Homemade gluten-free pop tarts feature a classic flaky pastry filled with sweet strawberry jam and topped with a vanilla glaze. Each bite is buttery, tender, sweet, and nostalgic.
Gluten-Free Pop Tart Recipe
The Pop Tart, also known as a toaster pastry, is one of the breakfast treats from my childhood that I’ll always remember. I could never find a good store-bought option that was gluten-free, and since my kids are all gluten-free they’ve never been able to try these tasty treats I loved so much at their age.
I decided I would try to make homemade gluten-free pop tarts with my Gluten-Free Pie Crust recipe. I made a few tweaks, and sure enough, the classic crumbly soft dough came out just right. It’s actually so easy. I used a mix of cold butter and shortening to give the pastries their signature flaky crumbs, filled them with a sweet strawberry jam, and drizzled them with their signature vanilla glaze. These kid-friendly gluten-free snacks are worth a try.
Gluten-Free Pop Tarts
Servings: 9 servings
Prep: 30 minutes
Cook: 20 minutes
chilling time: 45 minutes
Total: 1 hour 25 minutes
Ingredients
- 2 3/4 cup gluten-free all-purpose rice flour blend with xanthan gum. , I like Pillsbury gluten-free flour. Not all gluten-free flours are created equal. You may experience different baking results depending on the gluten-free flour blend you choose.
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup very cold unsalted butter, dairy-free use Smart Balance butter
- 1/2 cup very cold shortening
- 2 large eggs
- 1/2 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
- 6 tablespoons ice cold water
- 16 teaspoon gluten-free seedless strawberry jam
Egg Wash
- 1 large egg
- 1 tablespoon water
Glaze
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons water
Instructions
TO MAKE THE PASTRY DOUGH
- Chop the butter into small chunks and place in a small bowl. Put the butter, shortening, and water into the freezer for about 5 minutes or until really cold.
- Add the gluten-free flour, sugar, salt in a large bowl and stir to combine the ingredients.
- Add the butter and shortening to the flour mixture and mix until the butter and shortening are incorporated into the flour. I use my stand-up mixer with the paddle attachment, but you can use a hand mixer or a pastry cutter.
- Add in the eggs, water and apple cider vinegar and mix until the dough starts to form and all the ingredients are combined. The dough will be sticky.
- Shape the dough into a ball, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 45 minutes.
TO ASSEMBLE THE PASTRIES
- Preheat your oven to 350°F.
- Unwrap the dough ball, cut the dough ball in half and place the half onto parchment paper lightly floured with gluten-free flour.
- Shape the dough half into a rectangle. Lightly flour the pastry with gluten-free flour, and using a rolling pin, roll out the dough to about 1/4-inch thick.
- Using a pizza cutter, cut the 9-inch by 8-inch rectangle.
- Cut out the dough into 3-inch by 4-inch rectangles. I used a ruler as a guide.
- Place the dough rectangles onto a parchment-lined baking sheet.
- Repeat the steps with the other half of the dough ball to make 8 more rectangles. These will be the tops of the pastries. You will have 16 rectangles in total (8 for the bottom and 8 for the tops).
- Spread 2 teaspoons of seedless jam of the top of each dough rectangle.
- Place the dough rectangles on top of the filling-topped dough rectangles.
- Use a fork to crimp the sides of the dough together.
- Use a fork to poke the tops of the pop tarts 3 times. This allows the steam to escape.
EGG WASH
- In a small bowl whisk together the egg and stir in the water.
- Brush egg wash on the tops of the pop tarts. If you skip this step your pastries will not be golden.
- Bake for 20-25 minutes until the pastries are golden and browning on the edges.
- Let the baked pop tarts cool on the pan for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely before glazing.
GLAZE
- In a small bowl whisk together the ingredients for the glaze until smooth.
- Use a spoon or small spatula to glaze each pop tart. The glaze will slightly harden.
- Store pop tarts in an airtight container at room temperature for 3 days or in the refrigerator for 6 days.
Notes
- I have found that the best way to measure gluten-free flour is to use the “spoon & level” method. Use a spoon to scoop the flour out of the bag into a dry measuring cup (not a Pyrex measuring cup used for liquid). After spooning the flour into a measuring cup, use the back of a knife to level the flour off the measuring cup.
- Do not substitute butter for the shortening. Shortening is key to maintaining the moisture of the dough.
Nutrition
Serving: 1 pop tart Calories: 449kcal Carbohydrates: 54g Protein: 6g Fat: 25g Saturated Fat: 10g Cholesterol: 97mg Sodium: 251mg Potassium: 36mg Fiber: 4g Sugar: 26g Vitamin A: 417IU Vitamin C: 1mg Calcium: 41mg Iron: 2mg
