Hello friends and welcome back! I’m excited to share this super delectable, take you back to your childhood, chocolately recipe! Chocolate Fudge poptarts!
I was inspired by Tieghan over on half baked harvest for this recipe. She made it fairly easy to follow along, and while I haven’t made a ton of poptarts in the past, I was really excited to try these out!
So I have to ask, what was your favorite poptart growing up? Mine was a toss up between chocolate fudge, smores and strawberry, depending on my mood. As I grew up though, I stopped eating them as much as I realized just how many calories were in one poptart! Yikes.
I’m not going to claim that these are any less calorically dense, but I think they taste better so they’re worth it. So lets chat about these poptarts.
The Chocolate Fudge
Chocolate fudge is one of those recipes that I find both easy and challenging to make. We want our fudge to be smooth, thick and glossy. A fudge that sets up and it thick but not solid at room temp. Its not like we are asking too much right?
I think its all in the proportions of your fudge. We’re not making the traditional cut into squares kind of fudge so there’s a bit of leeway here. The chocolate and the cream are necessary, as is the butter and vanilla.
This recipe calls for the use of both cocoa powder and chocolate chips. The combination will bring depth of chocolate flavor to the fudge, rather than just a *meh* chocolate taste. I think this richness is what I want from store bought poptarts, but have always been missing.
Next up, the dough:
I have to say, hands down this is the best chocolate pie dough I’ve ever made. Flaky and crisp with the right amount of chocolate flavor, I can’t wait to make an actual pie with this dough. Sooooo good.
It gets to be that good from the amount of butter (this is an all butter pie crust) and the cocoa powder that is in the dough. When the butter incorporated appropriately it will steam as it cooks producing the flaky layers that are essential to good pie dough. Not to mention this dough looks exactly like the store bought kind. So good!
Time to Assemble
So you’ve got your cooled fudge sauce, and your chilled pie dough, let’s put them together shall we? It’s important at this stage that all of your ingredients be cold so that we maintain the integrity of the butter — remember cold butter = flaky pastry.
You’ll also need an egg, lightly beaten. This will be the glue that holds our pie crust together. We will also use a fork to crimp (i.e. seal) the edges of our poptarts. No one likes a leaky poptart. So starting with the dough, roll it out until it is about 1/8 (ish) inch thick. This will seem like a really thin piece of dough, but we are stacking them on top of each other, so we want them to be nice and thin. Once you’ve rolled out your dough, cut them into 4″ by 3″ rectangles. Brush the edges with the egg wash (you can use a pastry brush or your finger) and then place about a tablespoon of the fudge filling in the center.
You want to be careful not to overfill your dough so that the unthinkable leaks happen. Once filled, place another rectangle of dough over top and press down to seal the edges. Finally, take a fork and using the flat side of the fork, press the tongs into the edges of the dough, creating a seal.
At this point, you can pop your poptarts back in the fridge for a bit (especially if the dough is starting to go a bit gummy). You can freeze them to bake later, or you can go straight to your preheated oven.
Lets talk frosting
The frosting that is slathered on each poptart, once it has baked and cooled, is a milk chocolate frosting. You can frost them with whatever type of frosting you desire, but in order to get that firm texture on the outside while it’s smooth and creamy on the inside, you need to follow a few easy steps.
Using hot water to bring this frosting together is essential. You may be tempted to use milk, but don’t. The hot water allows the frosting to “set” and become thick enough so it doesn’t slide off the poptart. This frosting, like the fudge filling, also combines melted chocolate and cocoa powder to give it that bit of extra chocolate depth. If you wanted to make any other kind of frosting, I would leave these two out and sub in more powdered sugar for the amount of cocoa.
I also used pearled sugar to decorate my poptarts, but you can use regular sprinkles, flaky sea salt, or just leave them as is. They’ll be just as good.
I hope this inspires you to get in the kitchen and give these chocolate fudge poptarts a go! They’re easy to make and with a simple recipe, hard to mess up. My favorite kind. 🙂
XO, Danielle
Want to see more poptart recipes? Click here!
Chocolate Fudge Poptarts
Get a throwback to your childhood with these chocolate fudge poptarts! Simple to make, dangerous to have around the house — these definitely wont last!
Ingredients
For the Chocolate Fudge:
- 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 2/3 cup whole milk or heavy cream
- 1 1/2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 2 tablespoons salted butter cubed
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
For the Chocolate Dough:
- 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
- 1/2 Cup Ice Water (1/2 Cup ice with 1/2 Cup water)
- 2 sticks 1 cup cold salted butter, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
- 1 egg beaten, for brushing
For the Chocolate Frosting:
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 2 ounces dark or milk chocolate melted
- coarse salt or sugar for sprinkling
Instructions
- Instructions:
- To make the chocolate fudge filling. In a small saucepan, stir together the cocoa powder, milk, and 3/4 cup chocolate chips. Set over medium heat and cook, stirring, for 5-8 minutes, until the chocolate is melted and the sauce has thickened slightly. Remove from heat, stir in the remaining 3/4 cup chocolate chips, the butter, and vanilla until smooth. Transfer to the fridge to cool and thicken, at least 30 minutes.
- Meanwhile, make the dough. In a food processor, combine the flour, cocoa powder, sugar, and butter. Pulse until the mix clumps together to forms pea-size balls. Add 1/2 cup cold water, 1 tablespoon at a time until the dough comes together and forms a ball. If the dough feels dry, add 1-2 tablespoons additional water.
- Turn the dough out onto a floured surface. Roll out into a 1/8-inch thickness. Cut the dough into rectangles, about 4 x 3 inches. Place a tablespoon of the chilled chocolate fudge on one half of the rectangles, leaving a ¼ inch border. Brush the edges with the beaten egg. Lay the other half of the dough over the filling and seal the edges by crimping with the back of a fork. Repeat until you’ve used all the dough, you will have leftover fudge.
- Place the pop tarts on parchment-lined baking sheets. Cover the baking sheets and place in the fridge for 1 hour or the freezer for 20 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Bake the pop tarts for 15-20 minutes. The pop tarts will still leak a little. Cool completely before frosting.
- Meanwhile, make the frosting. In a medium bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar, cocoa powder, vanilla, and 3 tablespoons water until smooth. Stir in the melted chocolate. If your frosting is too thick, thin with 1-2 tablespoons additional water.
- Spoon a thin layer of the frosting on top of the cooled pop-tarts. Allow frosting to harden 10 minutes. Sprinkle with coarse sugar or salt. Place on a baking sheet and allow the pop tarts to harden, uncovered, about 2 hours.
- Store in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
Recipe Notes
RECIPE NOTES
Crimping and Sealing the Pop Tarts: It’s important to really seal the tarts well or your filling will leak out while baking. Using the beaten egg helps to seal the fudge inside.
For a Shinny, Glossy Frosting: Use 2 tablespoons meringue powder. In a medium bowl, using an electric mixer, whisk together the powdered sugar, meringue powder, cocoa powder, vanilla, and 3 tablespoons water for 7-10 minutes on medium speed, until smooth soft peaks form. Stir in the melted chocolate. If your frosting seems too thick, thin with 1-2 tablespoons additional water.
If you don’t have a Food Processor: You can use you fingers to mix the butter with the flour until the butter is pea sized. Slowly drizzle in the cold water as directed.
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