Fork and Beans

Making food fun for the family

Homemade Gluten Free PopTarts

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Let’s be real, my job can be super stressful at times. I catch myself thinking that if I didn’t have to do such-and-such, things would be a whole lot easier but as I started to follow that rationale, I found that I do a lot of that outside of work and in my own personal life. “I’d be a lot happier if I didn’t have to deal with…”, “I’d have a lot more money if it weren’t for….” And then the ephiphany hit me one day as I stared down a pile of new inventory that sat there for hours, waiting to be put out onto the retail floor because I couldn’t get to it as quickly as I wanted to. The anger built inside of me the more I realized I was farther away from getting that task done than I wanted…

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These homemade gluten free PopTarts are just as you remembered them to taste like from your childhood!

The issue isn’t about certain responsibilities slowing me down, the real issue is my need to control things to the point of making sure events (people, etc) occur how I want them to. When do I learn that it’s impossible? Life usually doesn’t happen the way I want it to and yet I still think I can control my outcomes. I am learning, however, that anytime I see that pile of inventory (or insert event or person that might frustrate me because they are not on my schedule) to stop, breathe, and remind myself that this is the best that I can do in the moment. And bake more homemade gluten free PopTarts…

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These homemade gluten free PopTarts are just as you remembered them to taste like from your childhood!

These homemade gluten free PopTarts are just as you remembered them to taste like from your childhood!

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These homemade gluten free PopTarts are just as you remembered them to taste like from your childhood!

Homemade Gluten-Free PopTarts

  • Author: Fork & Beans
  • Prep Time: 20 mins
  • Cook Time: 20 mins
  • Total Time: 40 mins
  • Yield: 6 Pop Tarts 1x
Print Recipe

Ingredients

Scale
  • 1 1/2 c. Cara’s gluten-free flour blend
  • 1 tsp. xanthan gum
  • 1 Tbsp. granulated sugar
  • 1/2 tsp. sea salt
  • 4 Tbsp. nondairy butter, chilled and cubed
  • 4 Tbsp. non-hydrogenated shortening
  • 1–5 Tbsp. ice cold water (see directions for clarification)

For the filling:

  • 6 Tbsp. strawberry jam
  • 1 Tbsp. cornstarch

For the icing:

  • 1 1/2 c. powdered sugar
  • 1/4 c. melted coconut oil
  • 2 Tbsp. hot water
  • 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
  • food coloring
  • sprinkles

Instructions

  1. Whisk the flour, xanthan gum, and sugar together in a large bowl.
  2. Add the non dairy butter and shortening into flour mixture and blend with a fork until dough forms into small lumps.
  3. Add a tablespoon of chilled water at a time (you may only need up to 5 tablespoons total) until dough is cohesive but not too sticky. Divide and roll into 4 balls. Chill in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.
  4. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
  5. For the filling, combine both ingredients in a small bowl.
  6. Take one ball of dough out of the fridge and in between 2 sheets of parchment paper, roll into a 12″x6″ rectangle and 1/4″ flat. Using a pie cutter, gently cut out 2 rectangles.Transfer to a baking sheet with a metal spatula.
  7. Place 1 Tbsp. of the jam mixture on top of both dough rectangles, leaving 1/2″ border along the edges.
  8. Repeat with the next ball of dough. This time, place on top of the jam-filled recatngles already on the baking sheet. Gently take your finger and press down along the edges of the poptart. Follow that with a fork and make indentations to ensure that it is closed and no jam can escape. Poke the tops with the fork.
  9. Repeat until you have 6 total pop tarts made. Bake 20-22 minutes or until lightly browned. Allow to cool.
  10. For the icing, combine sugar into melted oil. Add vanilla, food coloring, and water until thick but thin enough to stir with ease. Add more water if too thick or more powdered sugar if too thin. Top pop tarts with icing and add sprinkles immediately. Allow to set for 10 minutes.

Give these homemade gluten free PopTarts a try over the weekend and watch the look of delight on your little one’s face when she takes her first bite of this childhood classic. 

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About Cara

Based in Chicago with her husband and son, Cara is the creator behind the site Fork and Beans: A place where kids can have fun with their food.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Scott Jasper

    Poptarts were never big for Australians so it is a different concept to making comfort foods that I’m familiar with. I made this and it was delicious, thank you 🙂

  2. Tiffany

    Pretty good! I had to add a lot more flour to the recipe. It was way too pasty. I wasn’t sure how if 8 TBS was correct, but I went with it.
    I made a strawberry chia jam for the filling.

    Thanks for the recipe. <3

  4. Elizabeth

    These were fantastic!! My husband and daughter are gluten free. The rest of my children and I are not. I broke down the other day and bought some Fall poptarts for the rest of us. My daughter was upset that she wasn’t able to eat them. I found this recipe, and she and my husband thought they were better than the store bought version! I have a feeling these will be a staple in my house. I would think this would make an amazing pie crust as well. It was so crispy and flaky! Thank you so much!!

