How to Make Mini Strawberry Sourdough Pop Tarts

Valentine’s Day is approaching and these mini Strawberry Sourdough Pop Tarts are the perfect treat to bake! They are made with wholesome ingredients, are buttery and flaky, and not too sweet. A delicious treat for your kids or anyone you love.

Pop tarts are a very well know snack that many love but are full of sugar and other nasty ingredients. When made at home they are much healthier for you, taste even better and can be customized in many different ways!

These Mini Strawberry Sourdough Pop Tarts use a homemade sourdough pastry made with flaky, buttery layers. You then roll that pastry out thin, cut into any shape you like and add in a homemade strawberry filling. Add another lay of pastry on top, bake until golden perfection and then top them with a powder sugar glaze or chocolate ganache. The perfect little bites of heaven!!

What I love about these little pop tarts is that the dough can be made in advance. Store it in the fridge for up to a couple days then roll it out and bake them whenever you want. You can get the kids involved in cutting the shapes and decorating them. I also made this recipe JUST sweet enough to keep them on the healthier side. They are great for school lunches, afternoon snacks or a little dessert treat.

Tips for Making Mini Strawberry Sourdough Pop Tarts

1. Make sure you use nice cold butter. When trying to achieve nice flaky pastry, you always want your ingredients to stay cold. This prevents the butter from melting into the dough and gives you nice flaky layers as it bakes.
2. The dough should be rolled nice and thin before you cut it into shaped. It with puff up nicely in the oven, and if it is too thick, the bottom won’t bake as evenly. I recommend no more than 1/8 of an inch thick.
3. It is important to add enough filling to be able to taste it, but if you add too much it can burst out while the pop tarts are baking. You want to add as much as you can, while still keep clean edges that you can crimp closed. I prefer to over fill them and have a bit ooze out, rather then underfed them.

Mini Strawberry Sourdough Pop Tart Ingredients

Flour– All purpose flour is all you need.

Butter– I use salted but you can also use unsalted.

Granulated Sugar– There is just a touch of sugar in the pastry dough.

Sourdough Discard– This is added for additional flavor, but if you don’t have any, you can sub with an extra 1/4 cup of flour and 1/4 cup of cold water.

Lemon Juice– Fresh squeezed is best. You can sub with white vinegar if you don’t have any.

Strawberries– You can use fresh or frozen.

Maple Syrup– This is the sweetener in the filling. It doesn’t use much, so if you want a sweeter filling you can add a bit more.

Cornstarch– Mixing this with water to make a slurry, helps thicken the strawberry filling.

Vanilla Extract– Just a splash goes into the filling for additional flavor.

Topping of Your Choosing– This can be a simple chocolate ganache, powdered sugar, or an icing sugar glaze.

The Steps

Make the Pastry

1. Start by stirring together the flour, sugar and salt in a medium sized bowl.
2. Then add in the grated butter, and stir until you have a nice crumble mixture and all the butter is coated in flour.
3. Next, pour in the sourdough discard and the lemon juice. (if you aren’t using discard, add the extra flour first, then the lemon juice and water)Stir the mixture until it starts to form a crumbly dough.
4. Then dump it onto a clean counter. Using your hands, gently incorporate all the flour by kneading the dough. You just want to knead it together until all the flour is incorporated and the dough is mostly smooth.
5. Press the dough into a round disk, then wrap it in plastic wrap and place it in the fridge for at least an hour or for up to 2 days.

Make the Filling

1. While the dough chills, make the strawberry filling. You can use whole or sliced frozen strawberries, or finely chopped fresh strawberries.
2. Add the strawberries and maple syrup to a small pot over medium heat. Cook until the strabwerries break down and turn into a sauce. If you are using frozen strawberries, I like to just gently mash the strawberries as they cook.
3. Once the fruit is a nice sauce, stir in the vanilla extract.
4. Then, add in the cornstarch mixture, stir and cook for a couple minutes, just until it starts to thicken.
5. Remove the filling from the stove, and place in the refrigerator to cool.

Shape and Bake

1. When you are ready to bake the pop tarts, remove the dough from the fridge, unwrap it and place on a floured counter.
2. Flour the top of the dough, then roll it out until it is about 1/8 inch thick.
3. Using any shape cookie cutting you like, cut the dough into as many pieces as you can. Any remaining dough, can be kneaded back together, and rolled back out to cut more shapes.

1. Lay half of your cut out pastry shapes onto a baking sheet lined with parchment.
2. Then, take the 1 egg mixed with 1 tbsp of milk, and lightly brush all around the edges of each shaped with a pastry brush. You want just enough so the dough is moist, you don’t want it to get soggy.
3. Take a small spoonful of the cooled filling (or any jam you like) and place it in the center of each piece of pastry you brushed with egg.
4. Finally, place the other half of the pastry cut outs on top of the pieces with the filling. Gently press down around the edges.

1. Use a fork, to go around all the edges and crimp the dough together. Place the pan of pop tarts in your fridge or freezer to chill while you preheat your oven to 350F.
2. Once it’s preheated, grab the pop tarts from the fridge and brush the top of each one with more of the egg mixture.
3. Bake the pop tarts for 20 minutes or until golden brown.
4. Remove from the oven and allow to cool before drizzling with whichever topping you like. Enjoy!

If you give this recipe a try, leave a comment or recipe review below!

Looking for more sourdough treats to bake?

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