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It’s no secret that my older daughter has an interest in pop tarts (since I recently shared on facebook that she’s apparently been “trading” at snack time to get some!) so clearly I had to do something about it. First of all, we took her to the store and let her pick out a box of organic frosted pop tarts. Organic or not…they are still completely junk food with loads of added sugar. I am not the one who is 7-years-old though, and I can understand how “store-bought” and “packaging” may sometimes play an important role at school. So I showed her how much sugar they contain, in order to convey that they are really more of a dessert than a snack, and she decided she’d like to take one as a snack anyway and one as a dessert on another day (they come in packs of 2). I let my younger daughter do the same, and she was beyond thrilled to be an innocent bystander in all of this decision making 
.
After all of that was behind us I put the box of remaining pop tarts “away” (up high and not visible in the pantry of course!) and thankfully neither child said much else about it. Hoping their need for “store bought” pop tarts was satisfied I decided we should try making our own as well. I am not the first person to make a homemade knock-off pop tart recipe so just think of these as the super EASY whole-grain version. I honestly can’t believe how easy these are to make and how good they taste…everyone loves them! They are for the “kids” of course, but I find myself rationing out my share as well. I never liked pop tarts as a kid myself because I was a toaster strudel girl, but this recipe somehow unites both of those worlds with one pretty awesome outcome. Just try for yourself, and you’ll see that this recipe does not disappoint.
Before I share the recipe though, I would like to quickly introduce one of our newest sponsors…MadeOn: Skin Care Products. They have the coolest lotion that’s actually hard like a soap bar. Not only does this lotion contain just three ingredients (that I am familiar with, can pronounce, and are even edible!), but it really stays on your skin unlike the store bought creamy lotion. Just check out this picture of my daughter’s hands. I put the “Bee Silk” Hard Lotion on her, and then she washed her hands afterward. As you can see it looks like water on a duck’s back with this lotion at work. I used to avoid washing my hands after putting on lotion (because it would take it right off), but now I don’t have to worry about that with MadeOn Hard Lotion! Here’s the link to their store…we’d love for you to check it out and also be sure to use coupon code “100 Days” for 15% off your entire order: http://www.hardlotion.com/.
- 2 ¼ cup whole-wheat flour, plus extra for rolling out the dough
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 cup cold, unsalted butter (2 sticks)
- ½ cup water plus ice
- 1 egg beaten with a splash of water
- 7 – 8 tablespoons
- jam or jelly (we prefer either homemade jam or an all-fruit spread that’s sweetened with fruit juice concentrate as opposed to sugar or high-fructose corn syrup)
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Put the flour and salt in a food processor with the dough blade and pulse it together briefly.
- Meanwhile fill a glass measuring cup with ½ cup water and add a few ice cubes to it.
- Take the cold butter straight out of the fridge and cut it into ½ inch chunks. Sprinkle the pieces of butter on top of the flour in the food processor. Be careful to spread out the butter as opposed to letting it all clump together in one piece.
- Turn on the food processor and blend until the mixture resembles a crumbly meal. While the food processor is still running add ⅓ cup water through the top. Watch the dough come together and add 2 – 3 more teaspoons of water as needed so a dough ball will form. If some of the dough is in a ball and some is stuck to the sides that is okay…you can fix it with your hands. At this point the dough could be stored in the fridge in plastic wrap for up to 3 days or in the freezer (in a freezer safe container) for up to 6 months.
- Remove the dough from the food processor and put it on a lightly floured counter or large cutting board. With a rolling pin (and another sprinkling of flour) flatten out the dough to one big rectangle or square that’s no more than a quarter inch thick. Trim any uneven ends and use those to patch other edges as necessary.
- Using a knife cut out 14 to 16 rectangles of dough. Actually you could make them any shape or size that you want at this point. Lay half of your dough shapes onto the parchment lined baking sheet. Spoon about a tablespoon of jam down the middle of those bottom dough pieces.
- Top them with matching dough shapes and seal around the edges by pushing down with a fork. Make a few holes in the top with the fork as well. Lastly, brush the tops of the uncooked toaster pastries with the egg wash.
- Bake at 375 degrees F for 18 – 24 minutes or until golden brown. Cool the cooked pastries on a cooling rack (if you have one) then either eat them right away or store them in the fridge for 3 days or the freezer for several months. They can be eaten cold or reheated. Enjoy!
Have made these twice now and am so pleased! My daughter is quite the pop tart addict but actually loves these and has been asking for them. It’s a bit more effort than I’m used to, but definitely a labor of love!
Thank you for all the questions, mine was answered in the first one! I also have a child with egg allergies so good to know its not necassary! Thank you can’t wait to try these!! I love your granola and the home made Go-Gurts as well!