  6. Healing

    Clarify, 1/2 tablespoon up to 5? The dough is chilling, I added only 2,hope I read that correctly
    .
    Also, from past experience, be sure to poke holes to allow steam, they won’t open up or ooze out,
    Thanks

    • Cara

      Hi Healing, Sorry for the confusion! In the directions I say that you want to add 1 tbsp. water at a time until the dough is cohesive. I just changed the ingredients to make more sense. Thank you for pointing it out! xo, Cara

  7. Debra

    Cara- Yum! I’d like to try this recipe…are the pop tarts “toastable?” after they have cooled? I would leave off the beautiful icing to toast…my goal: homemade poptarts that can be popped from freezer to toaster! Perfect to go treats! Have you tried that

  8. Kara Longacre

    One of the biggest things I miss since vegetarian/vegan is Poptarts…this is awesome!

    However, I am not gluten-free…do you think I could just regular wheat flour?

    • Cara

      I always encourage to give it a try. I created this recipe with gluten-free flour so you might need to adjust it but I think you should be fine 🙂 xo

  9. Michelle

    Cara, IT SO TOTALLY WORKED even w/o the xantham/guar! I’m in heaven thanks to you~ Your recipes fell into my lap at just the right time (realizing I can help my son’s TS thru nutrition!!) I soooo love you, thanks for your help~

    • Cara

      PHEW! I have been wondering about that for the past few days–thank the kitchen gods! 🙂 So happy to help, Michelle 😉

  10. Michelle

    Cara, HELP ME!!!
    I was just about to make these poptarts (we miss those so much haha but on a side bar I’ve reimplemented cereal thanks to you whoop whoop)and realized I threw out my xantham gum (son’s TS elimating corn/products)and tho I thought I purchased guar gum it’s no where to be found. Is there ANY other product that can be used in place of these two?? 🙁 I was so excited to be having these when the kids returned from school today~

    • Cara

      Hi Michelle! Have no fear, you actually might be able to get away with not using the xanthan what-so-ever. I have been making crackers and cookies lately that resemble the measurements of a pie crust (like here in the Pop Tarts recipe) sans xanthan and they have turned out just fine. My tip would to make sure the dough is pliable so if it feels a bit crumbly after you have chilled it, played with it with your hands to warm it up and smooth it out. They might (read: will) crack in the heat but they will be delicious regardless. Oh and don’t touch them until they have fully cooled. This will ensure them from crumbling. Hope this helps and sending you some good Pop Tart vibes! 😉 Let me know how it goes…xo, Cara

  11. Alyse

    These are amazing! I tried them last night and all butter instead of shortening. I think dough for these would also work well for pie crust.

  12. Genesa

    Hi Cara, This looks like a really good recipe, I would like to try and make these real soon. However, I am not a big fan of the mouth feel of shortening (I know it is a little bit but still makes my mouth feel grease). Is there anything that I could use instead of shortening?

    Thank you,

  13. mmmarzipan

    These look sooo cute! And yummy! I think I have all the ingredients except for your flour blend… but I’d love to try these. Who am I kidding? I’d like to try everything you make!

    • Cara

      Hi Joyce! Yes you can use any GF flour mix however I cannot guarantee the same results with any changes. If you click on the link of Cara’s (my) GF flour mix, you will see the post of my homemade flour blend 🙂

  16. Anna {Herbivore Triathlete}

    My kids would love these poptarts, so cute! I am the same way Cara with the need to control and for perfection. It’s a very stressful way to live and I only have myself to blame. As others have said, it’s all about perspective and appreciating what we have, but that’s easier said than done and I’m guilty of letting life overwhelm me frequently.

  21. Michelle Thomas

    These look amazing! Can I sub out Guar Gum for the Xanthan? My daughter has a corn allergy and that’s where Xanthan comes from.

  23. Suzanne @RollWithIt

    AHHHHHH Cara! If you were 6’2″, 240lbs and good in bed you’d be my husband! 🙂 Always looking at how things could have been “better” if he had made another choice. Then there is me in the background screaming in my high pitch voice “JUST ENJOY WHAT YOU’VE GOT!!!!” Yes, I feel positivity is better screamed at people then remaining calm…you can just imagine the dynamic in our household, can’t you?

  26. Abby

    And it’s all about perspective. Remember how stressed you were when you were out of a job? Things seemed out of control, but in reality you were just destined for something much more…and pop tarts.

    • Cara

      Absolutely! You are seeing a theme here, aren’t you? 😉 Thank you for pointing that out as well because perspective is what I need constantly. xo

  28. Deanna

    I’ve tried a similar recipe before and the filling always bubbles out making such a mess, and leaving the tarts kind of hollow. Thanks for the tip on mixing a bit of cornstarch into the jam!

    • Cara

      Hopefully this works out for you, Deanna. I had luck with this batch without the mess so I am hoping it will be the same for you 🙂

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