Crisp, buttery shortcrust pastry filled with raspberry jam and topped with icing and sprinkles - these air fryer pop tarts are surprisingly easy to make.
Using an air fryer means these homemade treats are ready in no time, with minimal fuss and no need to preheat an oven.
The pastry turns beautifully crisp, while the jam filling turns deliciously gooey.
A simple icing drizzle and a scattering of sprinkles give them that nostalgic, shop-bought look – but with the unbeatable taste of homemade baking.
This recipe is perfect for weekend baking, after-school treats, or even a fun activity with kids.
The shortcrust pastry comes together quickly, and with just a few simple ingredients, you’ll have a batch of pop tarts that taste far better than anything from a box.
To make the pastry, you'll combine plain (all purpose) flour with a touch of sugar and rub together with salted butter. A splash of cold water will help you bring the pastry together into a smooth dough.
You'll then roll the pastry out and cut it into rectangles, topping half of them with jam and then placing the other rectangles of pastry on top to create four neat parcels.
You'll seal them with a fork around the edges, then baked them in the air fryer until crispy and golden.
To finish, you'll combine icing sugar with lemon juice for a zingy, zesty flavour, and then spoon the icing over the pop tarts, finishing with a few bright sprinkles to complete the classic look.
I absolutely love how these taste - much like a jam tart but with the extra indulgence of a lemon icing and crunchy hit of sprinkles.
I can't think of a dessert that you can make in the air fryer that ends up looking as fun as this one!
Read on for the full recipe with detailed instructions and a helpful photograph for every step. And if you have any questions, just leave me a comment. Enjoy!
Ingredients
For the pastry
- 225 g (7.9 oz) plain white flour all purpose flour
- 110 g (3.9 oz) slightly salted butter cold cubed
- 20 g (0.7 oz) icing sugar powdered sugar
- 1-2 tbsp (1 tbsp) cold water
For the filling
- 4 tbsp seedless jam
To decorate
- 100 g (3.5 oz) icing sugar powdered sugar
- 1 tbsp lemon juice (or water, if preferred)
- 1 drop red food colouring optional
- 2 tsp rainbow sprinkles
Equipment
- Air fryer liner or greaseproof paper
Instructions
Make the dough
Put the flour, icing sugar and butter into a bowl.
Rub together until you have a crumb with no butter lumps.
Add 1 tbsp cold water and mix lightly. add a few drops at a time up to a further tbsp, until it starts to clump.
Knead the pastry a couple of times so it comes together in a smooth ball. wrap and put in the fridge to chill for 15 minutes.
Shape, fill and bake the pop tarts.
Put a liner on top of the grill tray in your air fryer. If you don’t have one, cut a piece of greaseproof paper to about the same size as the base of your tray. Fold it in half 3-4 times to create a thin triangle. Make holes with a skewer, scissors or hole punch and unfold.
Place the pastry dough on a floured surface and roll out to roughly 20cm x 30cm (8 inches x 12 inches).
Test to see if you are able to lift the dough without tearing, stretching or crumbling. If it feels too soft, transfer to a floured tray and chill in the fridge or freezer for 10 minutes to firm up again.
With your sheet of dough back on your floured surface, neaten the edges with a sharp knife then cut into 8 equal rectangles.
Top four of the rectangles with 1 tablespoon of jam each.
Use a wet finger around the edge of the jam topped pieces, then lay the remaining 4 rectangles on top.
Use a fork to gently crimp and seal the edges of the pastry.
Make a small hole or slit in the middle of each pie with the tip of a sharp knife. This is to allow steam to escape.
Preheat the air fryer according to the manufacturer's instructions. Mine defaults to 4 minutes at 205C.
Place your pop tarts into your air fryer basket. In my air fryer, I needed to bake two at a time as four wouldn’t fit.
Set the air fryer to 140C/285F and bake for 15 minutes until pale golden.
Flip the pop tarts over and cook for a further 5 minutes so that the undersides cook through.
Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
Decorate
Once the tarts are cool, put mix the icing sugar with the lemon juice, a few drops at a time until you have a thick, only slightly runny icing. Add a drop or two of food colouring to give a pink hue. Spoon the icing on top of the tarts.
Before the icing sets, decorate each pop tart with a pinch of sprinkles.
Leave to set and then enjoy!
Once you've given my recipe a go, I'd love you to come back and leave a comment letting me know how yours turned out.
I'd love to see your videos and pics, too! Just tag me on social media. I'm @emilylearycooks on Twitter and TikTok or @amummytoo on Instagram.
Print this Air Fryer Pop Tarts Recipe
Air Fryer Pop Tarts Recipe
Ingredients
For the pastry
- 225 g (7.9 oz) plain white flour all purpose flour
- 110 g (3.9 oz) slightly salted butter cold cubed
- 20 g (0.7 oz) icing sugar powdered sugar
- 1-2 tbsp (1 tbsp) cold water
For the filling
- 4 tbsp seedless jam
To decorate
- 100 g (3.5 oz) icing sugar powdered sugar
- 1 tbsp lemon juice (or water, if preferred)
- 1 drop red food colouring optional
- 2 tsp rainbow sprinkles
Equipment
- Air fryer liner or greaseproof paper
Instructions
Make the dough
- Put the flour, icing sugar and butter into a bowl. Rub together until you have a crumb with no butter lumps.
- Add 1 tbsp cold water and mix lightly. add a few drops at a time up to a further tbsp, until it starts to clump.
- Knead the pastry a couple of times so it comes together in a smooth ball. wrap and put in the fridge to chill for 15 minutes.
Shape, fill and bake the pop tarts.
- Put a liner on top of the grill tray in your air fryer. If you don’t have one, cut a piece of greaseproof paper to about the same size as the base of your tray. Fold it in half 3-4 times to create a thin triangle. Make holes with a skewer, scissors or hole punch and unfold.
- Place the pastry dough on a floured surface and roll out to roughly 20cm x 30cm (8 inches x 12 inches).
- Test to see if you are able to lift the dough without tearing, stretching or crumbling. If it feels too soft, transfer to a floured tray and chill in the fridge or freezer for 10 minutes to firm up again.
- With your sheet of dough back on your floured surface, neaten the edges with a sharp knife then cut into 8 equal rectangles.
- Top four of the rectangles with 1 tablespoon of jam each.
- Use a wet finger around the edge of the jam topped pieces, then lay the remaining 4 rectangles on top. Use a fork to gently crimp and seal the edges of the pastry.
- Make a small hole or slit in the middle of each pie with the tip of a sharp knife. This is to allow steam to escape.
- Preheat the air fryer according to the manufacturer's instructions. Mine defaults to 4 minutes at 205C.
- Place your pop tarts into your air fryer basket. In my air fryer, I needed to bake two at a time as four wouldn’t fit.
- Set the air fryer to 140C/285F and bake for 15 minutes until pale golden. Flip the pop tarts over and cook for a further 5 minutes so that the undersides cook through.
- Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
Decorate
- Once the tarts are cool, put mix the icing sugar with the lemon juice, a few drops at a time until you have a thick, only slightly runny icing. Add a drop or two of food colouring to give a pink hue. Spoon the icing on top of the tarts.
- Before the icing sets, decorate each pop tart with a pinch of sprinkles.
- Leave to set and then enjoy!
Nutrition
More air fryer dessert recipes to try
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