Who are we kidding? Gluten Free Toaster Pastries? Who even says that? It’s like saying “facial tissues” or “adhesive bandages” when we all know we’re talking about “Kleenex” and “Band-Aids.” So, I say, cut the pretense and call these the real deal, because this recipe makes gluten free poptarts!
Pop Tarts are one of those childhood pleasures that we never give up as we age. Offer any grown-up one, and you’d be hard-pressed to find one who would turn you down.
Go gluten free, and you start craving all those kinds of things that were so taken for granted before, no matter what your age or status in life.
I love taking those gluten-filled favorites and converting them to gluten free. Every time, I feel like I’ve scored a victory in some undefined playbook of gluten v. the good guys/girls! So score one for the good team with this gluten free poptart recipe and do your whole family a favor by making these treats this weekend.
Don’t be afraid that gluten free poptarts are complicated or difficult to make, either. They most certainly are NOT! In fact, I’ve made this dough in advance, refrigerated half, and days later come back to make more poptarts another day. It’s super fun, super easy, and of course, super yummy.
And now that there are no Glutino gluten free poptarts being made anymore, there’s all the more reason to make your own (homemade has always been better anyway!).
No toaster necessary, but of course, feel free to use one, especially if you make a double batch and freeze some for hurried mornings down the road. You’ll be so glad to have these at the ready!
I’ve used both apple butter (or pumpkin butter) and gluten free (purity protocol) oatmeal in this poptart dough to hold it together deliciously without eggs, so these are both gluten free and vegan, plus they help pack some extra flavor and nutrition into this yummy, flaky pastry.
Score another for the good team! I’d like to see a gluten-filled “toaster pastry” do that!
Avoid runny jams or anything too thin as it will just seep out the sides when baking. It will still taste yummy, but it won’t be as neat and pretty to look at. Also, the leaked jam may burn in your toaster when you re-heat them. Again, not a deal breaker, but not ideal either.
So choose apple butter (I have a homemade recipe for that!) or a thick preserves for these special treats, but that’s a pretty broad category of choices!
So many flavors of jams, chutneys, apple/pumpkin butters … whatever will you pick? Not to mention icing!
To ice or not to ice, that is the question! Or is sprinkles or no sprinkles the question???
And here’s another fun homemade poptart idea: use cookie cutters and make festive shapes with your poptarts for holidays or just for fun!
The cookie cutters make it even easier to make two sides of your gluten free poptart the exact same size.
There’s no right and wrong in making homemade poptarts, only that you have two of the same, right?!
Just cut out your shapes, plop some of your fruit filling in the middle leaving a nice edge around the outside to seal together with a wet finger, then press together and go around the outside with a fork for that classic poptart edging.
Once baked and cooled, these gluten free poptarts are just as fun to decorate as homemade gluten free sugar cookies are!
They sure look cute and festive, but don’t forget how delicious they are. This dough makes light and flaky pastry that shouldn’t be overlooked for its sophistication in its own right.
Layers of tender pastry and hallmark flakiness, no grit … you know, all the things gfJules pastry doughs are known for.
So don’t skimp on the gluten free flour you’re using if you want to achieve gluten free poptart nirvana.
From my PopTart loving family to yours!
Gluten Free Toaster Pastries (Pop Tarts) Recipe
Homemade gluten free poptarts are a treat that you should definitely not have to go without! Adult or kid, everyone loves a pop tart (or gluten free toaster pastry, whatever you call them!).
Ingredients
Poptart Dough
- 1/8 cup certified gluten free instant oatmeal (purity protocol Gluten Free Oats) OR quinoa flakes, ground flax, rice bran or chia seeds* (see notes below)
- ¼ cup boiling water
- 2 ½ cups gfJules All Purpose Gluten Free Flour
- 2 Tbs. granulated sugar
- ½ tsp. sea salt
- ½ tsp. baking powder
- 1 cup cold vegan butter (Earth Balance® Buttery Sticks) or butter (2 sticks)
- 2 Tbs. apple butter OR pumpkin butter OR applesauce OR mashed banana
- 1 Tbs. cold water
Filling
- 16 ounces apple butter OR pumpkin butter OR other thick jam
Poptart Glaze (optional)
- 1/2 cup sifted confectioner’s sugar
- 1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
- 2 tsp.+ milk of choice
Instructions
Stir to combine gluten-free oats with boiling water and set aside to thicken.
Using a large food processor or stand mixer, pulse or whisk the next 4 ingredients (gfJules Flour, sugar, salt, baking powder) until blended. Cut the cold vegan butter into small chunks and pulse briefly until the mixture looks pebbly or starts to come together.
Measure out ¼ cup of cooked oatmeal and add, together with apple butter and cold water, to the flour-butter mixture, either by pulsing in the food processor or mixing with a stand mixer. Process or mix just until the ingredients are fully integrated and the dough is holding together. (If there is any extra oatmeal, save it for eating later!)
Wrap dough in plastic wrap and freeze for 10 minutes or refrigerate for at least 30 minutes, or until cold and not as sticky.
