Homemade Nutella Pop Tarts are the dessert to end all desserts! They’re warm, ultra flaky, and filled with creamy dreamy nutella. Dunk them in a simple nutella glaze and drizzle on some salted caramel and you’ve got the ultimate Valentine’s Day treat!
I have to say – this is one of the best things I’ve ever eaten! Ever. How can you not fall head over heels for gooey nutella encased in a warm, flaky, buttery crust and drizzled with salted caramel sauce. SWOON. These are 1000x better than store-bought pop tarts – but still super easy to make at home! (These are essentially hand pies, but hand pies are also essentially homemade pop tarts, so you can call them by either name, haha!)
How to Make Homemade Nutella Pop Tarts:
First, make the pie dough! This is what takes the whole recipe right over the top – it’s flaky, buttery, crisp, and all-around food perfection. If you’re not super comfortable making homemade pie crust, take a few minutes to read through my post on How to Make Perfect Pie Crust – it has lots of troubleshooting tips and tricks to get you more comfortable with pie dough!
It’s truly simple to make, although it can seem intimidating at first! You don’t need much to make pie crust, but I ALWAYS recommend using a pastry cutter! It’s the most essential tool for pie crust recipes.
Roll out your chilled dough, and cut out any shapes you want! I used this heart cookie cutter since Valentine’s Day is coming up, but you can use a small bowl or a glass to cut out circles instead. The cookie cutter was about 3 and 1/4″ across so use something similar in size to get the same yield and bake time.
You can re-roll the dough twice, and you should be able to get about 18 pies (36 hearts) total!
(I cut these out in more of a cutesy way than a practical way in the photo above – try to cut your shapes out as close together as possible so you don’t have to re-roll the dough as many times).
You’ll need two hearts per pie – a top and bottom piece. Add a spoonful of nutella to one piece, brush the edges with egg wash, and press the top piece on. Prick the edges with a fork to seal it up, and brush the whole thing with egg wash using a pastry brush.
Make-Ahead Tip + Freezing Homemade Pop Tarts:
Once your pop tarts are fully assembled, but before you add the egg wash, add them in a single layer to a cookie sheet and freeze them. You can then transfer them to a tupperware container in layers, with wax or parchment paper between each layer, and keep in the freezer.
They bake beautifully from frozen – no need to thaw them first. Just brush with egg wash, and bake as directed in the recipe. This tip makes these much more practical to make, since the recipe is a bit more time intensive, yet is best fresh out of the oven.
Then, the hardest part – waiting for these glorious little bites of heaven to finish baking so you can EAT THEM ALL! While they bake, make a batch of my Homemade Salted Caramel Sauce (it only takes 10 minutes!) and whip up the Nutella glaze by whisking together nutella, milk, cocoa powder, and powdered sugar.
See all those little wrinkly bits on top of the baked hearts? That’s FLAKY crust people. It’s so flaky you just have to look at it and it’s practically melting in your mouth.
I usually tell you to let things cool before frosting, but not this time. You are absolutely doing yourself a disservice if you do not eat these while they’re warm from the oven! Spread some glaze on, drizzle on the caramel (maybe add a sprinkle of flaky sea salt too, if you’re feeling really fancy?) and DIVE IN. HEAVENLY.
Be fully prepared for the strong likelihood of not wanting to share these. Good thing they’re bite-sized, so you can have a whole handful of them, right? Right.
Make these for a fun Valentine’s dessert or even for a special breakfast treat (pop tarts are a breakfast food, after all). Your kids/coworkers/significant other will love you forever!
Happy baking and Happy Valentine’s! It’s chocolate month, people.
Did you make this recipe? Snap a photo and leave a comment!
