Homemade Healthy Poptarts
By
Yay…the promised poptart recipe!!
I truly don’t like boxed poptarts…blech. But these I DO like…which is why I hesitate to even call them poptarts. Can we call them Delightful Little Jelly Pastries? Maybe we could call them Flaky Fruity Melty Yumminess?
At our house, I suppose I’d have to call them “Gone“. Or “The Empty Plate“. They don’t last long. :)
For the crust, I found that using the same recipe I use for my Homemade Pizza Pockets and Mini Apple Pies works the best. Buttery and flaky…and oh so easy.
Homemade Healthy Poptarts
3 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 cup melted butter
1 cup plain yogurt
About 5 ounces of 100% fruit jelly or jam – any flavor you like!
Begin by mixing the flour, salt, butter and yogurt. If you want to soak this dough overnight to break down the phytic acid and make the grains more digestible, go for it. Just be sure to soak the dough on the counter overnight, not in the fridge, or the dough will be terrible to work with! (The recipe will work with or without this step.)
Knead the dough just a little bit to make it nice and workable. Roll out the dough on a large, well floured surface. Use a knife to cut the dough into the desired poptart size you would like. I tried to cut mine into “normal” poptart sizes. But nothing I ever do is very normal so I came out with a nice variety of sizes.
Place about a 1/2 teaspoon of jelly on 1/2 of the dough rectangles (squares?).
Spread the jelly around, leaving the edges free.
Find a second square or rectangle or thingamajigger that matches closely
with each jellied one. Place it on top and use a fork to seal the edges.
Lay each poptart in a single layer on a baking sheet.
Bake in a 350° oven for about 25 minutes or until the crust is lightly browned.
This recipe makes around 15-20 poptarts, depending on how big you make them.
I have found that making them ahead of time and then putting them in our toaster oven to re-heat makes for a very fast and popular breakfast! These CAN be frozen as well. Bake them first, let them cool and the freeze until you’re ready to re-heat and eat!
Is it just me, or is it more than a little bit tempting to reach through the screen to lick the jelly oozing out of that poptart?
Edited to add: Many of you who are new to this site are commenting that while this is a healthier poptart, this isn’t necessarily a healthy breakfast. Sure, good point. I totally hear what you’re saying. This was a reader requested recipe. Many are taking baby steps toward better nutrition and working their way “out of the box” when it comes to feeding their families. If you’re looking for a healthier variety of Poptart…this is your recipe. If you’re looking for a special treat for your family…here you go. If you’re looking for a well balanced diet…don’t eat these Poptarts for every meal. :) (Want to see my menu plans to know how I feed my family regularly? I’d love for you to click over and take a peek!! Maybe you’ll even find more recipes you’re interested in!!)
My kids love pop tarts but they have so much sugar. I can’t wait to try this!
Anyone have any idea what the calorie/fat content is? I know it will vary slightly based on jam filling.
Thank you to whoever can answer!
Happy New Year!
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Alison Reply:
January 7th, 2011 at 1:49 pm
Hi Shari,
Below is a great website that I use to find out the nutritional content of many foods around my house. If you click on ‘My ND’ & go to ‘My Recipes’ it will let you enter your own recipes into their system & it will give you the full nutrition information for that recipe. Hope that helps!
http://www.nutritiondata.com
Blessings,
Alison
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Shari Reply:
January 11th, 2011 at 11:10 am
Alison,
Thank you so much…what a wonderful site!
Blessings,
Shari
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A BIG thank you for sharing this recipe =) I have been looking for a homemade AND healthy recipe!!
Blessings,
Marie
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This was such a fun recipe to make and easy to have the kids involved in the fun. A side benefit if you do the kneading is your hands feel REALLY soft afterwards from all the butter. :-) Skip the spa and make these!
Also nice to have such a versatile dough recipe in my arsenal.
Thanks so much!!!
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Thank you so much for sharing this! I just tried making one batch, using strawberry jam filling. My 7-year old twins LOVED them! They are begging to have just one more before dinner time!
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These are being made at our house as soon as I can get some jelly! My 6 children would love them!
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This would be fun to try! I wonder if it would still work with trans fat free spread or smart balance butter. Thanks for the recipe :)
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Alice Reply:
January 18th, 2011 at 10:08 am
it should work okay, but when I’ve used spreads in the past, they’re not quite as flaky.
