The Secret Ingredient For Tender Homemade Pop-Tart Crusts

Pop-Tarts are a nostalgic breakfast treat that many of us grew up with and DIY Pop-Tarts can take this classic breakfast to the next level. From choosing your own fillings to making an infinitely better crust than what you get out of the box, it's no wonder you might be tempted to customize your own homemade Pop-Tarts. 

While creating a better crust is no easy task, Tasting Table recipe developer Taylor Murray has a tip for making a tender and flaky vessel for your filling or fillings of choice — and all you need is some help from a secret ingredient.

Although most people think of pie pastry as being an all-butter dough, that isn't always the case. And all-butter pastry is not always better. Sure, butter helps add flakey layers to pastry, but there's another kind of dairy that makes it more tender, which is why Murray uses butter and cream cheese.

Murray, our insightful recipe developer, recommends adding cream cheese to the Pop-Tart crusts for a number of reasons. The first is that cream cheese is a unique ingredient that adds richness and tanginess to the crust. But the flavor isn't the primary reason you should consider including the additional ingredient. Cream cheese also contributes to the tenderness and flaky texture of the pastry. 

The reason cream cheese creates more tender pie dough for Pop-Tarts comes down to the macronutrients of the dairy product. Compared to butter, cream cheese contains more protein which prevents it from becoming tough. That not only makes the dough easier to work with, but it also makes it more enjoyable to eat.

So, the next time you try your hand at a homemade version of the childhood classic, reach for two kinds of dairy and taste the difference for yourself.