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.
Whole-Wheat Toaster Pastries (aka Poptarts!)
Ingredients
- 2 ¼ cup whole-wheat flour, plus extra for rolling out the dough
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 cup butter, cold, unsalted (2 sticks)
- ½ cup water, plus ice
- 1 egg, beaten with a splash of water
- 8 tablespoons jam, 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
Instructions
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Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
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Put the flour and salt in a food processor with the dough blade and pulse it together briefly.
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Meanwhile fill a glass measuring cup with ½ cup water and add a few ice cubes to it.
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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.
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Turn on the food processor and blend until the mixture resembles a crumbly meal. While the food processor is still running add 1/3 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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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!
Recipe Notes
We recommend organic ingredients when feasible.
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Vicky Goetz
May 25, 2015 at 7:54 pmHow many carbs on in each toaster pastry?
Amy Taylor (comment moderator)
May 30, 2015 at 10:22 amHi. We don’t provide nutrition information. This post helps explain why: https://www.100daysofrealfood.com/2013/01/04/healthy-eating-defined/.
leslie
September 2, 2015 at 4:11 pmHas anyone come up with any toppings to put on these. They are in the oven now. Can’t wait to try.
Jessica Kelly
September 3, 2015 at 12:11 pmI used an old Hershey Cocoa Powder container to cookie cut my perfect rectangles!
Deanne H
September 3, 2015 at 12:20 pmSeveral of your recipes call for the use of a dough blade in your food processor… What is a dough blade? What does it look like? Maybe that’s a dumb question, but I’m not sure my processor came with one, and I don’t know what to look for. Thanks!
Amy Taylor (comment moderator)
September 8, 2015 at 11:58 amHi Deanne. Here is an example: http://www.amazon.com/Cuisinart-FP-749-Dough-Blade/dp/B000PJ6UOG.
Melissa
September 8, 2015 at 9:09 amCould I add a nut butter or sun butter to this before baking? Thanks!
shawn
September 16, 2015 at 9:21 pmYou could. We have not done it, but I don’t see why they wouldn’t be good
Nikki
September 22, 2015 at 11:35 amAny ideas on how to make these gluten free? Thank you!
Amy Taylor (comment moderator)
September 28, 2015 at 10:18 amHI Nikki. We’ve not adapted this recipe to be gluten free but this might help you do so: https://simplygluten-free.com/blog/2012/07/gluten-free-dairy-free-pop-tarts-recipe.html.
Git
October 8, 2015 at 10:00 pmI tried this today but didn’t come good. I just melted butter and mixed it with the flour since I didn’t had the processor . But the dough without adding water was moist so I just sprinkled little water . But couldn’t take it as nice shape before baking since it was crumbling ..I put only 1 and 1/2, butter sticks . So the top part to cover got all crumbled ..
Gwen
January 29, 2016 at 9:41 pmNo the butter has to be cold cold cold. If no food processor use 2 butter knives and cut the butter into little pieces while it is in the flour. Or – use a fork to mash the butter into the flour. The idea is to make little pieces if cold butter mixed into the flour and THE N add the water to make a dough. Good luck – try again!!
Shireen
May 1, 2019 at 9:34 amI have three boys who would love these. One of my boys has an egg allergy, but he also has an allergy to flax (so no flax eggs here). Any alternative to the egg in this recipe? Thank you!
Jay
November 6, 2015 at 6:21 pmHi, I like to go things by hand and u really wanted to try this. Could I do this by hand without a food processor?
Amy Taylor (comment moderator)
November 12, 2015 at 8:23 amHi there. Sure. You can make it by hand.
Jay
November 12, 2015 at 11:39 amGreat! So, when the recipe calls for the food processor that just means I need to mix it by hand. Right?
Amy Taylor (comment moderator)
November 16, 2015 at 2:48 pmWith this recipe, yes. ;)
Sandy
November 8, 2015 at 3:15 pmTried these today with organic strawberry preserves and they came out perfectly. I added some raw sugar on top before baking. They might not make it to tomorrow
Michelle
January 18, 2016 at 1:28 pmI just made these today and I have to say these are fantastic. I filled them with Polaner All Fruit seedless strawberry jam and drizzle a little vanilla glaze on top afterwards. The kids and I love them!!! Thank You
Danielle
February 2, 2016 at 10:47 amCan these be made gluten free? If so what is the best way to make the dough?
Amy Taylor (comment moderator)
February 3, 2016 at 10:05 amHi. You could try with a gluten free flour.
