Filled with homemade strawberry jam and topped with sprinkle-flecked icing, these completely from-scratch strawberry pop tart cookies taste even better than the real thing! Recipe includes a video tutorial!
Strawberry Pop-Tarts Done Gourmet Cookie Style!
When I shared my brown sugar cinnamon pop tart cookies a few months ago, they became an instant favorite, quickly going viral on Instagram and racking up millions of views. For something that was just a fun project that no one had asked for, I was pleasantly surprised, let me say!
On that video, I received many, many requests for a strawberry pop tart version so I got right to work. After a few rounds of testing, here we are! Absolutely irresitible and beautiful (if I do say so myself) strawberry pop tart cookies. I cannot wait for you to try them!
Things to Know about This Recipe
- Taste: So nostalgic! The bright strawberry jam and sweet vanilla icing shine while the buttery cookie dough serves as a nice backdrop.
- Texture: Soft and chewy cookies, gooey jam filling, firm icing and crunchy nonpareils. Lots of fun textures going on here!
- Time: Set aside at least 40 minutes for the dough and filling to chill. These cookies aren’t quick to make, but you will be nicely rewarded for your hard work!
- Technique: Just like when making my cheesecake stuffed cookies or churro cookies, it takes a bit of patience and finesse to get the filling inside the cookies. Give yourself time and have patience; it’s not without effort, but no good things are. You can watch my video in the recipe card to see exactly how it’s done!
What You Need
- Strawberries. You can use fresh or frozen. I always recommend fresh when they are in season (the best time to try my strawberry tart too!) and frozen during the off-season. Note that you do not need to thaw frozen berries before using them; they’ll thaw in the pan while they cook.
- Cake flour. This is essential for thick, tender cookies. You’ll notice I use cake flour in many of my gourmet cookie recipes–when you are spending extra time and effort making cookies like these, it’s well worth it to splurge for the cake flour.
- Cornstarch. Adding cornstarch to the dough helps it maintain its shape. This is super important here, since we are stuffing our cookies. We’ll also add some to our strawberry filling to help it thicken into a jammy consistency.
- Milk. Any kind will work. We’ll start by adding just a tablespoon to the icing and will add more as needed.
- Corn syrup. This helps our icing dry firmly and gives it that pretty sheen. Remember, this is not the same thing as high fructose corn syrup! Glucose syrup will also work if you can’t find corn syrup.
SAM’S TIP: Make sure your cold ingredients come to room temperature before you get started; this makes for the easiest mixing. If you forget to set your eggs out ahead of time, follow my trick to quickly bring eggs to room temperature.
Remember, this is just an overview of the ingredients I used and why. For the full recipe please scroll down to the bottom of the post!
How to Make Strawberry Pop Tart Cookies
Make the Filling
- Cook the strawberries with sugar, cornstarch (helps thicken it!), and lemon juice (adds fresh tartness to the flavor) until the berries are nice and juicy.
- Mash the strawberries (I use a potato masher but a fork will work!), and cook until you have a thick jelly-like consistency.
- Remove from heat and stir in the butter, this just adds a nice gloss and subtly rich mouthfeel. This needs to cool completely before you can fill your cookie dough with it, so pour it into a large bowl and place it in the fridge while you make your dough.
Make the Dough
The cookie dough itself is inspired by classic pastry crust, not overpoweringly sweet or rich, but of course not bland. Since we have a sweeter (homemade!) strawberry filling and icing on top, the cookie couldn’t be very sweet itself.
- Cream the sugar and butter with a mixer until light and fluffy. Electric mixer or hand mixer works just fine here.
- Stir in the vanilla and eggs, then set aside.
- Whisk the dry ingredients together in a separate bowl, then gradually stir them into the egg/butter mixture. The dough will be dry–and that’s totally normal. We need it to be stiff so it can hold the strawberry filling. Just make sure it’s uniform and all the flour is absorbed.
- Cover & chill.
Assemble
- Roll ¼ cup of dough into a ball, then divide it in half. Make an indent in each half and add your strawberry filling into one.
- Cover with the other half and seal so the filling is totally covered. Gently roll to make the ball round again. Repeat with the remaining dough and filling.
- Freeze for 10-15 minutes (or longer! The longer you chill, the thicker the cookies will be!).
- Bake until the edges of the cookies just begin to turn a very light golden brown. These cookies are super fragile when warm, so let them cool on the baking sheet and don’t even attempt to move them to a cooling rack until they are totally cool.
Make the Icing
The icing is the same one I use in my strawberry pop tart recipe; it’s super easy to make and dries nice and firm. And of course, we can’t forget the sprinkles! 😉
- Make the icing: stir together sugar, corn syrup, vanilla, and a splash of milk. Add more milk as needed until you reach the proper consistency; if you lift your whisk, the icing ribbon should hold its shape for a few seconds before dissolving back into the bowl. Same technique as if you were making my sugar cookie icing!
- Spoon or spread the icing over the cooled cookies.
