A strawberry slab pie that looks and taste just like a giant pop tart. Everyone will want to break off a piece of this tasty pop tart pie!
Look at me all prepared with a pie ready for you for Pi Day. Get it? Pi 3.14. Today is 3/14. Pi = Pie. It tickles me and there is nothing I love more than mixing math with food which is why I am a baker. Ironically, math was my least favorite subject, especially fractions. Who knew all they had to do to get me interested was to put it in terms of food? Can we start a petition that all math should now focus on real world situations? I don't care how many more apples Johnny has unless you tell me he needs it for pie. I don't care how fast Sue and Jim are driving to a destination unless they are racing to pick up the last of the season's rhubarb to make cake. I don't need to know anything regarding the radius of my pizza to know that you are eating too much of it and need to get your own pizza.
Look at me getting all worked up.
Let's focus.
Pi Day.
I brought you a pop tart pie to celebrate one of my favorite non-holidays.
If I'm honest with you, I was never a huge fan of pop tarts when I was younger. First, I think they are too many calories and not filling enough to justify those calories. Second, they weren't really that tasty. Sure the edges were amazing when you toasted them, but I wasn't about to miss the bus so I could toast my pop tart every morning. Third, back when I was a kid, they didn't have nearly as many flavors as they do now.
Instead I was a toaster struedel kinda girl. I loved the flaky crust and how much filling there was. I would take great pleasure creating designs with the glaze on my streudel. They were a delight and so much better than pop tarts.
Saying that, this strawberry pop tart pie defies everything about a traditional pop tart. It's giant nature means there is plenty of filling. The buttery crust also has a ton of flavor without an extra trip through the toaster.
It's what all pop tarts should be only magnified into giant proportions so you can share with your favorite people on Pi Day. Or keep it all to yourself. I don't judge.
There are a couple of things I want to mention about this pop tart pie before you make it. Some of it may seem obvious, but just in case...
First, to get that true pop tart consistency of the filling, you have to cook down the strawberries a lot. You are essentially making your own strawberry jam and making it a little thicker so it doesn't spread and seep out through any stray crevasses in the pop tart or over the top which can make glazing a little harder. If you are making this giant pop tart pie when it isn't off season, I highly recommend using frozen strawberries for the best taste. That's what I used here in this recipe. When the jam is cool, it should be thick and slowly start to pour out of your bowl when you tip it over. It shouldn't be so thick that it is practically solid, but not so thin that you get some of it that runs out of a tipped bowl freely.
Second, if you want to do something like try and toast a piece of the pop tart pie (I have not tried this and cannot speak to its success being toasted), you need to make sure you let the glaze harden on the pop tart. I recommend putting the pop tart pie on a wire rack for a few hours.
Third, you need to use a mix of shortening and butter. The shortening makes the crust easier to handle when it is so big, and means the crust will keep its shape more like a pop tart when baked instead of puffing up a lot like an all-butter crust does. There is still some butter in this recipe to give it a nice flavor.
Lastly, I do recommend using a pizza stone under your baking sheet if you have one. I find it gets the bottom crust nice and crisp which makes it easier to handle the pop tart pie. If you dont have a pizza stone, don't worry. You can use another baking sheet that you leave in the oven to heat up and place the baking sheet with the pie on top of that one. As for removing the pie from the baking sheet, it is tricky. I prefer not to use parchment paper here and did not when I tested the recipe, but you can try it. Just be quick so you don't crack the crust.
My favorite way to serve this strawberry pop tart pie? Leave it on the table and let everyone take pieces as they please!
Need more pie in your life?
Recipe Card
Pop Tart Pie (Happy Pi Day!!)
Ingredients
For the Crust
- 3 ¾ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 ½ teaspoon salt
- 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 10 tablespoons vegetable shortening frozen & cut in cubes
- 11 tablespoons unsalted butter frozen & cut in cubes
- 9 - 15 tablespoons ice water
- 1 large egg lightly beaten
For the Filling
- 1 ½ lbs frozen strawberries
- juice of one lemon
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ cup cornstarch
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon [Rodelle ]vanilla extract
For the Glaze
- 3 ½ cups powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 - 4 tablespoons milk
- sprinkles
Instructions
- In a food processor, add the flour, salt, and sugar together. Pulse three times to combine the ingredients.
- Add the shortening and butter to the flour mixture and pulse until the mixture resembles large crumbs.
- Slowly add the ice water one tablespoon at a time, pulsing after each addition of water. Add enough water until you can press against the mixture and it sticks together without it crumbling. The amount of water you need will change each time you make the crust, depending on the humidity of the environment.
- Divide the dough in half and form into discs without overworking the dough. Wrap tightly and chill in the refrigerator for at least four hours or overnight.
