Easy Vegan Apricot Pop Tarts

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These Easy Vegan Apricot Pop Tarts are nothing short of flaky, perfectly sweetened, bursting with the fresh summer flavor of apricots, and topped with a simple vanilla frosting. Complete homage to the classic childhood favorite, these pop tarts are a sure crowd-pleaser, even for picky eaters. The perfect bite for breakfast, brunch, or a nice in between snack. All Vegan ingredients. Gluten-Free option available.

Pop Tarts. Easy Vegan Apricot Pop Tarts. Where do I begin? Honestly, these little flaky, squared sweet treats are MY LIFE! Haha.

If you’ve been an avid follower of Orchids + Sweet Tea, then you know that pop tarts were my absolute FAVE growing up!

The Kellogg’s Strawberry w/ the Vanilla Frosting + Sprinkles were my ride or die for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

I seriously indulged in those things at least twice or more a day. Personally, I loved when they made them so perfectly thin. I’m obsessed.

Now, however, since I’m on a health-conscious journey, many of my old habits have been thrown out the window and although I no longer purchase that little blue box of pop tarts, I’m a huge pop tart maker at home.

Seriously, pop tarts are so easy to whip together. It’s unbelievable that I didn’t begin making my pop tarts a lot sooner.

Of course, that’s why I’m so excited to share these with you.

If you love pop tarts like I do, then I’d suggest trying my Homemade Vegan Apple-Cinnamon Pop Tarts, Homemade Blueberry Vegan Pop Tarts, or these Strawberry Glazed Vegan Breakfast Pop Tarts.

Trust me, you won’t be disappointed by the flavors above. They are SO GOOD!

OK, so back to my sentiments on pop tarts and the universal love that the world shares with them.

I recently came across an article from Delish, where they mentioned the 15 Things You Need To Know Before You Eat Another Pop Tart, which was a very interesting article I might add.

In this article, they spoke about all of the interesting things about pop tarts that most of us might not have known. I KNOW!

A Few Interesting Pop Tart Facts:

• They inspire bartenders to create shots names after pop tart flavors.
• THREE flavors outsell the rest: Froster Strawberry (whoot, whoot!!), Brown Sugar Cinnamon, and S’Mores.
• There use to be a Pop Tart-themed Restaurant here in NYC.
• Some stores sell exclusive flavors that others don’t.
• People actually debate how to eat pop tarts (Yes, it’s a thing!)
• They can REALLY shoot flames out of your toaster (Yes, it’s real!)
• Pop Tarts had it’s own cereal back in the early 90’s.
• And the list goes on!

So to all of the pop tart fanatics, including myself—-we’re RIGHTFULLY OBSESSED for a reason! Haha.

Proven Ways To Ensure That Your Pop Tarts Are Perfect EVERY TIME:

TIP #1: MAKE YOUR FILLING FIRST!

Yes, I know. You’re probably wondering why I said this, however, when making your filling from scratch, it definitely helps to make your filling ahead of time so that it cools completely.

Also, this gives you enough time to ensure that it comes out as perfect and thick as you’d like before having to use it in your recipe.

TIP #2: MORE PASTRY FLOUR = MORE FLAKINESS!

OK, so this one is a HUGE MUST, especially if you want to have an extremely flaky crust! Much like other pastries (i.e. Hand Pies, Pie Crusts, etc.), using pastry flour more heavily than All-Purpose Flour helps to create a nice outer-layer.

Granted, cold cubed butter does help with this as well, however, I’ve discovered that adding pastry flour to the mix creates a better situation!

TIP #3: DIMENSIONS MATTER!

I must admit that in my previous attempt to make Pop Tarts, I randomly cut the squares, which obviously came out super uneven.

However, with this recipe, I did a bit of research and found that cutting them 3” x 4” worked magic and made them so even and perfect!

Also, keep in mind that when rolling out your dough, making sure that it’s at least 1/4” thick is super important. This ensures that your filling stays inside and everything doesn’t fall a part.

TIP #4: LET THEM COOL, COOL, COOL!

Now, if you’re anything like me then you’re probably just as impatient to try these goodies before they fully cool, so that means that you might also prematurely add the glaze and watch it melt off like a snowman in heat. Haha.

BUT you must let your Pop Tarts FULLY cool (place them in a cool room or open window to speed things up!) before glazing them. No exceptions!

Pop Tart Filling: Real Fruits vs. Jam.

OK, so let’s talk about the filling. Usually when making my homemade pop tarts, I create my filling using real fruit or frozen ones.