The whole foods diet revolution says that butter is healthier. I read a report saying that eating fat doesn’t make us fat. We just need to eat whole food fats and eat less overall.
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2 questions:
1- Can you freeze these and take them out in the morning and reheat them in the toaster oven? Will they turn out okay?
2- When you soak the wheat do you mix in all the ingredients or just the wheat and yogurt?
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Laura Reply:
January 16th, 2011 at 2:56 pm
Yep, you can freeze them and toast another day, no problem.
When you soak these, you soak all of the ingredients (except for the jelly of course!). :)
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Joanne Reply:
January 16th, 2011 at 8:06 pm
If you are going to soak them, would you refrigerate it because of the yogurt? or would you leave it on the counter overnight?
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Laura Reply:
January 16th, 2011 at 8:11 pm
You just leave it out on the counter. The yogurt will not hurt anything, in fact, the yogurt helps break down the phytates in the wheat, making it digestable. If you refrigerate it, the dough will be almost impossible to work with tomorrow.
Just made these. They are cooling as I type, Oh it smells so good!
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It is 10:00 at night and I would make these right now IF I had any yogurt! :(
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These look really yummy.I’m going to try and make these later, would it be ok to use regular flour I’m not one that likes wheat. I know I should as its much healthier !
Thanks :)
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Laura Reply:
January 18th, 2011 at 9:33 am
Yes, I think this recipe would work with white flour, although I’ve never tried it myself so I can’t be sure!
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Have you tried fillings other than jelly? We don’t do a lot of jelly on sandwiches here, but we do a ton of homemade nutella or whole berry cranberry sauce on sandwiches.
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Stacey Reply:
January 18th, 2011 at 7:51 am
I was wondering how you make homemade nutella. My son loves nutella but has problems with preservatives.
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Morgana Reply:
January 18th, 2011 at 10:15 am
I went ahead and posted my recipe on my blog.
http://seemorganacook.blogspot.com/2011/01/chocolate-hazelnut-crack-in-jar.html
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Stephanie Reply:
January 18th, 2011 at 8:19 am
Yum! How do you make homemade nutella? I was thinking nutella & banana would be a delicious filling, but Nutella can get a bit expensive. Thanks!
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Morgana Reply:
January 18th, 2011 at 10:16 am
Since it was such a popular request, I went ahead and posted my recipe on my blog.
http://seemorganacook.blogspot.com/2011/01/chocolate-hazelnut-crack-in-jar.html
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Stephanie Reply:
January 18th, 2011 at 12:31 pm
Thank you so much! I just found it on your blog & book marked it. I can’t wait to give it a try.
ang Reply:
January 18th, 2011 at 9:47 am
would love the recipies for homemade nutella please share!!!!!!!!
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Morgana Reply:
January 18th, 2011 at 10:17 am
It was such a popular request, I went ahead and posted the recipe on my blog.
http://seemorganacook.blogspot.com/2011/01/chocolate-hazelnut-crack-in-jar.html
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I haven’t tried this recipe yet but would like to suggest skipping on the knife for cutting and use a rotary-style pizza cutter instead to make quick work of the task; and if you are like me and untidy things drive you crazy: a yardstick as a cutting guide (This would enable you a straight cut and to measure the sizes more or less precisely.)
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I cannot wait to try these. We eat all organic and organic pop tarts are VERY expensive. I should easily be able to substitute the conventional ingredients for organic ones. I am in the middle of a baking week and plan to add this to my list. I really need these for in the morning and for great lunch box snacks!
Thanks!
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DH loves poptarts, but will only eat the chocolate and brown sugar cinnamon. Has anyone tried putting something other than fruit/jam inside?
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Kari Reply:
January 18th, 2011 at 8:33 am
My husband likes the brown sugar cinnamon too. I think it is worth a try!
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Laura Reply:
January 18th, 2011 at 9:34 am
Several have suggested this as an option…I’ll give it a try sometime and post it here on my blog if it works. Stay tuned!! :)
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These look delicious! My kids love poptarts & toaster strudels, but I do worry about how much sugar they have.
I made this dough before in the mini apple pies, and it was very crumbly and hard to work with. Is it supposed to be that way until you knead it? My crust looked nothing like yours in the picture, wonder what I did wrong…..I will give it another try though to make these!
