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These brown sugar and cinnamon frosted gluten free pop tarts are just like the “real” thing. Fill them with jam, nut butter, or a bit of Nutella to make them your family's favorite!
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Do you have memories of Pop Tarts for breakfast?
Pop Tarts were the breakfast of champions in the 1980's. I don't remember ever having anything else before school, latchkey kid that I was. And it seemed like such a good idea, too. Until an hour later when I was hungry again. Then, not such a good idea.
But I'd do it again the next day. We had a seemingly endless supply of them. I took that to mean that I was doing what I was meant to do by eating them every morning.
Filling options for these gluten free pop tarts
Everyone has a favorite kind. Frosting or not. Jam filling or brown sugar and cinnamon (the latter for me, thanks).
You can use 1 tablespoon of your favorite type of seedless jam in the center of each of these, instead of the brown sugar and cinnamon mixture. It should not leak, as long as you resist the urge to add too much. Same goes with Nutella or even a dab of peanut butter.
You can also make the same filling as we used for our McDonald's style handheld apple pies, with cooked diced apples with cinnamon and sugar as a filling.
What makes these homemade gluten free pop tarts special?
You can make toaster pastries with a basic gluten free pastry crust. In fact, if you search for homemade pop tarts recipes, that's mostly what you'll find.
But if you want them to taste like the Pop Tarts you remember, you'll need a different crust recipe. In this recipe for gluten free pop tarts, the butter is melted, not cold like in traditional pastry.
The crust doesn't puff like pastry. Instead, it flakes, more like shortbread, but the crust isn't as fragile as shortbread cookies. And it's made with an egg, more like butter cookies.
How to store and refresh these gluten free pop tarts
The finished pastries can be stored in a sealed glass container at room temperature and should maintain their texture for at least 3 days. Storing something in a glass container maintains texture, although a plastic container tends to make anything crispy become soft and weepy.
For longer storage, try piling the prepared pastries in a freezer-safe container (a rectangular container that is at least 5-inches tall is ideal). There's no need to freeze them first in a single layer, as they're very stable at room temperature. Once the glaze is completely set, it shouldn't be damaged in storing them.
To refresh them, do just what you do with a Kellogg's Pop Tart: pop it in the toaster oven! There's no need to defrost the pastries if they've been frozen. But remember that, if they're frosted, that part gets super hot so be careful with those fingers!
Gluten free Pop Tarts Ingredients and Substitution Suggestions
Gluten free dairy free pop tarts
The butter in the crust is the essential dairy in this recipe, and what you'll struggle to replace perfectly. I would try Melt brand or Miyoko's Kitchen brand vegan butter, or butter flavored Spectrum brand nonhydrogenated vegetable shortening. The milk can be your favorite nondairy milk, or even water.
Gluten free egg free pop tarts
There is only one egg in this recipe, but it really helps stabilize and add richness to the pastries. You can try replacing it with a “chia egg” (1 tablespoon ground white chia seeds + 1 tablespoon lukewarm water, mixed and allowed to gel).
Gluten free pop tarts without cornstarch
The cornstarch in this recipe can easily be replaced with arrowroot, tapioca starch/flour, or even potato starch. If you're using a higher starch blend like Cup4Cup, replace the cornstarch, by weight, with more Cup4Cup.
Gluten free sugar free pop tarts?
These are not “lightly sweet” breakfast cookies, like our oatmeal breakfast cookies. When I give them to my children, I do not kid myself that they're “healthy.” There is plenty of sugar in the dough, and the filling.
If you're really motivated, the crust might work with a granulated sugar replacement (I like Lankato brand monkfruit granulated sugar replacement), but those tend to be drying so you'll almost certainly need more moisture. The risk is that the dough will be tough, since sugar is a tenderizer.
No, Kellogg's brand Pop Tart toaster pastries are not gluten free, as they are made with wheat flour. They do not have a gluten free variety, either.
Yes, there are a few companies that sell gluten free toaster pastries. If you'd like to try some of them, the brands are Katz, Bobos, and Flings toaster pastries. Glutino used to make a variety, but they've been discontinues. In my opinion, the only ones that come at all close to tasting like the “real thing” are Katz, but they're a distant second to this recipe for homemade gluten free pop tarts.
No, Pillsbury Toaster Strudel handheld pastries, like Kellogg's Pop Tarts, contain wheat flour so they are not gluten free.
Yes, these pastries actually keep very well. Just bake them fully, let them cool, add the glaze and let it set fully, then wrap the pop tarts individually with freezer-safe wrap. Place them in a single layer on a flat surface, and place that surface in the freezer for 30 minutes to an hour. Pile the pastries into a freezer-safe zip top bag, and return to the freezer for up to 3 months.
Unwrap a frozen pastry, and place it in the toaster oven. Turn the toaster oven on to 300°F and bake until warm throughout. Alternatively, you could let the frozen pastry sit at room temperature until it's defrosted and either toast it or enjoy it as is.
