Homemade Cherry Pop Tarts are a fun take on a childhood classic featuring a flaky crust and a homemade cherry filling (perk of living in the Okanagan). Store bought can’t begin to compare…trust me! Enjoy this recipe before cherry season is gone!
These tarts were surprisingly simple to make, and even more fun to eat. Kids and adults alike ate the tray SO quickly! Then, proceeded to talk about how good they were afterwards. For me, that’s the ultimate sign of a great recipe!
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Cherry Recipes
I have a big cherry tree in the backyard that brings me cherries and happiness, in big buckets, each year. I also love visiting the local fruit stand basically all summer long, snatching up fresh fruit to use in cooking or baking. You can take a look at My Favourite Cherry Recipes for some inspiration! Some of the top recipes that come to mind are these Okanagan Cherry Oat Bars, this Cherry Amaretto Smoothie (drool) and this Dark Chocolate Cherry Granola. Also have you seen Jilly’s Cherry Ice Cream Sandwiches?!
How To Make Homemade Pop Tarts
If you are a sucker for a warm hand pie, pop tart or pastry then this recipe is for YOU. Store-bought just doesn’t hold a candle to this easy recipe. The big secret ingredient? Puff pastry dough! This makes these even quicker and easier to pull together. Simply cook the cherry filling (5 ingredients only) and cut the pastry dough into four rectangles per sheet. Place about 1 1/2 tablespoons to 2 tablespoons of the mixture in middle on one side of the dough, then place another piece on top to form a rectangle pop tart. Pinch closed with a fork and there you have it.
Simple Pink Glaze Recipe
Although you don’t “need” to add a glaze, we made a quick light pink cherry glaze that totally completed these treats. Simply combine the icing sugar, milk, almond extract and a little bit of the cherry filling mixture (without the cherries) to make the pink glaze. Wait until whatever you are glazing cools down to at least room temperature, then drizzle away!
Cherry Pop Tarts
Cherry Pop Tarts
Homemade Cherry Pop Tarts are a fun take on a childhood classic featuring a flaky crust and a homemade filling from seasonal cherries. Store bought can’t begin to compare…trust me! Enjoy this recipe before cherry season is gone!
Ingredients
Cherry Pop Tart
- 2 cups fresh pitted cherries, cut in half
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- ¼ cup sugar
- 1 1/2 teaspoons corn starch
- 1 tablespoon water
- 2 sheets puff pastry dough, thawed (450 g)
- 1 egg, beaten* (optional)
Cherry Glaze
- 1 cup icing sugar
- 1-2 tablespoons almond milk (or other milk)
- ¼ teaspoon almond extract
- ¼ teaspoon cherry filling or cherry juice (from above, without cherries)
Instructions
Make the Cherry Filling
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Add the cherries, lemon juice and sugar to a saucepan over medium heat and cook until bubbly and the cherries have softened, about 5-7 minutes. Whisk together the corn starch and the water in a small glass or bowl, add to the cherries and simmer until it thickens, around 2 minutes. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool.
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Preheat the oven to 400 F. Cut the thawed pastry sheets into 8 rectangles each: place 8 rectangles onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper (you may need 2 baking sheets depending on the size).
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Spoon 1 1/2 tablespoons of the prepared filling onto the middle of each pastry rectangle on the baking sheet. Top with the other half off the pastry rectangle and press the edges together. Seal the edges of each pop tart with a fork.
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Lightly brush the tops of the pop tarts with beaten egg (optional). Bake for around 12-15 minutes or until golden brown. Set the pop tarts on a cooling rack to cool.
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Once cooled, mix together all of the glaze ingredients and drizzle the pop tarts with the glaze before serving.
Recipe Notes
*you can use melted butter instead
They look great, can these be frozen?
I’m working on these right now and am also curious if these can be frozen?
I can’t wait to take them out of the oven.
I ended up only having 1 roll of pastry in my freezer so the 4 I made were devoured in minutes. Will definitely be making again, and hopefully can freeze!
Hey Denise! Although I didn’t test freezing them (we wanted to eat them too badly!) I feel like they totally could. If freezing them after baking, I would let them cool completely and wrap them with aluminum foil. If unbaked, assemble but don’t brush with egg or butter. Arrange them in a single layer on a sheet pan, and freeze. Once frozen, transfer them to freezer-friendly bag or container. When ready to enjoy try brushing with butter or egg then baking from frozen! May take a little extra in the oven. All the best! xx Tori
Thanks so much for sharing this recipe Tori. The pop tarts turned out so delicious and, my husband, who isn’t typically a cherry pie fan, thought they were amazing. As it is only the two of us at home, I will likely try to freeze a couple .. both to test out the freezing process, but also to give us something to look forward to another day.
~~ Denise
Thanks so much for the review Denise!! Popping in the freezer for a treat later, is a great idea. xx Tori
This looks so good! Can I make with other kinds of filling?