- Add sprinkles overtop and let the icing harden before enjoying. I like nonpareils, but classic jimmies would also work or even colored sanding sugar.
SAM’S TIP: If you accidentally make your icing too thin, just add some powdered sugar to thicken it back up.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, that will be fine. You’ll need ½ cup of your favorite jam.
Cake flour provides the best results and is my recommendation for this recipe because it’s finer and makes the cookie more tender and melt-in-your mouth (I use it in my Lofthouse cookies for the same reason). If you were to use all-purpose flour, your cookies wouldn’t be as tender.
If you want to use all purpose flour, you will need 3 ⅔ cups or 450 grams.
This can happen if you didn’t chill your dough long enough, if you didn’t quite center your filling enough (it doesn’t need to be exact, but it can’t be too close to the sides!), or if your dough balls aren’t completely sealed.
It’s very important to make sure each cookie ball is totally smooth with no cracks, otherwise your jam filling will find them and leak right out. If you need to grab extra dough during this process, feel free! I think we can all agree that it’s better to have 10-11 sealed cookies than 12 cookies that leak all over your baking sheet.
Let me know if you like these as much as my brown sugar cinnamon version, or if there are any other flavors you’d like me to try! Enjoy!
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Strawberry Pop Tart Cookies
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Servings: 12 cookies
Calories: 477kcal
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Instructions
For the filling
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In a small saucepan, whisk together sugar and cornstarch until combined.
¼ cup (50 g) granulated sugar, 2 teaspoons cornstarch
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Add berries and lemon juice and use a spatula to stir until well mixed.
6 oz (170 g) strawberries, 2 teaspoons lemon juice
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Heat saucepan over medium-low heat and cook, stirring frequently, until the berries soften and begin to release their juices. Use a potato masher or large fork to mash the berries until no large pieces remain.
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Continue to cook, stirring constantly, until mixture begins to thicken to a jelly-like consistency.
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Once mixture has thickened (this will take several minutes), remove from heat and stir in butter. Transfer to a heatproof bowl, cover, and refrigerate while you make the cookie dough.
½ Tablespoon (7 g) butter
For the dough
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Combine butter and sugar in a large mixing bowl and use an electric mixer to beat together until light and fluffy (about 1 minute on high speed).
1 cup (226 g) unsalted butter, 1 ⅓ cups (266 g) granulated sugar
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Add eggs and vanilla extract and stir together until thoroughly combined. Set aside.
2 large eggs, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
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In a medium-sized mixing bowl, whisk together flour, cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
4 cups (450 g) cake flour, 1 Tablespoon cornstarch, 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder, ¼ teaspoon baking soda, ¾ teaspoon table salt
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Gradually stir dry ingredients into wet until completely combined.
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Cover bowl tightly with plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for 30-60 minutes. (If dough chills longer than this it can become difficult to manage).
Assembly
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Once the dough has chilled and the filling is completely cooled, remove both from the refrigerator. Scoop ¼ cup (85g) of dough into a ball. Divide the ball into two, and form each half into a shallow nest. Scoop two teaspoons of strawberry filling into one nest and cover with the other. Be sure the filling is completely concealed, you can pinch the edges of the dough together and then very gently roll between your palms to create a round ball.
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Place cookie dough balls onto a plate or baking sheet and place in the freezer for 10-15 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat your oven to 375F (190C) and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
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Once dough has chilled and oven is preheated, remove dough balls from freezer and place on prepared baking sheet, spacing cookies at least 2” apart.
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Transfer to center rack of 375F (190C) oven and bake for 14-16 minutes, until the edges of the cookies are just beginning to turn a light golden brown. Allow to cool completely on baking sheet before icing (cookies are very fragile when warm!).
Icing
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Combine sugar, 1 Tablespoon of milk, corn syrup, and vanilla extract in a small bowl and whisk together until combined. Add remaining milk, as needed, until icing is a smooth, spreadable consistency and when you lift a spoon from the icing the ribbon that drizzles back in holds its shape for several seconds before dissolving.
1 ½ cups (190 g) powdered sugar, 1-2 Tablespoons milk, 1 Tablespoon light corn syrup, ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
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Spread icing evenly over the top of the cooled cookies and sprinkle with nonpareils. Allow frosting to harden before enjoying.
Nonpareils or sprinkles
Notes
Flour
I strongly recommend cake flour for best results. It makes the cookies softer and more melt in your mouth. If you must substitute all-purpose flour, you would need 3 ⅔ cup (450 grams).
Storing
Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 24 hours. Refrigerate (in airtight container) if keeping for longer than that.
Nutrition
Serving: 1cookie | Calories: 477kcal | Carbohydrates: 75g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 17g | Saturated Fat: 10g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 4g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 69mg | Sodium: 227mg | Potassium: 82mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 43g | Vitamin A: 532IU | Vitamin C: 9mg | Calcium: 57mg | Iron: 1mg
Nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered an estimate only. Actual nutritional content will vary based upon brands used, measuring methods, cooking method, portion sizes, and more.