Once dough is chilled, prepare a pastry mat or clean countertop by dusting liberally with gfJules Flour. Roll the dough to a thickness no more than 1/8 inch. Cut rectangles using a 3×4½ inch cutter or using a butter knife to cut evenly-sized rectangles (size doesn't matter as long as there are two of a kind). Alternatively, use larger size cookie cutters.
Cover two baking sheets with parchment paper and gently transfer half of the rectangles to the parchment paper. Spoon apple butter or jam into the middles of each rectangle, leaving at least 1/4 inch border around each rectangle for sealing. Don't put too much filling in, or it will seep out the sides as it bakes.
Dip a finger in water and dampen the edges of the rectangle. Lay another rectangle on top of each filled rectangle and press gently around the edges. Using the tines of a fork, go around the edges of each tart and press to further seal the two pieces of dough and provide design.
Cut a letter (might I suggest a “J”?) with a knife or poke holes with a toothpick into the top of each tart to allow steam to vent. Brush with your milk of choice and sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon or Demerara sugar if you're not planning to ice the poptarts.
Bake in preheated oven for 25 minutes, or until the tarts are lightly browning but are not crunchy.
Remove to fully cool on a wire rack or serve warm. Drizzle with glaze when cooled, if desired (recipe below).
Optional: freeze fully cooled tarts and reheat in a toaster before serving.
Makes 10 tarts, depending on size.
Gluten Free Poptart Glaze (optional)
Once your gluten free pop tarts are cooled, whisk together confectioner's sugar, extract and milk until a smooth mixture is made.
Add more confectioner’s sugar if the glaze is too runny and would just slide off the top of the pastries; add more milk if the mixture is too thick to be easily spread. Drizzle or spread with the back of a spoon on top of the pastries you would like to top.
Allow to dry before wrapping or freezing for serving later.
Notes
For a worthy substitute to gluten free oats, try and equal amount of gluten free quinoa flakes instead! You could also use ground flax, rice bran, or chia seeds.
Nutrition Information
Yield 10 Serving Size 1Amount Per Serving Calories 368Total Fat 20gSaturated Fat 12gTrans Fat 1gUnsaturated Fat 6gCholesterol 53mgSodium 323mgCarbohydrates 46gFiber 2gSugar 32gProtein 3g
Please keep in mind that nutrition information provided is per serving, which may vary. While we have taken care to provide you with the most accurate nutritional values possible, please note that this information may differ significantly depending on the exact ingredients and brands that you choose to use to make this recipe. Additionally, where options are given for ingredients, the resulting calculation may include all ingredient options instead of only one per line, skewing the totals significantly.
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And if I cannot eat apples (fodmap) what can I substitute?
Thanks, Jules. With you all the way.
Hi Virginia, I”m not entirely certain what’s permitted on your diet, but you could use pumpkin puree or mashed bananas or more GF oatmeal (same proportions) in the pastry, and for the filling, any kind of acceptable fruit puree or jam.
Hope that helps!
~jules
This sounds fantastic! And it just so happens that I just started a batch of homemade apple butter today! ((Glad to see you back Jules.))
Wonderful, Lisa!!!
And yes, I’m so happy to be back!
~jules
My little man has never had a pop-tart…when he was finally old enough for Mama to give in to letting him have “junk food,” we figured out he’s gluten intolerant. The pop tart drought ends tomorrow morning!!
I love making apple butter, because my house smells yummy for days – I just can’t ever get my family to eat all that I make. Now I have a recipe that’s my excuse to make it! What about using apple butter with something savory – like pork tenderloin??
Finally something i can use apple butter for…may also try one with pumpkin butter
Pre-gf, I used to make a delicious apple butter bar cookie for Christmas. I would love to make those again!
Oh goodness, Melissa, that sounds delicious! Do share the recipe!!!
~jules
Hey, Jules, apple butter might be really interesting in a savory or spicy dip.. like hummus! Yum!!
MMMmmm – apple butter hummus! Peggy, you may be onto something!
~jules
Any idea if you can use coconut oil instead of butter? dairy and soy issues.
Hi Vicki, I haven’t tried this recipe with coconut oil yet, although I’d like to. Did you know that Earth Balance as a new dairy and soy-free baking stick? It comes in a sortof pink butter box in the refrigerator department. If your store doesn’t carry it, you should ask them to! If you use coconut oil instead, be aware of the difference in moisture content between butter or a product like Earth Balance designed to mimic butter, and shortenings or coconut oil. If the dough is too dry without the butter, using coconut oil instead, just add more apple butter or vegan milk so that it isn’t dry, and can be rolled out easily. Let me know how it goes if you try it!
~jules
Yum! I plan to use instant quinoa flakes vs gf oats, tho.
Great idea, Michelle!
~jules
Hi Jules,
These look absolutely delicious!!
Thank you! I hope you get to try them!