- While the dough is chilling, make the filling. Add the ingredients except for the vanilla together in a large pot and cook until it is thick and jam-like. Stir and mash the strawberries as it cooks. When done cooking, stir in the vanilla extract. Allow to cool completely to room temperature and chill in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- Take out the pie dough and allow to warm for about 15 minutes to make it easier to roll out. Roll out the larger disc of pie dough into a large rectangle on top of a well-floured surface. It is okay if the edges are not perfectly straight. Transfer to a baking sheet.
- Spread the jam over the bottom crust, leaving a 1 ½ - 2 inch border around the crust. You may or may not need all of the jam.
- Roll out the other pie crust until it is as close to the same size of the bottom crust as possible. I recommend making it slightly larger just to be on the safe side, but you do not want this layer to be much thinner than the bottom crust.
- Brush the beaten egg over the border of the bottom crust and carefully place the top crust over the pie so that is is about flush with the bottom crust. Press the edges down to stick the top crust to the bottom and trim the edges so that the pie crust edges are straight. Cut slits over the top crust and crimp the edges with a fork.
- Bake for about 35 - 40 minutes, or until the crust is a light golden brown. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely.
- Once completely cool, make the glaze. Add the powdered sugar in a small bowl and add the vanilla and a tablespoon of the milk. Mix until completely combined. Add more milk one tablespoon at a time until it forms a thick paste. It should run down a spoon in a thick ribbon.
- Spread the glaze over the top crust and top with sprinkles. Enjoy immediately or allow the glaze to harden. You can toast the pop tart using a countertop oven and cutting squares of the pie (just be careful of the filling running).
Notes
Ann says
Could this be made ahead & frozen?
Amanda Powell says
I have never tried it this way, so I am unsure if it would work, sorry!
Liz says
Oh my gosh I just made this and it legit tastes like a pop tart in giant form! Love it!
Shauna | Linden and Lavender says
What a fun recipe and an original take on a childhood classic!
KP says
I want to preface this by saying that I am not naturally good at cooking or baking, I rely on recipes, good recipes to help guide me. That being said, I am damn good at following directions. I followed your directions, every word. I have never in my life made pie dough. I also have never made jam. First, my dough did not seem to come together as it is supposed to. The decision to add more water to get the right consistency made me extremely uncomfortable. I consider baking a science, so I was wary of straying too far from your directions/ingredients. I did add more water and it seemed to get better. Once I rolled the dough out it was a mess, though I was able to somewhat form a decent rectangle. The jam was extremely acidic and I was surprised you didn't add any sugar. My glaze also required way more milk than you listed. Ultimately, the pie looked really cute when it was finished. It tastes best when all components are eaten at once, but the filling is still really off. I would make this again with a few tweaks.
Amanda says
Pie crust does take time to get right and the amount of water you need does change depending on the environment (whether it's humid out or dry) so it's okay if you need more water than listed. Baking is a science, but we also need to account for variables within our own environments. The crust shouldn't look or feel very moist after you've added the water. It should look crumbly, but hold together when you squeeze it.
As for the jam, there should be sugar included. I will need to see if that was somehow left out in the recipe card. I use a program to add it in and I've been finding there are issues with sections being cut out. I am in the process of transferring it to a new program. As for the topping, it is supposed to be quite thick like a paste with very little movement from it.
Kirsten says
It sounds like you packed in your flour and powdered sugar if you are needing more liquid in both. Try loosening your flour and powdered sugar before you measure and make sure you just gently sweep off the excess and not pack it in....
I made this recipe this weekend and it turned out pretty amazing Not exactly like a pop tart, but with it being so big, there is just too much filling for that - which isnt a bad thing! I did make the filling with the sugar, which is one advantage I had over you, I suppose. But the crust and glaze worked just as written for me!
Sabrina says
Giant pop tart! Omg I love this!!
Amanda says
It tastes like a legit pop tart. We were all blown away at how amazing it was!
Ruby says
I am so in love with this idea! I don't know if you're a Gilmore Girls fan (sorry nerding out in my own way over here), but they are always eating pop tarts and I feel like this would be their absolute dream recipe right here. Beautiful photos, too 🙂 xo
Amanda says
I've only seen a couple of episodes, but i really want to watch it. I think my daughter and I can be them when she is older haha except I think our food would be ice cream for sure! Thanks for stopping by! xx
Lauri M. says
Happy Pi Day. Totally agree with talking about every day uses for math such as baking or building where fractions are needed. Both important to me, especially the baking!!! Wish I could try the pie, but still had to make it to work dispite the nor-easter. So far, 4 inches of sleet! Love your blog!
Liz @ Floating Kitchen says
OMG! When I saw the photos of this on FB I thought it was a hand held sized pie. But a giant slab pie - that is freaking awesome! I love it. A humungous pop-tart...that would have been 10 year old Liz's dream! Ha ha ha. Happy Pi Day!
Amanda says
Oh yeah, we are going big on Pi Day. It's my almost 30 year old self's dream! 😉 hahaha Happy Pi Day, love! xxx
Sue (MunchkinMunchies) says
How fun and yummy!!!