Peanut Butter and Jelly Pop-Tarts are a fan favorite in my household, and I’m sure you can understand why!
When I discovered last week that we had four (yes, four) half-eaten jars of peanut butter in the refrigerator, I was determined to not let it go to waste. There are plenty of great uses for peanut butter such as “O” Cookies, Bugs on a Log, Cold Soba Noodles and, of course, PB&J sandwiches, but when I realized that I also had a considerable amount of frozen pie dough leftover, my decision was made. Homemade “pop tarts” filled with peanut butter and strawberry preserves.
There are a few special treats that define a childhood. For me, pop-tarts were at the very top of that list. But when I learned how many preservatives the store-bought kind had in them, I was less than enthused at the thought of serving them to my own kids. So I decided to start making my own. And can you believe it? They turned out SO much more delicious than the ones I grew up eating.
The Raspberry Cream Cheese Heart Tarts we made for Valentine’s Day this year went over even bigger with my kids than they did with my husband, so I’d been planning on coming up with a new variation on them. Finding out that I had a year’s worth of peanut butter created the perfect excuse!
Kenya and Chloe were so excited when they saw these tarts come out of the oven that they actually fought over who was going to get the first one. It was sad for me to watch them get so upset, but secretly it made me happy that they were so worked up about something I made! And once they tried these delectable treats, everyone was all smiles again — especially me, who got our runaway peanut butter supply under control.
I’m so thrilled I get to share in one of my favorite treats with my kids. Minus the guilt! What’s not to love?
Peanut Butter and Jelly Pop Tarts
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup smooth peanut butter
- 1/4 cup preserves
- 1 recipe unbaked pie crust (you can make your own pastry dough or buy prepared crust at the grocery)
- water
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
- Roll the pie crust 1/4 inch thick and cut into rectangles, about 2×3 inches.
- Place one rectangle on a lightly floured work surface, top with 1 tsp each of the peanut butter and preserves in the very center. **
- Lightly dip your index finger into a cup of water and “brush” the border of the dough around the pb&j with the water (this will allow the two sides of the rectangle to adhere to one another).
- Top with another rectangular piece of pie dough. Take the tines of a fork and gently press down along the edges to adhere (making sure the mixture stays inside the tart).***
- Place the tarts on a parchment or Silpat lined baking sheet and bake for 18 minutes or until golden.
- Serve.
- * You can use prepared Pie Crusts too such as Pillsbury or your favorite brand
- ** You can also combine the peanut butter and preserves in a bowl and place 2 teaspoons of the mixture inside the tart.
- ** To Freeze: place tarts on a cookie sheet and freeze for one hour. Remove, place in a Ziploc bag, label and freeze for up to 3 months. When ready to eat follow steps 6-7, adding an extra 2 minutes to the baking time.
Can these be made with pastry puff? I have that in the fridge but not pie crust.
Can you cook these in the air fryer??
Hello
Hi,
Where is the recipe for the pie crust? The link in the recipe and the link in the comments are both broken. Thanks for your help! 🙂
It is 1 recipe Pie Crust! Something weird happened with the formatting. I’ve corrected it, and here is the pie crust recipe: http://b12.ba4.myftpupload.com/2010/02/25/apple-butter-turnovers/ Thanks!
Was just wondering what is recipe water? It’s coming up a 404 error for me..
I use pumpkin puree mixed with pumpkin pie spice!
Hi,
I saw on FB that there were pumpkin poptarts on your page. Just wondering what to use for filling.
Made these over the weekend – some w/ PB&J and some with apple butter. The husband and I liked them, but they didn’t look quite enough ‘like a pop-tart’ for my son to want to try them. I’ll send them in the lunch box and see if the lack of choice makes him more inclined! 🙂
Lemon curd is another great sweet filling. I have also seen them with savory fillings. I am going to try some for the lunch boxes in the next few weeks.
I just made these, with whole wheat pie crust. Kids loved them. Plus I used cookie cutters to make star shapes. 🙂
DEEEELICIOUS!!! I made some filled with PB & J and some filled with Nutella. Both were stellar, the danger is that I want to eat them all myself!
Holy moly..I just made these and i will NEVER buy the crap ones from the store again!
Because i’m bad, i made a sugar wash and glazed the pop tarts, then glazed again when they came out. Soooo flipping good…
Yes! Use your favorite jelly in these!
I MADE THIS RECIPE
FOR AUSTIN AND RYAN.
THEY LIKE IT .
CAN I PUT GRAPE JELLY IN IT?
Thanks for all the great ideas I really surprised my family with my cooking with help from you
I don’t really like peanut butter my self so I might try the s’more idea sounds good
Art…
[…]Weelicious ™ – Fast, Easy & Fresh Homemade Home Made Baby Food Babyfood Recipes, Toddler Food and recipes for the entire family! » Blog Archive » Peanut Butter & Jelly “Pop Tarts”[…]…
[…] Homemade Pop Tarts, yet another Weelicious find. These are SO EASY. I just used refrigerated pie crust, so you don’t even have to roll out the dough. Instead of cutting into rectangles, I used cookie cutters for hearts and circles. Just cut out shape, plop a couple teaspoons of filling onto the dough, dip your finger in water and run it along the edge, press another dough cut-out on top, then crimp the edges with a fork. For the filling I used 1/4 cup of almond butter mixed with 1/4 cup of raspberry jam. I heated the mixture in the microwave for a few seconds to make it easier to work with. […]
I made a few batches of these and froze them. They are awesome right out of the freezer. Thanks for the great recipes.
I’m responsible for my daughter’s class snack at school next week and thought these might be good…how many does this recipe make? Is one per kid (2 year olds) enough? Thanks!
p.s. Love your site, I have recommended it to many of my friends with wee ones! 🙂
[…] tarts from Ciao Bella, lovely pink strawberry pop tarts from Sweet Kiera, and kid palate-friendly peanut butter and jelly flavored pop tarts from weelicious. Now, stop drooling and get […]
That’s a great idea! My husband is not fond of peanut butter except on plain bread so s’mores is a great alternative.
We made ours with chocolate and marshmellows to make a s’mores flavor. What a special treat, my husband loved them also.