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Laura Reply:
January 18th, 2011 at 9:35 am
The dough can be hard to work with, but kneading it really helps a LOT. You may also want to try putting in NOT quite as much flour as the recipe calls for to see if that makes a difference.
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These look so yummy! I can’t wait to make them! Is the yogurt necessary or can you substitute? Thanks for sharing! ~Miranda
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Laura Reply:
January 18th, 2011 at 9:36 am
Well, the yogurt and butter makes these flaky and melt in your mouth-like. You could maybe try milk or buttermilk, but before adding in a whole cup, add just a little at a time until the correct consistency is reached.
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Kara Reply:
January 18th, 2011 at 4:41 pm
Thank you for sharing about milk/buttermilk. My daughter is highly sensitive to dairy and wondered if this recipe would work otherwise. I’ll use her rice milk and try.
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I’m thinking of trying these this weekend with the kids and letting them fill them with whatever, may even try filling them with eggs sausage & cheese. Maybe sprinkle some sugar on top with choc in the middle!! Will just make a variety!!
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Stephanie Reply:
January 18th, 2011 at 8:18 am
The chocolate idea got me thinking…bananas & nutella! Thanks for the inspiration.
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Any suggestions for a dairy-free version? I can do soy-butter, but what do you think of using in place of the yogurt? jamie dot hawthorn at gmail dot com Thanks!
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Stephanie Reply:
January 18th, 2011 at 8:17 am
You can always use Soy Yogurt, or maybe even one made with coconut milk.
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Laura Reply:
January 18th, 2011 at 9:38 am
I’m thinking that you could maybe try rice milk or coconut milk (or yes, coconut yogurt). BUT, don’t add in the whole cup of rice milk as a substitute for yogurt. Maybe just add a little bit at a time until it forms a dough…I’m afraid a cup of liquid might be too much since it’s not as thick as yogurt.
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Only 1/2 tsp. of filling? Seriously?
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Heather Reply:
January 18th, 2011 at 8:20 am
Yeah, that was my thought also. I’m not one to use a lot of jam, either. I don’t even like jelly-filled donuts.
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Laura Reply:
January 18th, 2011 at 9:39 am
Yeah, it’s amazing how far a 1/2 tsp. will spread inside the poptart and will quickly ooooooze out the sides if you’re not careful!!
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I so very excited to try these. Last summer we visited a upick farm and made lots of jams. We also made apple and pumpkin butter – I wonder how that would be as a filling ?
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Laura Reply:
January 18th, 2011 at 9:39 am
I think your apple and pumpkin butter would be delicious in these!!
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These look delicious! I make my own jam all summer, and this would be an excellent use for some of it. Do you think they would freeze well? I’m always looking for things I can keep in the freezer & then heat and eat for breakfast.
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Laura Reply:
January 18th, 2011 at 9:40 am
Yes, these do freeze well, and are great to put in the toaster oven to reheat for a quick breakfast!
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Julia Reply:
January 18th, 2011 at 10:36 am
How do you make homemade jam?Is it easy?
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Stephanie Reply:
January 18th, 2011 at 12:38 pm
Its pretty easy to learn to make your own jams & jellies. For just starting out, I’d use the recipes that come with the box of pectin (Ball Pectin or SureGel). The recipes consist of fruit, sugar, and the pectin and you cook them together following the directions. You can then can it in Ball jars processed in a water bath canner, or let the jars/ziploc containers of jam cool and put them in the freezer until you need them.
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I have learned that you can substitute tablespoons of butter with teaspoons of olive oil in 1/2 (for example if a recipe calls for 4 tablespoons of butter, you can use 2 teaspoons of olive oil.) I have done it many times with great results. I wonder if that would work in this recipe?
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Laura Reply:
January 18th, 2011 at 9:41 am
I would imagine that it would work, although the butter really makes the dough flaky and melt-in-your-mouth like. :)
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A cup of melted butter.. does this mean liquid butter should fill an entire cup, or do I melt 2 sticks of butter? Or would it come out to be the same thing?
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Laura Reply:
January 18th, 2011 at 9:41 am
Ah, it’s the same thing. If you melt 2 sticks of butter, you’ll end up with one cup. I had to actually do that one time to prove it to myself…and indeed…it is one cup. :)
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Rebekah Reply:
January 18th, 2011 at 9:48 am
Thanks :)
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I just love it how you can make yummy convenience foods that are bad for us homemade and much yummier and healthier!