However, with this pop tart recipe, I chose to go with one of my go-to preserves by Bonne Maman. They are my favorite brand because their preserves are organic, have no GMOs, no high fructose syrup, no food colorings, or preservatives.

Plus, they have a ton of other flaovrs, therefore, you can mix and match as you pelase.

For that reason, I felt comfortable using this instead of making my own filling.

If choosing to make your own homemade filling, that can be done easily by heating your fruit (whether fresh or frozen) in a saucepan along with a healthy sweetener (Wholesome Sweet’s pure cane sugar, Sugar in the Raw’s organic brown sugar, Agave, etc.), followed by a touch of lemon juice (for acidity) and a little arrowroot starch or cornstarch as a thickener. That simple.

So it’s truly based on your personal preference and the time that you have set aside to whip together your pop tarts.

Making Your Pop Tarts Gluten-Free.

To make these GF, simply substitute All-Purpose Flour with 2 cups Gluten-Free Flour (Bob’s Red Mill has a great one!) and the Pastry Flour with 1/2 cup coconut flour. If your GF Flour doesn’t have Xanthan Gum included, add 1tsp in recipe. Also, reduce vegan butter to 1 3/4 sticks instead of 2. Simply continue the recipe per usual after that.

Now, let’s take a bite into this recipe, shall we?

For the Crust:

In a measuring cup, add the cold water and apple cider vinegar along with an ice cube and set aside.

In a large bowl, add the all-purpose flour, pastry flour, sea salt, cinnamon, and organic pure cane sugar, whisking them all together.

Add the cubed vegan butter sticks (or regular vegan butter) and using a pastry blender, blend butter into dry ingredients until the mixture becomes “peas-like” and crumbly.

Pour the cold apple cider vinegar-water mixture (slowly + without the ice) and stir (working it together with one hand) until the dry ingredients are moistened. **NOTE: If the ingredients feels a little too dry, add 1 Tbsp of cold water at a time, until it’s moistened BUT not too wet!**

Now, shape the dough into a ball and wrap it in plastic wrap and flatten it slightly and chill for at least 1 hour.

In the meantime, make the Apricot Filling.

For the Filling:

In a small bowl, add 1 cup of apricot preserves and lightly squeeze 1 Tbsp of lemon juice in it and stir together until incorporated.

Set aside.

Assembly:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

Once chilled, remove the dough from the refrigerator and place on a lightly floured surface, rolling it out into a large rectangle (about 3 mm thick). Cut into small-medium rectangles (3″ wide and 4″ long), until all dough it used.

On all rectangular cuts, lightly brush vegan butter to ensure that they close together best! On one cut dough, add 1 Tbsp of the Apricot filling and carefully cover it with another rectangular piece, gently pressing the edges down. Using a fork, carefully “crimp” around the edges and place on the baking sheet.

Repeat until all pop tarts are made.

Once all are laid flat on the baking sheet, gently prick a set of holes on the tops using a fork.

Lightly brush all pop tart tops with melted vegan butter and bake in the oven 20-25 minutes, until golden brown and the filling begins to become bubbly and begins to slightly seep out.

Once done, remove from the oven and let them cool for a few minutes (10 minutes or so).

For Simple Vanilla Glaze/Frosting:

In a medium bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar, vanilla, and almond milk until smooth. For more thickness, add additional powdered sugar, 1 Tbsp at a time. If too thick, add almond milk, 1 Tbsp at a time.

Once pop tarts have cooled completely, spoon 1-2 Tbsps of Vanilla Frosting atop each and sprinkle with vegan sprinkles. Let pop tarts sit for another 1-2 minutes so that frosting hardens. Enjoy.

Bon Appetite!

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Easy Vegan Apricot Pop Tarts

These Easy Vegan Apricot Pop Tarts are nothing short of flaky, perfectly sweetened, bursting with the fresh summer flavor of apricots, and topped with a simple vanilla frosting. Complete homage to the classic childhood favorite, these pop tarts are a sure crowd-pleaser, even for picky eaters. The perfect bite for breakfast, brunch, or a nice in between snack. All Vegan ingredients. Gluten-Free option available.

