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Did you love Pop Tarts growing up?
I was just talking to my brother the other day about this recipe and we both had quite fond memories of Pop Tarts for breakfast as kids. They were pretty hard to beat. My favorite flavor was the Strawberry with Sprinkles and the Cinnamon Sugar flavors. I think my brother loved all the other crazy flavors like S’mores and any of the crazy flavors they came out with back in the day!
That being said, I can’t honestly recall the last time I had a Pop Tart. They aren’t exactly the healthiest of things to have for breakfast, so I think they just fell off my radar. That was, until I was inspired by a post I saw while perusing Pinterest the other day. (Pinterest can be quite the inspirational place for a foodie like me…did you know that i’m also on Pinterest? You can follow me HERE)
Anyway, I knew I could create a Healthy Homemade Pop Tart recipe that you all would have fun making and not feel completely guilty for enjoying! I made these healthier by using monkfruit sugar, grass-fed butter, real fruit and chia seeds for the filling and using just a little powdered sugar for the “frosting.”
Compared to the store-bought pop tart here’s a few nutrition points to note:
Store-bought Strawberry Frosted Pop Tarts:
-16g of sugar
-38g of carbs
Cook It Healthier Homemade Raspberry Pop Tarts:
-5.8g of sugar
-11.8g of carbs
These delicious things are filled with my homemade Raspberry Chia Seed Jam! I honestly can’t believe how similar the texture and taste is to the Pop Tarts we all know from childhood.
Fruity, jelly-like consistency and gooey. The Raspberry Chia Seed Jam is the perfect filling, with no added sugar! WINNING!
If you aren’t familiar with all the health benefits of chia seeds, I encourage you to read THIS article or THIS article. In short, they are like super seeds that is packed with so many nutrients our bodies need but without packing on extra calories!
After trying to get on board the chia seed train for a while, I finally realized what was off about them…. I wasn’t softening them! They are so much better when you turn them into chia seed “pudding” before adding them to things like smoothies, yogurts or fillings for Pop Tarts!
Here’s my super simple recipe for making chia seeds softened or you may hear this called chia seed pudding:
-1/2 cup dry chia seeds
-1 Tbls. vanilla extract
-2 cups unsweetened vanilla almond milk
(Add all the ingredients to a mason jar or another container with a lid. Allow everything to soak for at least 45 minutes in the refrigerator, stirring once to make sure to minimize clumps. It is at its best consistency after about 6 hours. This chia seed pudding can sit in the fridge for up to a week so you can enjoy it in other ways.)
I’m sure some of you are out there looking at these thinking, “those look so good, but I can’t bake.” You stop thinking that right now!
Truth be told, I was thinking the same thing because baking is hard. It requires precision and patience. But this recipe is pretty darn easy in terms of baking. The hardest part is trying to gauge how much filling to put in each square! Honestly, I know you can do it! So go ahead, dive in and give this recipe a try.
In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar and salt. Then, cube up the butter and begin to break up the cubed butter into the flour mixture. Toss all the cubes around to coat them in the flour. Then, using your hands (hopefully you've already washed them 😉 ) you will begin to break up all the butter cubes into the batter. Pinch and break up the butter into small, flour coated pea-sized pieces until it looks like the photo to the left!
Once you have completed breaking up the butter, drizzle in the cold water + lemon juice all over the butter-flour mix. Then you will use a fork to combine the mixture into a rough dough. It won't be perfectly smooth, but the goal is to make sure all the liquid has combined with the butter-flour chunks enough to form a ball of dough.
Next, prepare two pieces of parchment paper. Place one on top of a cutting board that will fit inside your fridge (if it's a smaller container, that's ok too.) Divid up your dough into two balls and place each one on a piece of the parchment paper. Then, press out the dough into two circles like the photo to the left. Cover with plastic wrap and then you can layer these on top of each other on the cutting board to chill in the fridge for 45 - 60 minutes.
Once the dough has chilled, remove from the fridge and place on a flour dusted cool surface. Remove the plastic wrap and lightly dust the top of the dough with flour. Then, using a rolling pin (or a wine bottle like I used because I don't own a rolling pin) roll out the dough into a rectangle that is about as thick a thin magazine (quarter of an inch).
Then you will grab a baking pan and cover in parchment paper to lay the dough rectangles on that you cut out.
Using a pizza cutter, cut out 12 even-ish rectangles from the first ball of dough. (You may need to pick up the extra pieces you cut off, ball it up and roll it out again to get all 12 rectangles.) Lay all the pieces out on the parchment covered baking sheet.
Repeat this process for the other dough circle.
Pro Tip: For more visuals, you can see me make these pop tarts in my instagram stories highlight "Pop Tarts"
Now, go pre-heat your oven to 375 degrees and get ready for assembly!
While the dough is chilling in the fridge, go ahead and make the filling.
You will want to make the chia seed "pudding" first so it has time to allow the chia seeds to soften. In a mason jar or container with a lid, add in your chia seeds, unsweetened vanilla almond milk and vanilla extract. Gently stir and place the lid on tight. Allow to soak in the fridge for at least 45 minutes to an hour.
Pro Tip: If you can do this step the night before, they will be perfect to quickly add to this recipe.
In a food processor, add in the raspberries and chia seed pudding and sugar. Pulse together until everything is combined and resembles a jelly/jam texture. Then put in an air tight container and place in the fridge until you're ready to fill the pop tarts.
In a small sauce pan over medium heat, add in the raspberries, sugar and lemon juice. Gently break up the raspberries, stirring frequently and heat until bubbly and the raspberries are broken down to liquid. Turn down the heat to low and add in the cream cheese and almond milk. Stir until melted and then remove from heat and add in the powdered sugar. Whisk everything together with a whisk or in a stand mixer (this is what I used). You want to whisk together until everything looks glossy and creamy and there are no chunks of powdered sugar or cream cheese.
