

While the dough chills, stir together the cherries, sugar, and cornstarch in a nonstick pan over medium heat until the cherries burst and the mixture begins to thicken. You can also smush down the cherries with the back of the spoon. Transfer to a heat safe bowl and set aside.

Roll the dough out onto a lightly floured surface until it is about ⅛" thick. Using a ruler and a pastry roller or pizza cutter, cut the dough to 9" x 12".

On the 12" side, cut it into thirds so that each column measures about 4" wide. Turn the rectangle 90 degrees to the 9" side and cut it in half so that there are now six rectangles each measuring 4.5" x 4."

Place the six rectangles on a parchment lined baking sheet and place back into the fridge to chill for another 15-20 minutes. Whisk together the egg and water in a small bowl to make the egg wash.

Brush three of the rectangles with egg wash before carefully spooning the cherry filling into the center of those same three rectangles. Brush one side of the remaining three rectangles with egg wash and place the egg wash side down over the cherries, pressing down around it gently to seal in the filling.

Place the cookie sheet back into the fridge to let the pop tarts chill slightly. Cut off any excess dough to make the edges look neat. Use a fork and gently press down around the edges of each pop tart to crimp them and fully seal each side.

Poke holes in the top of each pop tart with a toothpick or fork and then brush the tops of each with egg wash. Bake the pop tarts for 30-35 minutes or until they are golden brown.

Once the pop tarts are out of the oven, sift the powdered sugar into a bowl. Whisk in the milk, vanilla, and a drop of pink food coloring.

Transfer icing to a pastry bag and pipe onto pop tart. Top with pink sprinkles. Let the icing set slightly before eating. Enjoy!

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