Chocolate Cherry Pop-Tarts

Chocolate Cherry Pop-Tarts are a delicious flaky pastry filled with cherry jam and chocolate and baked up until golden. Glazed with a sweet glaze and adorned with sprinkles and a chocolate drizzle.

Happy New Year all! Hopefully 2017 treats you well! Out with the Christmas and in with VALENTINES!! Who doesn’t love Valentines Day? It’s one of the most romantic days of the year and there is just so much love going around that it is hard to not enjoy!

How about skipping the chocolate covered strawberries and roses this year and give that special someone these Chocolate Cherry Pop-Tarts??! I mean the way to a persons heart is through their stomach right? So then these have to make the perfect gift.

They are absolutely perfect for kids and adults alike. We love making our own homemade Pop-Tarts, throwing it back to when we were younger and lived off the boxed creations. Honestly, now that we make them at home, we’ve come to like them more than our old friends!!

These Chocolate Cherry Pop-Tarts are just the thing you need for Valentines Day! The perfect flavor and they are in the shape of hearts, how fun is that for the little ones. Also, they make that special someone feel loved as well…at least mine did, so that says something!

Can you believe that these are actually pretty simple to make? I know when people think of “pastries” they get scared away at them being horribly hard, well these are not. You pretty much let the food processor take the wheel and do all the work for you, that’s probably my favorite thing about these. Then the rest is no different then making cut-out cookies!

These Chocolate Cherry Pop-Tarts can be customized so much to fit any holiday or flavor you like! We’ve made strawberry in the past and love them. You could do blueberry, grape, s’mores, apple…literally the possibilities on these bad boys are endless! And you can even forego the cookie cutter and just cut these into the shape of your average Pop-Tart!

So if you’re looking for that extra special treat this Valentines Day for your love. Or want a fun project you can do with  your kiddos, these Chocolate Cherry Pop-Tarts are the way to go, simple, fun and oh so tasty!

INGREDIENTS:

2 1/2 cup flour
2 Tbs sugar
1 cup butter, cold and cubed
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cold water

Filling:
Cherry jam
5 Fun sized Hershey’s Bars

Topping:
1 cup powdered sugar
2-3 Tbs milk
Sprinkles

DIRECTIONS:

In food processor add your flour and sugar and pulse to blend. Add in your butter and turn on until combined.
Slowly pour in your water until a dough forms and holds together, do not over mix. More water can be added a little at a time to reach a tacky consistency.
Preheat oven to 400.
Remove dough from food processor and form into a ball and wrap with plastic wrap and refrigerate for about 20 minutes.
Once refrigerated, roll dough out onto floured surface to about 1/4″ thickness. Cut hearts out using cookie cutter making sure there are 2 hearts for every 1 Pop-Tart.
Form scraps into ball and roll out again and repeat.
On one of your hearts  place about 1 Tbs cherry jam on top and then place with 1 square (from 1 candy bar there are 4) on top of jam, place matching heart on top and using fork crimp edges to hold.
Repeat with remaining dough.
Place your Pop-Tarts on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and pierce tops of Pop-Tarts about 5 times with fork to vent so the filling doesn’t spill out the sides when baked.
Place in oven and baker for about 10-12 minutes or until edges are starting to turn golden.
Remove to cooling rack to cool.
Once cooled, mix together your powdered sugar and milk and drizzle and spread over tops of cooled Pop-Tarts and sprinkle with sprinkles.
Using the remaining Hershey bars (or about 1/4 cup chocolate chips if no bars remain) heat in microwave on 50% power in 30 second intervals until melted.
Add to small ziploc bag and cut the tip off and drizzle over Pop-Tarts.
Serve and enjoy!