Do you miss delicious pop tarts now that you can’t eat gluten? Well, miss them no more with this no-fuss and all fun recipe that tastes incredible and looks beautiful too! This post features my recipe for gluten-free pop tarts and is sponsored by Bob’s Red Mill. It contains affiliate links. Please see my disclosures.
Mother’s Day is this weekend, and in honor of the special day, Bob’s Red Mill asked me to make a special breakfast treat that I love.
When I started to think about what I used to eat in my pre-celiac years, one thing that comes to mind are pop tart toaster pastries. I loved them… and the more I started to think about them, the more I missed them.
With the help of my very talented friend Megan at A Dash of Megnut, who is amazing at making gluten-free pastries, we came up with this beautiful pastry recipe using clean ingredients and my favorite gluten-free flour blend from Bob’s Red Mill. More on that in a bit.
Now look how beautiful these gluten-free pop tarts turned out. I’m pinching myself because they’re so cute! And they taste out-of-this-world amazing too!
Let’s Talk Ingredients
Before we get into the step-by-step process of making gluten-free pop tarts from scratch, let’s first talk about the ingredients. When you follow a gluten-free diet, it’s essential you get the ingredients right.
Here’s what you’ll need to make this recipe:
For the Pastry:
- 2 cups Bob’s Red Mill 1-to-1 Gluten-Free Baking Flour
- 1 tbsp granulated sugar
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 3/4 cup unsalted butter, cut into small pieces and very cold
- 6-7 tbsp ice cold water
- 1 egg, beaten
You’ll always find a bag of Bob’s Red Mill 1-to-1 Gluten-Free Baking Flour in my pantry as I bake with it all the time. It works as a measure for measure flour in most regular recipes. Just swap wheat flour for this 1-to-1 blend and you’ll be set!
Be sure to look for this flour in the blue bag. It is different than Bob’s Red Mill’s all purpose flour (which is in a red bag). Please don’t confuse the two flours.
For the Jam Filling:
- 3/4 cup cherry jam
- 2 tsp cornstarch
I used cherry jam in my gluten-free pop tart creation, but you could use any flavor jam of choice. I just think cherry jam looks and tastes perfect in this recipe.
For the Icing:
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1 tbsp milk
- 1 tbsp cherry jam
- 2 tsp red sugary sprinkles
As you can see, this recipe is indulgent and sugary and I love it. It’s meant to be enjoyed as an occasional treat.
How to Make Gluten-Free Pop Tarts
Now let’s have some fun making gluten-free pop tarts from scratch. It’s actually easier than you think, and it’s fun to play with the dough too. Gather the kids and have a fun time making these nostalgic treats for Mother’s Day.
Step #1: Make Your Dough
First, you’ll want to make the pastry dough. Add the Bob’s Red Mill 1-to-1 Gluten Free Baking Flour, sugar, and salt into a food processor and pulse to combine all the ingredients.
Add the cold butter pieces to the food processor and pulse until the butter is the size of peas. It’s okay to have some larger pieces too.
Remove the dough from the from food processor and place the flour mixture into a bowl. Add in water one tablespoon at a time just until you’re able to pinch the dough together. You may not end up using all of the water. Simply work the dough into a ball until it holds together well and is not crumbly nor sticky.
Don’t allow your dough to get too wet. Depending on the weight of your flour and environmental conditions, you may need more or less water.
Pat the dough into a flat circle, cover with parchment paper or plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes or longer.
Step #2: Make the Filling
While the dough is chilling, go ahead and make the cherry filling. In a small bowl, mix together the cornstarch and cherry jam and stir until no clumps remain.
Step #3: Assemble and Bake Pop Tarts
Now you’re ready to assemble your pop tarts, but first be sure to preheat your oven to 350º F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Divide the chilled dough in half. Roll out each half into two equal rectangles about 8×9 inches each, about 1/4 inch in thickness.
Now cut out six rectangles in each of the rolled out dough pieces. They should be about 3×4 inches in size.
Place six of the rectangles on the parchment lined baking sheet and spoon about 2 tablespoons of cherry filling onto each rectangle, leaving about 1/2 inch border around the edge.
Place the remaining rectangles over the top of the jam, and then gently press the edges closed with your fingers. Crimp all the edges together with a fork so you get nice ridges. Crimping the edges with a fork will help prevent the filling from oozing out the sides (although it’s okay if some comes out when baking).
Generously poke holes into the top of the pastry to allow it to breath when it bakes. This will prevent the filling from leaking out the edges.
Brush the top of each pastry with a beaten egg until lightly coated. You will not need to use the whole egg. The egg will give the pop tarts a beautiful sheen once baked.
Your pop tarts are ready to be baked! Place them in the hot oven and bake for 23-25 minutes or until the edges of the crust are lightly browned. Remove from the oven and let the pastries cool completely before glazing.
Step #4: Adding the Glaze
No pop tart is complete without a sweet, decorative glaze.
Make the glaze while your pop tarts are cooling. Do not glaze a hot or warm pop tart. They must be completely cooled before glazing.
To make the glaze, combine jam and milk in a small bowl until smooth, then add powdered sugar. Whisk all the ingredients together until well combined and no clumps remain.
