Who needs store bought pop tarts when you can make your own right at home? These flaky pop tarts are stuffed with a decadent nutella filling, covered in a sweet vanilla icing and decked out to delight even the pickiest goblin or ghoul in your life.
In case you guys haven't noticed, I'm on kind of a ghost kick this year. First I made ghost marshmallows, now I'm diving right back in with these pop tart ghosts because, well, why the heck not? I mean, does it really get any better than a treat that meets at the intersection of cute, Halloween and nutella? I think not. If that were a street, my house would be right on the corner.
Prefer to watch the process?
How to make ghost pop tarts
First, whip up your pop tart dough. This is really just a basic pie dough recipe, so feel free to substitute with store-bought dough if you're short on time.
Second, use a large ghost cookie cutter to cut out your dough. Fill with nutella. Mmmmmm, nutella.
Third, seal your pop tarts with a little water and press together using a fork.
Fourth, bake!
Finally, glaze and decorate those spooky suckers.
How to make perfect pop tart ghosts
Never made pop tarts before? No sweat! Here are some tips and tricks to help you make them perfectly from the very first batch.
- If you're making your pie dough from scratch, don't skip the refrigeration step. Fun fact: refrigerating your dough for at least 30 minutes allows the gluten to relax and the fat to firm up resulting in an extra-flaky texture.
- Want to make your pie dough ahead of time? You can make it and refrigerate it for up to 2 days.
- Be sure not to overfill your pop tarts. I know it's nutella and we can never get enough, but overfilling will lead to your filling oozing out the sides and potentially ruining your seal. A couple teaspoons is more than enough.
- Be sure not to over-cook the glaze. Over-cooked glaze loses too much liquid and becomes too hard and thick to work with. The best way to make sure your glaze doesn’t get over-cooked is to cook it over low heat and remove it immediately once a crust starts to form. If your glaze becomes over-cooked, simply add water in ½ teaspoon increments until the glaze breaks up enough to use.
- Why we cook the glaze: You may be wondering why we’re cooking the glaze. After all, there are lots of glaze recipes on the web that don’t require this step. Here’s why: cooking the glaze causes a chemical reaction that results in a glaze that hardens quickly and becomes a shell (rather than a soft glaze). It’s perfect for locking in moisture and making life easier if you need to pack these pop tarts.
- Leftovers: Leftover pop tarts can be stored at room temperature in an air-tight container. To reheat, simply microwave them using 10 second increments until warm. DO NOT put these in a toaster.
Did you make this recipe? I’d love to hear how it went in the comments below. Better still, snap a photo and tag it on Instagram with #thesimplesweetlife. I love seeing your creations!
PrintRecipe
Pop Tart Ghosts
Who wants store bought pop tarts when you can make your own right at home? These flaky pop tarts are stuffed with a decadent nutella filling, covered in a sweet vanilla icing and decked out to delight even the pickiest goblin or ghoul in your life.
- Prep Time: 1 hour
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
- Yield: 8 1x
- Category: Dessert
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
For the pop tarts:
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 2 tbsp granulated sugar
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 cup salted butter, cold and cut into cubes
- 3-4 tablespoon ice water
- ¼ cup nutella (or another filling)
For the glaze:
- 3 cups powdered sugar
- 5 tbsp milk
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
- Black nonpareils
- Pink powdered food coloring
Instructions
- In a large bowl, stir together the flour, sugar and salt. Add the cubed butter and beat until the mixture resembles course sand.
- Add the ice water one tablespoon at a time until the dough comes together. You may not need all four tablespoons.
- Divide your dough in two, flatten into discs, wrap in plastic wrap and allow to chill for 45 minutes to an hour.
- Roll the first ball of dough out onto a light floured surface until it's approximately 9"x12". Using a large cookie cutter, cut out 8 ghosts.
- Spoon a couple teaspoons of nutella or another kind of filling onto your ghost cutouts and gently spread it out. Make sure there's about ⅓" of open space around the edge of your pastries.
- Roll out the remaining dough and cut out 8 more ghosts.
- Using your finger, wet the edge of the filled pastries with some water, cover with another ghost cutout and gently press the edges together. Use a fork to seal.
- Poke a few air holes into the top of your pop tarts with a fork.
- Bake at 350F for 30 minutes, or until the pop tarts are golden brown.
- In a small saucepan, combine the powdered sugar, water and vanilla extract for the glaze.
- Cook over low-medium heat, whisking occasionally, until the glaze is warm and starts to form a crust on top. Remove from heat.
- Dip each pop tart into the glaze, gently shaking it to allow any excess glaze to drip off. Be sure to stir the glaze between each pop tart so it doesn’t form a crust.
- Immediately add two black nonpareils to each pop tart for eyes.