Zee
April 28, 2016 at 5:29 pmI’m new to real foods still and struggling to get my son to eat real. I crunched through the ingredients and while I appreciate being able to pronounce everything in them, I get 8 pastries that are very calorie and fat dense. By my ingredient calculations, I get single pastry at about 50% bigger than a brandname tart and while the sugar is dramatically lower 6 gram range, the fat is brutal, tilting in at 25 grams of which 20 grams are saturated and packing around 350 calories. Granted, I can slash the size of the tarts, they’ll still be 65% of calories from fat. While fat, particularly good, real fat (i.e. from grass fed ‘real’ sources), is healthier, 65% still seems quiet high.
Any way to ‘healthy’ these up or is that not a concern?
Amy Taylor (comment moderator)
May 9, 2016 at 10:58 amHi there. This post will explain why we do not spend time calculating all the nutrition details: https://www.100daysofrealfood.com/2013/01/04/healthy-eating-defined/.
Gloria Prichart
May 20, 2019 at 9:26 pmI agree. Recipe is just trading high sugar PopTarts for high fat homemade Pop Tarts, neither of which are healthy.
Sarah
May 16, 2016 at 9:29 amFirst I want to say the crust is amazing and so lovely to work with. Genius using the food processor. I’m using a pumpkin filling which has sugar in it a little bit. Maybe in the future I will try something to substitute for that. In the meantime this is the third time I’ve made them and usually I make a half batch but this time I decided to make a full batch and freeze them. To reheat them this time I toasted them but the filling didn’t thoroughly heat up. Do you have a recommendation for reheating?
Amy Taylor (comment moderator)
May 19, 2016 at 7:51 amHi. I use a toaster oven. :)
Sarah
May 19, 2016 at 8:02 amToasting in ours the edges burnt and the filling was cold. We were pulling from the freezer. Do you bake in yours?
Amy Taylor (comment moderator)
May 20, 2016 at 3:12 pmNo, typically just reheat. You can cover in tinfoil to help it reheat more evenly. Same is true in a regular oven.
Kristin
September 19, 2016 at 2:34 pmPumpkin sounds delicious! Can you please post your filling recipe.
Michelle
May 23, 2016 at 1:45 pmCan I make these with white whole wheat flour? If so, is the measurement the same? . It has been 4 weeks and we are doing GREAT, but Pop Tarts are his weakness. He really loves grape pop tarts, but we can’t find them anywhere. I’m really hoping these will be an acceptable surprise for him. I think white whole wheat flour might make them look a little more like the processed ones.
Amy Taylor (comment moderator)
May 25, 2016 at 1:40 pmHi there. You can and the measurements would be the same.
Samantha
July 4, 2016 at 1:38 pmTwo sticks of butter does not make this healthy!
Ashley
August 2, 2016 at 5:11 pmI don’t think it is the exact point of this to be “healthy.” It is “whole” food. If you make butter yourself or find one with three simple ingredients, it is not bad for you. Just like anything else, you have to use in moderation. I also think that the fact that it makes several of these pastries, not just one, allows for the butter to go along way.
Ashley
August 2, 2016 at 5:12 pmI personally love pop tarts, but can’t seem to even take a bite of one now that I know what is really in them. If only there was a way to make the frosting for the outside “whole food” :)..
Adam
January 26, 2017 at 10:13 pmyou could always make a frosting with powdered sugar (or tapioca powder as a replacement for whole food if you like) and milk for that Ashley, adding whatever else you may want otherwise (cocoa powder for example if you wanted chocolate). That’s what a basic frosting would be for a pop tart I’d imagine, and maybe a small amount of butter.
Aimee
July 1, 2017 at 10:42 amDo your research. Saturated fat is actually good for you!! Trans fat is the real enemy!!
Jennifer
August 6, 2016 at 11:37 amI don’t think that the amount of butter makes this “unhealthy”. I’ve lost 45 pounds in 5 months while adding butter to everything. It’s the chemicals that make things unhealthy. Corn syrup? Soy? Artificial sweeteners, flavors and colors??? All those other things that should never be put in anything edible? THAT’S unhealthy. Butter never hurt anybody ;)
Lisa
September 19, 2016 at 11:43 amExactly!! :)
Sar
September 2, 2016 at 8:02 pmThank you so much for this! My husband and girls love pop tarts so this is a great modification from the store-bought items. I don’t mind them myself:) Will post how they turn out..
Cassandra
September 16, 2016 at 5:40 pmHave you been able to heat them in the toaster?
Amy Taylor (comment moderator)
September 21, 2016 at 10:36 amHi there. A toaster oven works better. :)
Michelle
October 12, 2016 at 3:03 pmJust checked on them after cooling on the rack for about 45 minutes. They sort of crumbled and weren’t firm enough to hold. I used frozen unsalted butter, ice cold water, and made sure to refrigerate before putting them in the oven to cook.