Course: Breakfast, Brunch, Dessert

Keyword apricot, baked, breakfast, classic, crust, dairy-free, dessert, easy, flaky, gluten-free, healthy, homemade, indulge, plant-based, pop tarts, recipe, sprinkles, sweet, traditional, vegan

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 25 minutes

Total Time: 35 minutes

Servings: 8 pop tarts

Creator Shanika | Orchids + Sweet Tea

Must-Haves:

Crust:

• 1 cup organic all-purpose flour (I use Bob’s Red Mill; See Notes for GF version!)
• 1 1/2 cups organic pastry flour (I use Bob’s Red Mill; See Notes for GF version!)
• 2 Tbsps organic pure cane sugar (I use Wholesome Sweets)
• pinch of sea salt
• 1 cup vegan buttery sticks (cold + cubbed) (I use Earth's Balance; That's 2 sticks!)
• 1 cup VERY COLD fresh water
• 2 Tbsps apple cider vinegar
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon

Filling:

• 1 cup apricot preserves (I use Bonne Maman)
• 1/2 lemon

Simple Vanilla Glaze/Frosting:

• 1 1/2 cups organic powdered sugar
• 1 tsp vanila extract
• 1-2 Tbsps Almond milk (I use Califia Farms; You can use your fave plant-based milk!)

Other:

• Vegan sprinkles

Instructions:

For the Crust:

1. In a measuring cup, add the cold water and apple cider vinegar along with an ice cube and set aside.

2. In a large bowl, add the all-purpose flour, pastry flour, sea salt, cinnamon, and organic pure cane sugar, whisking them all together.

3. Add the cubed vegan butter sticks (or regular vegan butter) and using a pastry blender, blend butter into dry ingredients until the mixture becomes “peas-like” and crumbly.

4. Pour the cold apple cider vinegar-water mixture (slowly + without the ice) and stir (working it together with one hand) until the dry ingredients are moistened. **NOTE: If the ingredients feels a little too dry, add 1 Tbsp of cold water at a time, until it’s moistened BUT not too wet!**

5. Now, shape the dough into a ball and wrap it in plastic wrap and flatten it slightly and chill for at least 1 hour.

6. In the meantime, make the Apricot Filling.

For the Filling:

1. In a small bowl, add 1 cup of apricot preserves and lightly squeeze 1 Tbsp of lemon juice in it and stir together until incorporated.

2. Set aside.

Assembly:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

2. Once chilled, remove the dough from the refrigerator and place on a lightly floured surface, rolling it out into a large rectangle (about 3 mm thick). Cut into small-medium rectangles (3″ wide and 4″ long), until all dough it used.

3. On all rectangular cuts, lightly brush vegan butter to ensure that they close together best! On one cut dough, add 1 Tbsp of the Apricot filling and carefully cover it with another rectangular piece, gently pressing the edges down. Using a fork, carefully “crimp” around the edges and place on the baking sheet.

4. Repeat until all pop tarts are made.

5. Once all are laid flat on the baking sheet, gently prick a set of holes on the tops using a fork.

6. Lightly brush all pop tart tops with melted vegan butter and bake in the oven 20-25 minutes, until golden brown and the filling begins to become bubbly and begins to slightly seep out.

7. Once done, remove from the oven and let them cool for a few minutes (10 minutes or so).

For Simple Vanilla Glaze/Frosting:

1. In a medium bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar, vanilla, and almond milk until smooth. For more thickness, add additional powdered sugar, 1 Tbsp at a time. If too thick, add almond milk, 1 Tbsp at a time.

2. Once pop tarts have cooled completely, spoon 1-2 Tbsps of Vanilla Frosting atop each and sprinkle with vegan sprinkles. Let pop tarts sit for another 1-2 minutes so that frosting hardens. Enjoy.

3. Bon Appetite!

Tips | Notes:

STORAGE: Leftover pop tarts can be stored in an airtight container for 1-3 days. To serve warm, heat in the microwave, or flat in a toaster oven. 

FREEZE: For longer storage–pop tarts can be stored in the freezer. After they have baked and are completely cooled, simply place your pop tarts onto a baking sheet (spaced apart) and freeze them for 2-3 hours. Once frozen, transfer them to a zip loc bag and reheat when ready to eat! 

FOOD PROCESSOR FOR CRUST: If using a food processor to incorporate water to flour/butter mixture, ONLY ADD 1/4 cup of water AT A TIME to your dough, keeping it on “pulse” to avoid the dough from breaking down too much and it becoming “watery”. With this method, you may not need the entire 1 cup of water.

TIPS FOR PERFECT POP TARTS: Be sure to read tips within the post!

FLOUR: If you don’t have Pastry Flour available, simply substitute for All-Purpose Flour.

GLUTEN-FREE VERSION: To make these GF, simply substitute All-Purpose Flour with 2 cups Gluten-Free Flour (Bob’s Red Mill has a great one!) and the Pastry Flour with 1/2 cup coconut flour. If your GF Flour doesn’t have Xanthan Gum included, add 1tsp in recipe. Also, reduce vegan butter to 1 3/4 sticks instead of 2. Continue all other steps!

 

Easy Vegan Apricot Pop Tarts.

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