You want the glaze to be thick so it doesn’t run off the pop tart but still spreadable. Add more powdered sugar or milk to reach the desired thick-but-spreadable consistency.
Place the pop tarts on a piece of parchment paper and lightly drizzle the glaze over the pop tart with a spoon as pictured below. It’s okay if the glaze runs off the pop tart.
Now sprinkle the top of each pastry with red sanding sugar (aka, red sugar sprinkles). It will stick to the wet glaze as the glaze dries.
Allow the pastries to dry completely before serving. Once the glaze has hardened, you’re ready to enjoy these delicious pastries for Mother’s Day and year round!
Isn’t She Pretty?
The hardest part is waiting for these beauties to cool. Once cooled, you’re ready to dig in.
You’ll find these gluten-free pop tarts have a flaky outer crust, a sweet gooey filling, and that delicious glaze on top just like the toaster pastries you remember enjoying as a kid.
Unleash your inner child by enjoying this kid-friendly treat, gluten-free style of course! And thanks to Bob’s Red Mill, you can conquer any baking goal!
A Few Notes
Here are a few tips, swaps and substitutions:
Leftovers: If there are any leftover gluten-free pop tarts, store them in an airtight container or bag for 1-2 days. Heat them in the toaster oven (or a few seconds in the microwave) to make them warm and gooey on the inside.
Dairy Free Option: To make this recipe dairy free, substitute the butter with vegan butter and the milk with unsweetened dairy-free milk, such as almond milk.
Vegan Option: To make this recipe vegan, use the dairy-free swaps as noted above and brush the tops with almond milk instead of egg before baking. The almond milk will also give a nice sheen once baked.
Jam Options: You can substitute the cherry jam with your favorite jam flavor. You can’t go wrong! I’m thinking of making apricot pop tarts next. Or maybe chocolate ones? What do you think?
Cold Butter is Essential! It’s important that the butter (or vegan butter) is very cold. This is required if you want to get that flaky crust result.
Flour: This recipe has been developed and tested with Bob’s Red Mill 1-to-1 Gluten-Free Baking Flour. Results cannot be guaranteed with other gluten-free flour blends.
Love this Recipe?
I use Bob’s Red Mill 1-to-1 Gluten-Free Flour Blend all the time. In fact, I have an article that lists 15 classic recipes made Bob’s Red Mill 1-to-1 Gluten-Free Flour Blend (and it’s a popular article on my site too).
You can purchase this flour at most grocery stores nationwide, on Amazon, or on the Bob’s Red Mill website.
Please pin this recipe to save it for later!
Gluten-Free Pop Tarts
Equipment
- Food processor
Ingredients
For the Pastry:
- 2 cups Bob’s Red Mill 1-to-1 Gluten Free Baking Flour
- 1 tbsp granulated sugar
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 3/4 cup unsalted butter cut into small pieces and very cold
- 6-7 tbsp ice cold water
- 1 egg beaten
For the Jam Filling:
- 3/4 cup cherry jam
- 2 tsp cornstarch
For the Icing:
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1 tbsp milk
- 1 tbsp cherry jam
- 2 tsp red sugar
Instructions
For the Pastry:
- In a food processor, add the Bob’s Red Mill 1-to-1 Gluten Free Baking Flour, sugar, and salt. Pulse to combine.
- Add cold butter pieces to the food processor and pulse until the butter is the size of peas, with some larger pieces.
- Remove from food processor and place the flour mixture into a bowl. Add in water one tablespoon at a time just until you’re able to pinch the dough together. You may not end up using all of the water.
- Work the dough into a ball.
- Pat the dough into a flat circle, cover with parchment paper or plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes.
For the Filling:
- While the dough is chilling, make the cherry filling. In a small bowl, mix together cornstarch and cherry jam and stir until no clumps remain.
For Baking:
- Preheat oven to 350F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Once the dough is chilled, roll out the dough into two equal rectangles about 8×9 inches each, about 1/4 inch in thickness. Cut each rectangle into 6 smaller rectangles, about 3×4 inches in size.
- Place 6 of the rectangles on the parchment lined baking sheet.
- Spoon about 2 tablespoons of cherry filling onto each rectangle and spread, leaving about 1/2 inch border.
- Place the remaining rectangles over the jam. Gently press the edges closed with your fingers. Crimp all the way around with a fork.
- Generously poke holes into the top of the pastry.
- Brush the top of the pastry with the beaten egg just until covered. You will not need to use the whole egg.
- Bake at 350F for 23-25 minutes, until the edges of the crust are lightly browned. Remove from the oven and let cool completely.
For the glaze:
- While the pop tart is cooling, make the glaze. In a small bowl, combine together jam and milk until smooth. Then add to powdered sugar. Whisk until combined and no clumps remain. You want the glaze to be rather thick so it doesn’t run off the pop tart but still spreadable, so add additional powdered sugar or milk to reach the desired consistency.
- Once the pop tart is cooled, drizzle the glaze over the pop tart with a spoon. Sprinkle red sanding sugar over the top.
- Allow to dry completely before serving.
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