Mini Strawberry Pop-Tarts

Post and images by guest blogger, Rebecca White, of A Pleasant Little Kitchen. 

Visit her full blog or find out more about her here. 

Nothing beats a perfect strawberry. The color, flavor and sweetness from this red berry melt together to form the happiest of bites.

By itself, the strawberry is a satisfying treat, but dressed up it can be even more memorable.

Market Street is celebrating the bounty of the perfect strawberry during March. It’s a tasty feast to behold and to visit.

When you make your way to the produce section during this celebration, stop and soak in its sweet goodness. The varieties of strawberries to purchase are ample. Sample what you can and then make your selection… because I have a plan for this beautiful berry.

Pop two (or three or four…) cartons of strawberries into your basket and gather a few more ingredients around the store (like some Pilsbury pie dough from the refrigerated section). Today you will be making mini pop tarts filled with homemade strawberry jam.

I took my time with developing this strawberry pop tart recipe. I wanted this sweet treat to be familiar, but new. There's a lot of handheld pie recipes out there, but my goal was to make this recipe unique.

The strawberry jam needed to be sweet with depths of flavor. The frosting not only needed to compliment the crust and filling, but it also needed to stand out on its own.

As I was testing and cooking, the recipe took on its own personality. With each batch tested, the closer I came to developing a treat that was worth getting excited about and worth taking the time to bake.

One batch, the jam wasn't sweet enough. Another time I burnt the crust. I waffled with the frosting even: should it be clear and delicate or white and thick?

Time and time again I went to Market Street and selected strawberries that were ripe, colorful and ready to be simmered.

It took time, but it was fun and worthwhile. With every batch that came out of the oven I made the people I love happy, and THAT makes me happy.

The perfect hand held pie was finally created. It is full of concentrated strawberry flavor, with notes of marsala, cinnamon and orange. It’s wrapped in a buttery crust with sugary-orange frosting.

 When I think on the personality and flavor of the pop tarts a few words come to mind: colorful, flavorful, and happy…just like a strawberry.

Mini Strawberry Pop-Tarts

Author note: I use Cook's Illustrated Foolproof Pie Crust recipe. This recipe can be found at Food52 (click here for the recipe). If you don't have the time or energy to make crust, a store bought dough works well. If you like to be generous with frosting, double the recipe. I use a ravioli stamp to make the pop tarts. A pizza cutter could also be used to make the squares.

Ingredients: 

2 pounds strawberries, leaves removed and quartered

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 tablespoon dry marsala

1/2 cup sugar

1 cinnamon stick

zest of 1 orange

pinch of kosher salt

pie crust

frosting (see below for recipe)

for the frosting

1 cup powdered sugar

3 tablespoons heavy cream

1/4 teaspoon orange extract

Directions: 

1) In a medium sauce pan combine the strawberries, vanilla, marsala, sugar, cinnamon stick, orange zest and salt. Stir and cover. Cook over medium-low heat for 20 minutes.

2) Uncover and stir. Increase heat to medium and cook for 20 more minutes, stirring frequently.

3) Once the strawberries have reduced to a jam-like consistency, remove from the heat and bring to room temperature. Store in an airtight container overnight in the fridge.

4) Heat the oven to 350 degrees.

5) On a floured surface, roll out the dough. With a ravioli stamp, cut out the dough. Lay the pieces on a parchment (or silpat) lined rimmed baking sheet.

6) Place a small spoonful of strawberry jam in the middle of each dough square. Cover the jam with another dough square.

7) Using a fork, press to seal the edges of the pop-tart. Then, prick the top of each pop-tart with the fork (this will release air during the cooking process and will prevent the pop-tart from "puffing" up).

8) Place in the oven and cook for 20 minutes, or until the edges of the pop-tart are golden brown.

9) Remove from the oven and let cool.

10) Once the pop-tarts are at room temperature add the frosting and serve.