How to Eat a Pop Tart

Heating and Eating a Pop Tart

Heat a pop tart in the toaster if you'd like to be traditional. Remove the pop tart from the foil pouch and place it into the toaster vertically. Heat it on low for one cycle. Let the pop tart cool for a few seconds before eating. This method also works with toaster ovens.

Heat a pop tart in the microwave if you don't have a toaster or toaster oven. Take the pop tart out of the pouch and place it on a microwave-safe dish. Heat it on high for 3 seconds. Let it cool for a few seconds before eating it.

Eat a pop tart straight from the bag if you don't have much time. Lots of people like to eat their pop tarts at room temperature, and that is perfectly fine. They are already baked, so they are safe to eat without heating.

Try it frozen if you'd like to enjoy a cold, tasty treat. Many of the dessert flavors, such as Cookies & Creme, Hot Fudge Sundae, and Frosted Chocolate Chip, taste great this way. Simply place the entire bag in the freeze overnight, and enjoy it the next morning.

Getting Creative

Use pop tarts as an ice cream topping. Cut or crumble your favorite flavor of pop tart into small pieces, and use it as an ice cream topper. The pieces should be a little smaller than bite-size. You don't have to heat the pop tarts for this.

Use cookie cutters to cut pop tarts into fun shapes. Lightly grease some cookie cutters with butter or cooking spray first. Use them to cut shapes out of your favorite pop tart flavor. Try to cut through the middle where all the filling is. You don't have to heat the pop tarts. Use these fun shapes to garnish ice cream. Eat the rest of the pop tart, or crumble it up and use it as a dessert topping.

Make a pop tart parfait. Crumble up some strawberry pop tarts, then layer them in a parfait glass with cut strawberries and whipped cream. Garnish your parfait with more whipped cream and a sprinkle of finely-crumbled pop tart.

Use pop tarts instead of graham crackers when making s'mores. Cut a pop tart in half, then place a piece of chocolate on ones of the unfrosted sides. Top with a toasted marshmallow on top, and cover with the other pop tart half. Toasting the pop tart is not necessary, but it can help the chocolate melt faster. For a more gooey treat, heat the entire s'more in the microwave for about 3 seconds. You can use s'mores flavored pop tarts for this, but peanut butter and brown sugar are also great choices!

Making Pop Tart Ice Cream Sandwiches

Place two pop tarts on a cutting board, frosted-side-down. Save the other two pop tarts for later. You can use any type of pop tart for this, but flavors that do well in this recipe include: Cookies & Creme, Frosted Chocolate Chip, and Hot Fudge Sundae.

Spread ½ cup (72 grams) of ice cream on top of each pop tart. You can use any type of ice cream flavor for this, but cookies-n-cream, cookie dough, or vanilla would work the best. Use an ice cream scoop to scoop out the ice cream, and a rubber spatula or knife to help you smooth it down across the pop tart. Make sure that the ice cream goes from edge to edge.

Place the other two pop tarts frosted-side-up on top and press down lightly. Make sure that the edges are aligned. Press down lightly on top of the sandwich so that the ice cream reaches the edges. Use a knife or spatula to smooth down any ice cream that sticks out of the edges.

Cut the sandwiches in half widthwise. If you need to, use a sawing motion to cut through the pop tart crust. This will give you four smaller ice cream sandwiches.

Dip the sides of the sandwiches in chocolate chips or sprinkles, if desired. Fill a bowl with mini chocolate chips of sprinkles. Take an ice cream sandwich, and dip each of its four edges into the bowl. The chips/sprinkles will stick to the ice cream and give your sandwich and extra crunch.

Wrap the sandwiches and freeze them for at least 2 hours. Carefully wrap each of the sandwiches in plastic wrap and stick them into the freezer. This will harden the ice cream back up and hold the sandwiches together.

Making a Cookies-n-Cream Milkshake

Pour the milk into a blender, and add the ice cream and the vanilla extract. Because of how rich this dessert is, you might want to use a low-fat or non-fat milk for this. If you don't mind rich milkshakes, then use 2% milk or whole milk.

Cover the blender and blend until smooth. From time to time, you pay have to pause the blender, and use a spatula to scrape down any clumps. This will ensure that everything mixes evenly.

Crumble the pop tarts into small pieces. Set these pieces aside. You can also try this with Strawberry pop tarts and make a strawberry shortcake milkshake instead.

Add the crumbled pop tarts, and blend for a few more seconds. You want the crumbled pop tarts to be just combined; you should still see some little chunks and crumbs.

Pour the milkshake into two tall glasses and garnish with a pop tart triangle. Use a spatula to help guide the mixture into two tall glasses. Serve the milkshake immediately.