Gluten free pop tarts recipe
Gluten Free Pop Tarts | Authentic Taste
Ingredients
For the pastry crust
- 2 ¼ cups (315 g) all purpose gluten free flour blend, (I used Better Batter; click thru for info on appropriate blends), plus more for sprinkling
- 1 teaspoon xanthan gum, omit if your blend already contains it
- ¼ cup (36 g) cornstarch
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¾ cup (150 g) granulated sugar
- 8 tablespoons (112 g) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 (50 g (weighed out of shell)) egg, at room temperature, beaten
- ¼ cup (2 fluid ounces) milk, at room temperature, plus more by the half-teaspoonful as needed
For the filling
- ½ cup (109 g) packed light brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon (9 g) cornstarch
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
For the glaze
- 1 cup (115 g) confectioners’ sugar
- ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 2 teaspoons lukewarm water, plus more by the half-teaspoonful as necessary
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350°F. Line a large rimmed baking sheet with unbleached parchment paper and set it aside.
Prepare the crust.
- In a large bowl, place the flour, xanthan gum, cornstarch, salt, and granulated sugar, and whisk to combine well.
- Create a well in the center of the dry ingredients and add the melted butter, vanilla, beaten egg, and 1/4 cup milk and mix to combine. The dough will be thick.
- Knead the dough with your hands until it’s smooth, adding more milk by the half-teaspoonful as necessary to bring the dough together.
- Divide the dough into two equal parts and work with one at a time, covering the other with plastic wrap or a towel to prevent it from drying out.
- Place the first piece of dough on a lightly floured surface and dust lightly with more flour to prevent it from sticking. Roll out the dough about 1/4-inch thick, moving the dough frequently and sprinkling it with more flour as necessary.
- Slice it into rectangles approximately 3-inches x 4-inches. Reroll each rectangle a bit more until it’s a bit less than 1/4-inch thick.
- Gather and reroll scraps, and repeat with the other half of the dough. There should be at least 24 rectangles in total. If you have fewer, try for at least an even number of rectangles because you’ll be pairing them.
Prepare filling/assemble pastries.
- Placing all the filling ingredients in a small bowl and mixing them to combine well.
- Place about 1 tablespoon of filling in the center of of half of the rectangles of dough and spread it into an even layer, leaving about a 1/2-inch border clean on all sides.
- Cover the filling on each rectangle with a matching rectangle, and press all around the clean edge to seal. Trim any unmatched or jagged edges.
- Place the pastries about 2-inches apart from one another on the prepared baking sheet. Dock the pastries by piercing them all over the top with a toothpick or the tines of a fork.
Bake the pastries.
- Place the baking sheet in the center of the preheated oven and bake until the pastries are very lightly golden brown on the edges and set in the center, about 8 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and allow the pastries to cool completely.
Make the glaze/glaze the pastries.
- In a small bowl, place the confectioners’ sugar and ground cinnamon, and mix to combine well. Add the 2 teaspoonful of water and mix until combined into a thick paste.
- Add more water by the half-teaspoonful as necessary to create a thickly pourable glaze.
- Spread the glaze generously on top of each cooled pastry. Allow to set completely at room temperature.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I also grew up on Pop Tarts, strawberry frosted was my favorite, though cinnamon sugar a close second :) Thanks, Nicole, for making all the old and new favorites GF.
These look so great!! Other recipes floating around seem to have pastry layers that are too thick. These look much more authentic. My favorite pop tart is also the brown sugar one, but bring on the frosting for me!!
I just wanted to add that when I make these I use a can of pillsbury frosting ( most are gf and cf) to frost them. I put a little on a spatula and as soon as they come out of the oven I frost them. The pillsbury often come with sprinkles of some sort so I put them on right away too while the frosting is hot. When it cools, it makes a hard glaze, just like the frosted ones you grew up with! Also, williams-sonoma makes a really cool cutter for these too!
First let me say thank you from the bottom of my heart…for all of your recipes! You have changed my 11 year olds gluten free life! It’s tough being an 11 year old girl but it’s even tougher when you can’t eat what your friends can…especially when you could until just a year ago.
Question…how would you make a filling and frosting for the brown sugar and cinnamon kind? Those were her favorite kind in her gluten eating days.
Thanks!
For me, I would probably put Nutella inside. ; ) I have even seen recipes where pizza sauce and cheese are put in. Yum pizza for breakfast. I noticed you didn’t prick holes in the top crust and wondered why.
I am SOOOOOO missing Pop-Tarts! I’m excited to try these. I am one of the ones that like the frosting kind though so I’ll have to try to find one I like.
I do have a question. My favorite growing up (and right up until my dx in March 2012) is the frosted fudge kind. Would it be possible to make the pastry dough chocolate/fudge flavored? How would I go about that? (I’m a baking novice in general but definitely in GF baking!)
Loving all the recipes from the emails. I just need to stock up on the cookbooks now! LOL
These are great! I’m going to share with my sister so my niece can have pop tarts again!
I am with you, Brown Sugar and Cinnamon with no frosting. Of course!
I miss toasted pastries SO MUCH, now I have a recipe to recreate those little junk food goodnesses :P
THANK YOU! :D
OMG I love you SO MUCH!!! You are my dream come true. Getting your book on my nook right now.