Homemade Vegan Apple-Cinnamon Pop Tarts

Vegan Apple-Cinnamon Pop Tarts on a table with a spoon of sprinkles.

4.85 from 20 votes

Homemade Vegan Apple-Cinnamon Pop Tarts

These Homemade Vegan Apple-Cinnamon Pop Tarts are subtly sweet and full of nostalgia. A flaky, buttery fall treat everyone is sure to LOVE.

Prep Time10

Cook Time25

Total Time35

Course: Breakfast, Dessert, Snack

Keyword: apple, apples, baked, breakfast, brunch, cinnamon, classic, dairy-free, easy, fall recipe, healthy, indulge, maple, pastry, plant-based, pop tarts, recipe, vegan

Servings: Pop Tarts

Calories: 401kcal

Author: Shanika

Ingredients

Crust:

1 cup organic all-purpose flour (I use Bob’s Red Mill; See Notes for GF version!)
1 ½ cups organic pastry flour (I use Bob’s Red Mill; See Notes for GF version!)
2 Tbsps organic pure cane sugar
pinch of sea salt
1 cup vegan buttery sticks (cubed) OR vegan butter (That’s 2 sticks!)
1 cup ice cold water
2 Tbsps apple cider vinegar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Filling:

2 cups diced apples (That's about 2-3 medium Granny apples!)
½ cup organic pure cane sugar
1 tablespoon juice of a lemon
2-3 Tbsps Tbsps water
¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon Arrowroot powder + 2 Tbsps warm water (Add additional if needed)
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
pinch of ground cardamom

Other:

Maple Icing/Glaze (See Notes!)
Vegan Rainbow Sprinkles

US Customary - Metric

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 tablespoon 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 Apple Filling.

For the Filling:

In a saucepan, add the apples, juice of a lemon, organic pure cane sugar, vanilla, and water and cook on medium-high heat, stirring until they release their juices. Continue cooking until the liquid is reduced considerably. Add cinnamon, nutmeg, and a pinch of cardamom. To thicken, add arrowroot mixture to sauce and stir until thickened.
Remove from the heat and let cool for a few minutes. **NOTE: The consistency should look slightly runny, but thick and gooey.**

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 tablespoon of the Apple-Cinnamon 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).
Once pop tarts have cooled completely, spoon 1-2 Tbsps of Maple Frosting (See Notes) atop each and sprinkle with vegan sprinkles. Let pop tarts sit for another 1-2 minutes so that frosting hardens. Enjoy.
Bon Appetite!

Notes

FOR MAPLE GLAZE: Begin by adding ½ cup maple syrup to a small skillet on medium-high heat, bringing it to a boil. Whisk in 1 teaspoon vanilla extract and let boil for another minute or two before removing it from the heat. Add 1 ½ cups powdered sugar into a large bowl followed by the hot maple syrup-mixture, whisking them together until nice and smooth. **NOTE: The consistency should be velvety; if needed add more powdered sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time.**
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 ¼ 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 ½ cup coconut flour. If your GF Flour doesn't have Xanthan Gum included, add 1tsp in recipe. Also, reduce vegan butter to 1 ¾ sticks instead of 2. Continue all other steps!

Nutrition