The Queen of Hearts, she made some tarts

The Queen of Hearts 

She made some tarts, 

All on a winter's day;

The Knave of Hearts 

He stole those tarts, 

And took them clean away. 

The King of Hearts 

Called for the tarts, 

And gave the knave a chore;

The Knave of Hearts 

Brought back the tarts, 

And vowed he'd steal no more.

Well in honor of valentine's day this month, I made some yummy homemade pop tarts. They are healthier than the store-bought kind, but still not super healthy. Don't you think they are cute?

The kids and I had fun making them together. They are really easy! Here's what you do...

Make your favorite pie crust recipe - here's my favorite pie crust recipe (I usually double it) or use the refrigerator kind if you are lazy. Roll it out and cut out heart shapes (or any shape you want!).

Next place some of your favorite jam on one heart - I made some with blackberry, peach and pear and all were delicious! The pear was Brandon's favorite. It was too hard for me to pick one - I liked them all!

Next. put another heart dough on top of the first.

 And crimp around the sides with a fork like this. Poke the fork in the center for an air release.

Or this, if you want to be creative like my son Curious George!

Continue until you have a whole pan of them. Place the tarts on parchment paper on a cookie tray.

Brush with egg wash and sprinkle with red sugar or leave off if you want to frost them after baking.

Then bake them  in a preheated 375 F oven for 15-20 minutes or until slightly brown. Let them cool on a cookie rack and then frost some with glaze if desired.

Homemade Pop Tarts
Pie crust for 2 pies, refrigerated or homemade (see my recipe below).
Jam - Any kind you like!
1 egg
Red Sugar or Glaze (see recipe below)


Preheat oven to 375 F. Flour your breadboard or counter and rolling pin. Form 1 pie crust dough into a ball and place on floured cutting board or counter. Tuck the ends under to make a smooth ball. Roll out into a circle. Cut out tart shapes with cookie cutters (any shape you like). Place 1-2 tsp. jam in the center and top with another cut-out pastry shape. Crimp edges with a fork. Repeat until all the pie crust is used. 


Place tarts on a parchment-lined cookie sheet. Brush with egg wash (whisk 1 egg with 1 Tbsp. water). Sprinkle some with red sugar or don't if you want to glaze them later. 


Bake the pop-tarts for about 15-20 minutes in the preheated oven, or until slightly brown. Let them cool on a cookie rack and then frost some with glaze (see recipe below) if desired. Perfect to eat fresh or freeze them and pop into a toaster for a yummy breakfast. Makes 1 dozen tarts.

Pie Crust
Ingredients:
2 C. all-purpose white flour
1 tsp. salt
1/2 C. ice water
1 C. shortening

Mix together flour and salt and place 1/2 cup of this mix in a cup and set aside.

Add 1/4 C. shortening (or butter-flavored shortening) to the remaining flour and cut into small balls with 2 knives or a pastry cutter. Do not handle this with your hands until the very last because the heat from your hands will make the dough tough.

Add the ice water to the mix you set aside and mix it to make a paste. Add this past to the flour and crisco and cut in well.


GlazePowdered sugar (start with 1/2 - 1 cup)
splash of vanilla
milk, as needed

Place powdered sugar in a bowl. Add vanilla and add milk until glaze is spreadable but still thick. Add food coloring if desired.


Linked to It's a Keeper Thursday, What's cooking Thursday, Full Plate Thursday, Tasty Tuesdays, Cast Party Wednesday, Tuesdays Tasty Tidbits, Baking, What I Whipped Up Wednesday, Sweet Temptations, Tastetastic Thursday, Just Something I whipped Up, See You in the Gumbo