Pop Hearts!

This post is sponsored by Kellogg’s. Thank you for inspiring us!

Pop Tarts Pop Hearts Valentine's Day Treat IdeaOMG, I have talked about my deep love of pop-tarts many times over the years on this here site. And this was way before Kellogg’s ever sent us things and asked us if we liked them. My love of pop-tarts goes way back (we are talking way-way back, I am old) to childhood, right after my parents’ divorce, I talk about it here.

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Anyhoo, to be clear, I don’t feed my child pop-tarts everyday, despite my deep and abiding love for them, I get that they are a special treat. But what better time for a treat than Valentine’s Day? Last week when we were brainstorming fun things to make for a Valentine’s Day party at our house with her friends, we were sort of thinking something along the lines of a tea party (5 year olds LOVE tea parties, do they not?), and of course Scarlet went into my (very well organized) cookie cutter collection and pulled out all the heart shapes. While she was at it she grabbed the cherry and strawberry pop tarts that Kellogg’s had sent us and basically came up with a plan that I thought was awesome, which was that we should cut the pop tarts with the heart-shaped cookie cutters then put them on a stick. Yes, you are right, my child is a genius and should be at MIT getting her PHD right now.

Pop Hearts _1
I was obsessed with this idea and so excited to do it, but it did take some trial-and-error to figure out how to cut a pop-tart with a cookie cutter without it crumbling. Let me tell you the secret (it is a two-step process) after the jump…

Step 1 is to microwave the pop-tart for a few seconds. In my microwave this means 8 seconds exactly, yours might take a few more or less seconds depending on it’s power (mine is pretty powerful and usually cooks things faster than expected). You just want that delicious pop-tart to be a little warm and malleable.

Step 2 is to turn the pop-tart upside down before cutting it with the cookie cutter. So take the pop-tart out of the microwave while it’s nice and warm and soft, then with the un-frosted side of the pop-tart facing up, cut it with your heart shaped cookie cutter. Push the cookie cutter through gently but firmly, then let it sit for a second (let the cool steel of the cookie cutter chill that delicious sugar jam filling) before gently pushing your heart shape out.

Pop _Hearts
The next step is simple, just eat the remains of the pop tart. Ha, just kidding (no I’m not), the next step is to insert a skewer (or a lollipop stick, but I like the pointiness of one side of a traditional BBQ skewer) into the pop-tart in between the two outside layers (like right up into the jamilicious filling), then let it cool.

We added some washi tape and clipped the ends so they looked like little flags. Scarlet and her friends LOVED THIS SO MUCH I CAN’T EVEN EXPRESS IT WITH WORDS NO MATTER HOW MANY CAPITAL LETTERS I USE. Give it a try, it’s a fun, no-cook V-day treat for the kids in your life.
Pop Hearts

And while you’re at it, I think a DIY Pop-Tart Gingerbread House would be a totally appropriate and fun craft to fill a pre-Valentine’s Day February afternoon, no?

This post is sponsored by Kellogg’s. Thank you for making pop tarts. They are delicious.

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7 Comments

gina

Oh dear… I’m going to have someone bring me Pop Tarts in their luggage. Thanks for sharing such an original idea!

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