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Homemade Nutella Pop Tarts with Nutella Glaze
Ingredients
For the Pie Crust
- 1 cup white whole wheat flour can sub all-purpose
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 3/4 tsp salt
- 1 stick + 6 TBSP cold salted butter
- 1/2 to 2/3 cup ice cold water
For the Filling
- 1 cup + 2 TBSP nutella
For the Glaze
- 3 TBSP nutella
- 1 TBSP cocoa powder
- 2 TBSP milk
- 3/4 cup + 1 TBSP powdered sugar
Other
- 1 batch salted caramel sauce optional, recipe linked below
Instructions
- Make the Pie Dough: (These directions look long but I promise this recipe isn't complicated! I want to be super thorough with the pie crust directions for those who haven't made it before.) Whisk together flours & salt in a medium mixing bowl. Take the butter out of the fridge (it needs to be COLD). Unwrap and cut into tablespoon-size chunks. Add to the flour mixture and toss to coat with flour. Cut in the butter using a pastry cutter or two forks (highly recommend getting a pastry cutter!) You've cut it in enough when there are mostly pea-sized bits of flour coated butter left. (See photos in my perfect pie crust post). Drizzle the cold water in, a little at a time, stirring with a fork after each addition. Make sure you get some into the bottom of the bowl where dry crumbs like to hide. Stop adding water when the dough comes together easily and begins to form large clumps. The dough shouldn't feel sticky or wet. If you can grab a handful of the dough, and it forms, well, dough when you squeeze it, it's ready!Gently form the dough into a ball. You can work it a bit to get some of the cracks out - do this in the mixing bowl or on a floured counter. Slightly flatten into a 1-inch thick disc. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap and chill in the fridge for 2 hours (or up to 2 days) or in the freezer for 30-40 minutes.
- Prep: Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. Make the caramel sauce while the dough chills, using my easy homemade caramel sauce recipe.
- Roll Out the Dough: Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Let the dough sit at room temp about 10 minutes before rolling. Beat the egg in a small bowl and add a splash of water or milk (for egg wash). Flour your counter & rolling pin. Gently begin roll the dough out in all directions. Turn the dough every few rolls to make sure it's not sticking to the counter. Continue flouring the counter and rolling pin as you go. Roll until it's about 1/8" thick - it'll be a large piece of dough. Use a cookie cutter to cut out desired shapes - I used this heart cookie cutter. You could use a drinking glass or small bowl to make round pop tarts. or cut out rectangles like I did for these blueberry pop tarts. My cookie cutter was 3 and 1/4" across - use something similar in size so you get a similar yield and bake time. Gently push the dough scraps back together - you can roll them back out 2 more times to get all the hearts you need. (See note).
- Assemble the Pop Tarts: Transfer 12 hearts onto a baking sheet to make 6 pop tarts. Top each one with 1 TBSP nutella. Brush the edges with the egg wash using a pastry brush. Add a second heart on top, and pinch the edges together to seal the pop tart. Crimp the edges by pressing the tines of a fork into them, all the way around. Brush the whole pop tart with the egg wash.
- Bake: Bake for 22-25 minutes, until golden brown. You can use a cookie spatula to gently lift the edge of a pop tart to check if it's golden brown and crisp on bottom, too.
- Make the Glaze: Whisk together the glaze ingredients in a small bowl while the pop tarts bake.
- Serve: Spread some glaze on top of each pop tart. Add a drizzle of caramel and a sprinkle of flaky sea salt, if desired. DIG IN!
- Store: Please, please eat these while they're warm, or at least on the first day. They'll lose their crispness with each passing day. You can store leftovers in an airtight container at room temp for a day or two. Make Ahead Tips: Pie crust can be made, wrapped up tightly, and frozen for up to 2 months. Thaw in the fridge overnight before rolling out and using.
Notes
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Suzy says
This takes pop tarts to a whole new level! I love it! The nutella is amazing with the caramel!
Stephanie Simmons says
Thanks, Suzy! I agree 😀
Allison says
These are incredible! I’m not sure which I like better, the flaky crust or the Nutella filling. Yum!
Stephanie Simmons says
The flaky crust is amazing but it’s nothing without the nutella filling! 😀 Glad you liked these. 🙂