This will be very creamy, so you should place in the fridge while the pop tarts bake to allow for easier spreading!
First, you will want to create the egg wash. Whisking together the egg, sugar and milk in a bowl. Then grab a pastry brush or a silicone basting brush works too!
Along the edges of each dough rectangle, brush on a little egg wash. I did one tray of dough rectangles at a time to prevent the egg wash from drying by the time I got to some of the last pieces.
Then, grab the filling and spoon in the filling to half of the rectangles (the other half of the rectangles are going over the top of the filling). About a Tablespoon in a half to 2 Tablespoons fit nicely in the middle of each dough rectangle.
Next, lay one of your egg washed dough rectangles, egg wash facing down, on top of one of the dough rectangles with filling on it.
Repeat until all your pop tarts are filled and have their top dough piece.
Take a fork and gently press into the edges of each pop tart to fasten them together. Finally, brush the tops of each pop tart with the egg wash and gently stab the top of each with the fork to give it air vents. Then place in the oven for 24 - 26 minutes or until the tops and edges are turning golden brown.
Remove and allow to cool completely before adding the frosting!
Serving Size 1 Pop Tart
Servings 12
- Amount Per Serving
- Calories 208
- % Daily Value *
- Total Fat 18g28%
- Total Carbohydrate 11.8g4%
- Dietary Fiber 2g8%
- Sugars 5.8g
- Protein 1.4g3%
- Vitamin A 17.8%
- Vitamin C 7.1%
- Calcium 5%
- Iron 2.1%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily value may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.
xoxo Ashley
Ingredients
Directions
In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar and salt. Then, cube up the butter and begin to break up the cubed butter into the flour mixture. Toss all the cubes around to coat them in the flour. Then, using your hands (hopefully you've already washed them 😉 ) you will begin to break up all the butter cubes into the batter. Pinch and break up the butter into small, flour coated pea-sized pieces until it looks like the photo to the left!
Once you have completed breaking up the butter, drizzle in the cold water + lemon juice all over the butter-flour mix. Then you will use a fork to combine the mixture into a rough dough. It won't be perfectly smooth, but the goal is to make sure all the liquid has combined with the butter-flour chunks enough to form a ball of dough.
Next, prepare two pieces of parchment paper. Place one on top of a cutting board that will fit inside your fridge (if it's a smaller container, that's ok too.) Divid up your dough into two balls and place each one on a piece of the parchment paper. Then, press out the dough into two circles like the photo to the left. Cover with plastic wrap and then you can layer these on top of each other on the cutting board to chill in the fridge for 45 - 60 minutes.
Once the dough has chilled, remove from the fridge and place on a flour dusted cool surface. Remove the plastic wrap and lightly dust the top of the dough with flour. Then, using a rolling pin (or a wine bottle like I used because I don't own a rolling pin) roll out the dough into a rectangle that is about as thick a thin magazine (quarter of an inch).
Then you will grab a baking pan and cover in parchment paper to lay the dough rectangles on that you cut out.
Using a pizza cutter, cut out 12 even-ish rectangles from the first ball of dough. (You may need to pick up the extra pieces you cut off, ball it up and roll it out again to get all 12 rectangles.) Lay all the pieces out on the parchment covered baking sheet.
Repeat this process for the other dough circle.
Pro Tip: For more visuals, you can see me make these pop tarts in my instagram stories highlight "Pop Tarts"
Now, go pre-heat your oven to 375 degrees and get ready for assembly!
While the dough is chilling in the fridge, go ahead and make the filling.
You will want to make the chia seed "pudding" first so it has time to allow the chia seeds to soften. In a mason jar or container with a lid, add in your chia seeds, unsweetened vanilla almond milk and vanilla extract. Gently stir and place the lid on tight. Allow to soak in the fridge for at least 45 minutes to an hour.
Pro Tip: If you can do this step the night before, they will be perfect to quickly add to this recipe.
In a food processor, add in the raspberries and chia seed pudding and sugar. Pulse together until everything is combined and resembles a jelly/jam texture. Then put in an air tight container and place in the fridge until you're ready to fill the pop tarts.
In a small sauce pan over medium heat, add in the raspberries, sugar and lemon juice. Gently break up the raspberries, stirring frequently and heat until bubbly and the raspberries are broken down to liquid. Turn down the heat to low and add in the cream cheese and almond milk. Stir until melted and then remove from heat and add in the powdered sugar. Whisk everything together with a whisk or in a stand mixer (this is what I used). You want to whisk together until everything looks glossy and creamy and there are no chunks of powdered sugar or cream cheese.
This will be very creamy, so you should place in the fridge while the pop tarts bake to allow for easier spreading!
First, you will want to create the egg wash. Whisking together the egg, sugar and milk in a bowl. Then grab a pastry brush or a silicone basting brush works too!
Along the edges of each dough rectangle, brush on a little egg wash. I did one tray of dough rectangles at a time to prevent the egg wash from drying by the time I got to some of the last pieces.
Then, grab the filling and spoon in the filling to half of the rectangles (the other half of the rectangles are going over the top of the filling). About a Tablespoon in a half to 2 Tablespoons fit nicely in the middle of each dough rectangle.
Next, lay one of your egg washed dough rectangles, egg wash facing down, on top of one of the dough rectangles with filling on it.
Repeat until all your pop tarts are filled and have their top dough piece.
Take a fork and gently press into the edges of each pop tart to fasten them together. Finally, brush the tops of each pop tart with the egg wash and gently stab the top of each with the fork to give it air vents. Then place in the oven for 24 - 26 minutes or until the tops and edges are turning golden brown.
Remove and allow to cool completely before adding the frosting!