~jules
Anything baked would be great with applebutter in place of eggs & oil (like apple spice cake). Also, I don’t eat meat but for some reason I immediately thought of pork chops with apple butter. So I’m now kinda’ wanting to try the Gardein “Pork” & top it with apple butter (& use the gravy it comes with for mashed potatoes).
I would love to use apple butter in almost anything. I was wondering about banana bread. My girls love it. Would apple butter overpower the banana flavor?
Hi BJ,
I don’t think the apple butter would overpower the banana, but it’s worth a (yummy!) try!
~jules
Hi Jules! Can I use either Earth Balance in the tub for butter replacement as we don’t eat dairy or soy either or should I use butter flavored shortening? Also, what about strawberry jam in place of Apple butter? Is there a way to change font 2 make it easier 2 read on iPhone?
Hi Jennifer, I just changed the font for the post- let me know if this is easier to read. I’m still getting used to this new blog platform!
As for the tub butter, it doesn’t work the same as the sticks because it’s designed to spread, which isn’t great to use in baking where you don’t want the dough to be so thin. Have you seen that Earth Balance now has soy-free Buttery Sticks for baking? You could ask your local store to carry that for you! Otherwise, you could use butter flavored shortening; if the dough seems too try though, use some more water. You can certainly use strawberry jam in place of the apple butter for the filling, but in the dough, I’d use applesauce instead. Hope that helps!
~jules
Hi Jules. I have tried to get some of your old recipes off of the internet. I tried accessing “gf jules” and “gluten free jules”. It comes up “Jules gluten free” and then the pages are not accessible. I don’t own one of your cookbooks. I don’t use e books. I need a pie crust recipe. I have had no luck making pie crust. .I want to do a rustic tart, we have no more instant oats and I don’t want to purchase other ingredients to use this particular recipe but it has too much butter!!!! 2 sticks????? Not for me!
Hi Danelle, my former partners pulled down my blog without warning. I’m working on getting it back up, and I do have both a pie crust and a rustic crust recipe (that don’t use 2 sticks of butter! :)) I’ll try to post it back here as soon as possible! In the meantime, here’s my basic pie crust recipe for you:
Ingredients:
• 1 cup Jules Flour
• 1⁄2 teaspoon salt
• 1⁄3 cup shortening, butter or non-dairy alternative (e.g. Earth Balance® Buttery Sticks/Shortening)
• 2 – 3 tablespoons water (OR 2 Tbs. vodka + 1-2 Tbs. cold water)
• milk (dairy or non-dairy)
Directions:
In a large bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients. Cut in the shortening using two knives or a pastry cutter until it resembles a fine meal. Add the water gradually to make the consistency you need to form a ball – err on the side of it being wetter rather than crumbly. Form a ball with the dough and wrap in plastic and set aside on the counter for 30 minutes while you make your filling.
After allowing the dough to rest, roll the pastry out onto a surface dusted with Jules Flour. A flexible pastry sheet (e.g. Silpat) for that purpose works well. Roll to a diameter at least 1 inch larger than the diameter of your pie pan. Gently lift an edge of the rolled out crust over your rolling pin and use the pin to lift the crust so that it is supported by the rolling pin as you lift it onto your pie plate. Pat into shape and fold approximately ½ inch of excess pie crust over all around the edge to form the crust, then using your fingers, press a fluted design in the crust to finish.
Fill with filling and cover crust edges with foil or pie saver to shield crust. Remove with 10 minutes left of baking and brush the crust with your milk of choice help to brown the crust.
Generally, preheat oven to 375°F and bake for 35 to 40 minutes, or follow directions for your specific pie recipe.
Can’t wait to make these. I usually give some to my grandsons even though they are nit gluten sensitive (yet). Jules, Love your products and recipes keep them coming!;-)
Thanks, Cindy! I’m so happy to be back!!!
~jules
These look so good! I’m going to be making these soon!
CONGRATULATIONS, Susan! You’re our winner! Please email us your shipping address and phone number so we can get your prize out to you! Email [email protected]
~jules
Thank you so much! I’m looking forward to trying new recipes with it. Provided I can keep my husband from eating it all! LOL! He loves it just on slices of bread or crackers.
Oh me too, Susan!!
~jules
I never thought of using apple butter in different recipes! I am going to try it in a cinnamin bread recipe that I have. My mouth is watering already!
These look awesome! I call this the “Jewel” of the week – maybe your blog posts could be called “The Weekly Jules”? I haven’t had pop tarts since I was a child and even before I was diagnosed as a celiac, shied away from the commercial ones because of all the sugar! These look naturally sweet and I can’t wait to try! But Jules – we need your GF Oats up on this site ASAP
YUM!
How about using apple butter for making donuts (preferably baked)?
Oh yes! It’s wonderful in pumpkin doughnuts, too!
~jules
First of all, I WANT one of those pop tarts now! Second, I wonder if one could use apple butter in a sweet bread.
Oh absolutely, Carmita! I use apple butter in banana bread, zucchini bread, banana muffins, cranberry bread … the possibilities are limitless!
~jules
My mouth waters thinking about these. Have to make some ASAP!