- Once the glaze has completely crusted over (about 30 minutes) use the pink powdered food coloring and a food-only brush to add rosy cheeks.
Notes
- If you're making your pie dough from scratch, don't skip the refrigeration step. Fun fact: refrigerating your dough for at least 30 minutes allows the gluten to relax and the fat to firm up resulting in an extra-flaky texture.
- Want to make your pie dough ahead? You can make it and refrigerate it up to 2 days.
- Be sure not to overfill your pop tarts. I know it's nutella and we can never get enough, but overfilling will lead to your filling oozing out the sides and potentially ruining your seal. A couple teaspoons is more than enough.
- Be sure not to over-cook the glaze. Over-cooked glaze loses too much liquid and becomes too hard and thick to work with. The best way to make sure your glaze doesn’t get over-cooked is to cook it over low heat and remove it immediately once a crust starts to form. If your glaze becomes over-cooked, simply add more water in ½ teaspoon increments until the glaze breaks up enough to use.
- Why we cook the glaze: You may be wondering why we’re cooking the glaze. After all, there are lots of doughnut recipes on the web that don’t require this step. Here’s why: cooking the glaze causes a chemical reaction that results in a glaze that hardens quickly and becomes a shell (rather than a soft glaze). It’s perfect for locking in moisture and making life easier if you need to pack these pop tarts.
- Leftovers: Leftover pop tarts can be stored at room temperature in an air-tight container. To reheat, simply microwave them using 10 second increments until warm. DO NOT put these in a toaster.
Pop tart recipe adapted from Broma Bakery
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 pop tart
- Calories: 554
- Sugar: 52.2g
- Sodium: 316mg
- Fat: 26.1g
- Saturated Fat: 17.3g
- Carbohydrates: 77.4g
- Fiber: 1.3g
- Protein: 4g
- Cholesterol: 61mg
Liz says
These are so cute! What a fun and festive treat idea!!
★★★★★
Aditi Wardhan Singh says
Tooooo cute. I would love to make these , if only we were having a halloween party. sigh!
Gena says
this is so creative! I love things that are look simple but taste great, so I should definitely make those for halloween party!
Ruthie Ridley says
This is so creative! Looks delish!!!
Leigh Suznovich says
Ok, these are seriously the cutest breakfast pastries for Halloween! Love the nutella filling.
Sue says
These are so... adorable! You are sooo... creative !!
★★★★★
Julie says
These are sooo cute! i'm using your idea and making these into snowmen today! Do you suggest cooling the tarts before glazing? Thanks so much for this great idea!
The Simple, Sweet Life says
Oh how fun! Love the idea of snowmen in place of the ghosts. Yes, definitely let them cool completely before glazing, otherwise that glaze will run right off. 🙂
Amanda says
How big is your cookie cutter? Where did you get it? I’m desperately looking for a ghost cookie cutter just to make your pop tarts!!!
The Simple, Sweet Life says
Hi Amanda! I bought it at Michaels a couple of years ago. It's about 5" long.
Rachael says
These are absolutely adorable! I don’t have any Nutella on hand— could jam work as an alternative filling?
The Simple, Sweet Life says
Hi Rachel! Jam would absolutely work as a filling.
Jessica Meier says
Can you make these with pie crust sheets (pre made dough)?
The Simple, Sweet Life says
Hi Jessica! Yes you can! The recipe makes a pie dough so you can absolutely substitute the homemade version for the store bought variety.
April says
Made these last night - they’re delicious! But I am at a total loss on how you got the glaze to look so effortless. Mine kept cooling and crusting so quickly that couldn’t even full dip the front of the pop tarts in the glaze before it would harden again (even with vigorously stirring right up until the pop tart was dipped!). Any additional tips that you have for getting the glaze to settle like in your photos?
★★★★
Claire | The Simple, Sweet Life says
Hi April! I'm so glad to hear they turned out deliciously but am sorry to hear the glaze crusted so quickly for you. When you cook the glaze, you want to cook it until it just starts crusting; Heating it too much past this point could result in it hardening too quickly. I've also found that my glaze will harden faster than I want it to as it starts to cool. If this happens, you can just throw it back on a warm burner for a few seconds until it loosens back up.
BHLow says
The frosting does not work. I tried adding more water, stirring, added vanilla, and burnt my fingers trying to dip the pop tarts in the hot frosting.
Claire | The Simple, Sweet Life says
I'm sorry to hear this didn't turn out for you! If you added more water than called for, that's likely the problem as it would change the consistency. The icing should also only be heated until it starts to crust, which would be warm, not hot. If the icing was hot, it was cooked too long, which would also change the consistency.
Ashley Evans says
Thanks for this recipe! I used store bought pie crust and made 2 batches, one with Nutella (called them mud flavor) and one with strawberry jelly (called them blood flavor). Both were delicious and enjoyed by all!
★★★★★