I will say the dough seemed to have good texture. They looked beautiful and tasted great. Just very very crumbly.
Jen
January 16, 2017 at 6:11 pmJust made these with my 7-year old, amazingly delicious!! Everyone agreed they tasted much better than the store-bought (Trader Joe’s) variety
Becky
January 22, 2017 at 8:47 pmIf you don’t have a food processor, what is the method?
Melani
January 27, 2017 at 11:45 amI am wondering the same thing! My food processor is too small to handle this amount. Thanks!
Melani
January 27, 2017 at 11:46 amI was wondering the same thing! My food processor is too small.
Amy Taylor (comment moderator)
January 31, 2017 at 1:01 pmHello. It is like making any dough. You would mix the ingredients, cut in the butter, and knead by hand. It is easier with a food processor but certainly doable. :)
Carollee
January 30, 2017 at 5:32 pmCan you make cinnamon pop tarts? How would you make the filling? Has anyone every tried? Sorry if the answer is above – I read thru and didn’t see anything pertaining to my question………
Thank you
Stephanie
February 4, 2018 at 1:12 pmMy son and we’re talking about the same thing!! Could u not make a cinnamon roll filling and use that? That’s kinda what we were thinking, but it would add sugar, our idea was to use brown sugar.
Christina
January 31, 2017 at 8:45 amCan this be made without a food processor? I don’t want to try unless someone has already.
Thanks
Amy Taylor (comment moderator)
February 6, 2017 at 12:10 pmHi. Yes it can be mixed and kneaded by hand.
Christina S
February 24, 2017 at 9:35 amI don’t have a food processor, and I just use a pastry cutter (can use 2 knives or forks) by hand
Carollee
February 2, 2017 at 3:45 pmIs there a way to make it with brown sugar cinnamon? I have looked around and it sounds like people have done it but I can’t find the recipe.
Thanks so much
Amy Taylor (comment moderator)
February 6, 2017 at 12:12 pmHello. Sorry, we’ve have not tried to make this with brown sugar and cinnamon.
Carys
March 6, 2017 at 12:41 pmPerfect! I used a bar of Kerrygold butter, and the crust is amazing! I added 1 tbsp of brown sugar to the egg wash to balance the outside vs inside sweetness, and it was a lovely touch. Thank you for this recipe, we enjoyed the tarts very much!
Stephanie
September 4, 2017 at 6:38 pmI would say for a brown sugar cinnamon just make like a filling like you would for homemade cinnamon rolls. I know my kids would like fruit filling but the brown sugar cinnamon is my preferred flavor!
Claire
September 30, 2017 at 11:50 amI actually have found more variety, here.
https://onceamonthmeals.com/recipes/homemade-poptarts/
alaskamum
November 5, 2017 at 4:43 pmWe love these! I sometimes spread a little bit of cream cheese in the middle before adding the jam/preserves. Makes it extra decadent. ;)
Josie
January 22, 2018 at 1:20 pmDo you have a healthier jam recipe?
Amy Taylor (comment moderator)
February 7, 2018 at 10:59 amHi. Here is one: https://www.100daysofrealfood.com/blueberry-jam-honey-sweetened/.
Chelle
February 2, 2018 at 4:42 pmHave you ever tried a healthier frosting version?
Speaking of toaster strudels, have you experimented with those? They are our preferred as well.
Amy Taylor (comment moderator)
February 7, 2018 at 11:00 amHi there. No, we’ve not experimented with either. Lisa does have frosting recipes but not one for these.
thorax232
March 4, 2018 at 7:19 pmNow I am going away to do my breakfast, after having
my breakfast coming yet again to read further news.
Kim
August 14, 2018 at 12:59 amIt sounds good. The kids want to try it tomorrow .
Amy P.
January 6, 2019 at 1:11 pmCan these be made the night before (like your pumpkin scones), refrigerated overnight, and then baked in the morning?
Andrea
March 3, 2019 at 4:13 pmGreat pastry!
I used 2 cups of whole wheat pastry flour & a 1/4 cup of white cake & pastry flour as that’s what I had on hand.
I used strawberry jam for the centres, but I feel mine needed to be sweeter or have more flavour.
Next time I will try using a pie filling or maybe something savoury!
Thanks for a great recipe!
Nikki Marie
March 4, 2019 at 3:14 pmMade these yesterday! Loooove! Made them with my scratch strawberry jam so there really isn’t much sugar at all, but they do not taste like they are lacking in any way. Thanks for the recipe!