Hello! It’s Andrea from Salty Canary. I’m excited to share these Palm Springs–inspired swimming pool toaster pastries. They’re fun to make and even more fun to decorate: think tiny flamingo floats, little diving boards, and a piña colada–flavored filling.
I love weekend trips to Palm Springs: the food, the colorful mid-century hotels, and relaxing by the pool. Toaster pastries reminded me of pools with their rectangular shape and crimped edges, so I turned that idea into a playful dessert. These Pop Tarts are filled with a piña colada-style mixture, finished with bright blue frosting or fondant, and topped with edible pool decorations.
Piña Colada Pool Pop Tarts
20 mins
20 mins
6 Pop Tarts
Ingredients
- 3 cups flour
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 TBSP granulated sugar
- 12 TBSP butter cold
- ⅓ cup shortening cold
- 6-8 TBSP ice water
- 8 oz. jar pineapple jelly
- ½ cup sweetened coconut flakes
- Lifesaver Gummies
- Juicy Fruit (yellow or pink)
- Pull-n-Peel Twizzlers
- Blue and/or teal fondant or frosting
- Pink and black fondant for accents
- Silver food color spray
- Optional prop: drink umbrellas
Instructions
- Combine the flour, sugar, and salt in a bowl and whisk together.
- Grate the cold butter and shortening into the dry ingredients.
- Mix with your hands until the dough begins to come together.
- Add ice water a little at a time and continue mixing until the dough holds. Avoid adding too much water to keep the dough tender.
- Split the dough in half, shape into flattened discs, wrap in plastic, and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C).
- Mix the pineapple jelly and sweetened coconut flakes to create the piña colada filling.
- Peel Twizzlers into strings, lay on parchment, and spray with silver food color spray. Allow to dry; repeat if needed. Cut into 2.25-inch pieces for handles.
- Cover Lifesaver gummies with pink fondant, poke a hole in the center, and add small fondant details for flamingo heads and wings. Use black fondant for beaks and eyes. Set aside.
- Remove dough from the fridge and roll one disc on a well-floured surface to about 1/8″ thickness.
- Cut rectangles (4″x7″) or kidney-shaped pools (about 6″x7″ at the widest and longest points) with a ruler or stencil and a pizza cutter or knife. Place on parchment-lined baking sheets. Repeat with the second disc.
- Spoon about two tablespoons of the piña colada filling onto the center of half the dough shapes.
- Top with the remaining dough shapes and crimp the edges with a fork to seal.
- Use a toothpick to poke a few small holes on each pastry so steam can escape.
- Bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown. Remove and let cool completely.
- Cover the center of each pastry with blue or teal fondant or pipe blue frosting to form the “pool.”
- Use a stick of gum or cut pink fondant to make a diving board and place it on the edge of the pool.
- Poke small holes next to the diving board and insert the silver Twizzlers handles. Add the fondant flamingo floats and, optionally, a drink umbrella.
Share your version and tag @studiodiy or use #studiodiy.
Photos by Andrea Ament | Salty Canary
The best part of these pool toaster pastries is the flexibility. Make the dough from scratch or use store-bought pie dough to save time. Fillings can be non-alcoholic or spiked with a splash of rum. For the pool surface, fondant gives crisp lines and bold color, while blue frosting will likely taste better. If making flamingo floats feels ambitious, simply use Lifesaver gummies as ring floats. Customize the decorations to match your skills, taste, and available time.