Does the egg wash “do” anything? My son is allergic to eggs…
nah – just makes it shiny. skip it.
You can also brush with milk for a similar effect.
I am so excited to try these and perfect timing. I was just trying to come up with some breakfast ideas for my 9 yr old. He begins state testing for school next week and the teacher has said to send in healthy morning snacks, Presto…thanks!
I just made this for the first time, and my whole family loved them. I filled them with a chunky homemade cinnamon applesauce. I made a double recipe, then made them smaller, using a heart shaped cookie cutter. I got 24 from a double recipe. I skipped the egg wash entirely. I will pack them in school lunches and also look forward to having them myself for a snack with a cup of coffee. Excellent recipe. Thanks so much.
Iis there a gluten free recipe modification for the pop tart recipe?
Hi Tami. We have not modified this recipe. If you do, please let us know how it turns out. ~Amy
I made these tonight for breakfast tomorrow, but of course I had to “test” one lol… They are amazing!!! I was a little worried about how they would turn out because I’m new to the whole cooking thing and couldn’t find my dough blade for my food processor. I made the dough using a fork & bowl and after adding enough water to where it would start balling up, I took it out and finished on the counter top. I dont have a rolling pin yet, so i had to use a can lol… but it all worked amazingly well! I used organic, fruit only, cherry jam and it complimented the whole wheat dough so well! Will definitely make these again! Thank you so much for the recipe
Has anyone tried these with dairy free butter? My daughter is allergic to milk and eggs but I think she would love these if I could use an alternative butter.
I don’t have a food processer. Would a blender work for the mixing of the dough?
I was wondering if a blender would work for the dough? I don’t have a food processor yet.
Hi Karissa. I would not use a blender. It might burn up your motor. You can mix it up by hand instead. Good luck. ~Amy
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Do you think chilled coconut oil might work in place of the butter?
Hello Jennifer. Yes, we sometimes use coconut oil in place of butter. ~Amy
[...] Eggs with homemade pop tarts (make ahead on [...]
I have tried these twice. First time following the recipe exactly they crumbled and barely held together at all! The second time I only used 1 stick of butter and they turned out perfect! So for people worried about the amount of butter it actually worked better for me with half.
I tried these this morning- they are great. I made the recipe exactly as it’s written.
Any ideas how I would make brown sugar cinnamon filling for these? My daughter is addicted to the nasty processed kind and eats them at the babysitters(we won’t buy them) so I thought if I could make them they would be at least a little better for her. Thanks
Hi Brea. We have not tried that. We don’t post many recipes that are high in processed sugars. You might be able to find one that uses maple syrup as the main sweetener if you do a quick internet search. Let us know what you come up with. Good luck! ~Amy
I was wondering the same thing. I can’t wait to stop buying toaster struedel for my 5 yr old. GROSS. He also likes apple, so I was going to try to make some with home made applesauce and lots of cinnamon. I bet they will be so delicious whatever is inside that they will forget all about the cinnamon store-bought kind. Also – you should send some to the sitter’s when you make them.
These are delicious! The first time I made them they were very time consuming, just made them again and it went much faster. These taste so much better then the store bought poptarts. Will make this again!
[...] Recipe from 100 Days of Real Food [...]
Can these be made, frozen, and reheated to eat at a later time?
Absolutely, Megan. Just pull them out and heat them in a toaster oven. ~Amy
Made them with vegan butter, made the recipe gluten and dairy free:) Also used a kitchen aid mixer… all great!
We had so much fun making these for our Kids Cooking Class that we did for Food Revolution Day this year! A bunch of kids from out street came over to learn how to make them, and we put the event into a fun music video. You can watch the video here: http://youtu.be/Ezv2s_u5R38
Thanks for the great recipe!!
I don’t buy Pop Tarts because of all the added sugar and processing, and I don’t usually miss them. But I just made a batch of apple butter this weekend that is just asking to be a filling for these!
I want to try these out, they look delicious! I am curious what the Nutrition Facts are on them?
Hello Lindsay. We do not provide nutrition information. These posts help clarify why: http://www.100daysofrealfood.com/2013/01/04/healthy-eating-defined/,http://www.100daysofrealfood.com/2013/01/23/portion-size-matters/, and http://www.100daysofrealfood.com/2011/04/29/mini-pledge-week-8-stop-eating-when-you-feel-full/. There are, however, many tools available online that can help you decode the nutrition facts of recipes. ~Amy
Hey. I made this recipe for breakfast this morning and was wondering if I could put this recipe on my blog. I have put your finished picture in the post, but put a link to this post. May I continue doing what I am doing? Thanks. Love the recipe. It was delish.
Hi Margaret. You are so welcome to share out content as long as you abide by our terms of use: http://www.100daysofrealfood.com/terms-of-use/. Best of luck with your blog! ~Amy