Homemade Vegan Strawberry Pop Tarts
These Homemade Vegan Strawberry Pop Tarts are nothing short of flaky, naturally sweet, and everything nice in one little bite. Complete homage to the classic childhood favorite, these pop tarts are packed with strawberry flavor and topped with a delicious maple glaze + fun vegan rainbow sprinkles. The perfect bite for breakfast or a nice in between snack. All vegan ingredients. Gluten-free option.
Servings 8 Pop Tarts
Ingredients
For the 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 cinnamon
- pinch of sea salt
- 1 cup vegan buttery sticks (cold + cubbed) (That's 2 sticks!)
- 1 cup VERY COLD fresh water
- 2 Tbsps apple cider vinegar
Other:
- Strawberry Preserve or Filling (See Notes for Homemade Version!)
- 1/2 tsp juice of a lemon
- Vegan rainbow sprinkles
Maple Glaze/Frosting:
- 2 1/2 cups organic powdered sugar (I use Wholesome Sweets)
- 1/2 cup WARMED pure maple syrup
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1-2 Tbsps Almond milk (You can use your fave plant-based milk!)
Instructions
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 Strawberry Jam Filling (See Notes in Recipe for Homemade).
For the Filling:
- In a small bowl, add 1 cup of strawberry 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 circles using a biscuit cutter, until all dough it used.
- On all circle cuts, lightly brush vegan butter to ensure that they close together best! On one cut dough, add 1 Tbsp of the strawberry filling and carefully cover it with another circular 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.
- 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 Maple Glaze/Frosting:
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar, warmed maple syrup, 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 Maple Frosting atop each and sprinkle with vegan sprinkles. Let pop tarts sit for another 1-2 minutes so that frosting hardens. Enjoy.
- Bon Appetite!
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.
- FLOUR: If you don’t have Pastry Flour available, simply substitute for All-Purpose Flour.
- HOMEMADE STRAWBERRY FILLING: Combine 1 1/2 cups strawberries, 1/2 cup organic pure cane sugar, 1 Tbsp of juice of a lemon, 2-3 Tbsps water, and 1/4 tsp vanilla extract in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil. Lower heat to simmer until the berries are soft. Now mix 1/2 Tbsp arrowroot starch in a small bowl with 1 Tbsp warm water until well combined and lump-free (Add more if needed). Add mixture to saucepan with strawberries and stir until syrup thickens and reduced slightly, approximately 8-10 minutes, Continue to stir occasionally. Once done, remove from heat and continue with Pop Tart Recipe.
- 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!
- 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!