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Anyone have any suggestions on how to make these gluten free? Would it work to just use a flour blend (like Bob’d Red Mill) in place of the flour?
I’m quite new to baking gluten free from scratch – thank you!
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Laura Reply:
January 18th, 2011 at 9:43 am
I don’t have experience with using gluten free flours, but maybe you could cut the recipe in half to try it?? I’d love to hear if it works for you!
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Rachel Reply:
January 18th, 2011 at 3:48 pm
My husband found out he is intoleant of wheat ingredients about two years ago. I am still learning ways of modifying/adapting our meals for him. A couple of great flours I have found- Pamela’s All Purpose flour and I use the Gluten Free Pantry French bread/Pizza dough flour for whatever, not just their recipe. For instance, when I make cornbread, I follow the directions on the corn meal package and I use 1 cup of the GFP FB/P flour.
I am looking forward to making these poptarts!!
I would cut the recipe in 1/2 the first go round:)
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I think I will make these tonight! I hope they fit in the regular toaster, I don’t have a toaster oven and I suppose they won’t be as good in the microwave.
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Ok, so don’t laugh, newbie here!! When you’re going to freeze them, do you bake them first and the freeze, or just freeze them first and then bake as needed? Thanks!!
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Laura Reply:
January 18th, 2011 at 11:09 am
You can actually do it either way. I recommend baking them first, then freezing and getting them out as needed. That way, it’s just like having a boxed poptart that you would put in the toaster for breakfast…only much healthier!
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The yogurt is just plain yogurt not like vanilla or whatnot..? I want to try these and want to make sure I get the right stuff.
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Laura Reply:
January 18th, 2011 at 11:10 am
Right, just plain yogurt. :)
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Anyone tried greek plain yogurt? That’s all I have here right now. This is great because my son loves pop tarts but I hate giving them to him because of the sugar. Can’t wait to try!
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Laura Reply:
January 18th, 2011 at 11:14 am
I don’t know why that wouldn’t work!
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when I was kid my grandma would use her left over pie crust to make these for me, I didn’t like pie but I loved her tarts..
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Oh, actually all I have here now is vanilla yogurt. Would that be ok, or not? I’m dying to try these!
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Laura Reply:
January 18th, 2011 at 1:50 pm
I think it would work as far as making the dough goes, but I think it would be awfully sweet!
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Would love to hear if anyone tries with Gluten Free flour!
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I am not sure what “soak on the counter” means?? Is it just another term for “let it rest” on the counter?
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Laura Reply:
January 18th, 2011 at 1:53 pm
Yes, that just means “let it rest on the counter”…you can definitely skip that whole step if you want. Many of my readers try to always “soak their grains” before baking something that has whole wheat flour as a way to help make the grain more digestible.
If all you do is mix the ingredients and then go directly to the knead the dough and roll it out phase, it’ll be just fine!
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Very good! I made a half-batch and did the following to experiement:
I used an egg wash plus a sprinkle of sugar.
To make a cinnamon filling i used a little cin/sugar with cream cheese. came out yummy! on top i used cinnamon and sugar.
Next time I’ll play with the dough abit more. I’ll probably add a tiny bit of sugar and roll it thinner.
Really glad i tried this as it was easy and fun!
Cant wait for my daughter to try it today on this cold, wintery day!
Thanks for the recipe!
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Added to my bookmark list, have other recipes but none are whole wheat and minimum ingredents.
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I am so excited that I found this link on Money Saving Mom. I can’t wait to try these. We go through a ton of poptarts around here and I would love a healthier version. Thank you for sharing.
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I would not call these Healthy! Healthier, maybe, since the whole wheat flour adds some fiber and phytochemicals. But all-fruit jelly is NOT equivalent to eating a piece of fruit, and butter is not exactly healthy. Better than margarine, yes, but that doesn’t mean healthy. The butter alone in this recipe adds ~1300 calories from fat, (~145 grams) most of that being artery clogging saturated fat. Divide that by the number of poptarts you have, and you will know how much fat is in each poptart. You would still need to add in the nutrients for the rest of the ingredients.
This recipe would be fine for a once in a while special treat, but you would be much better off feeding your child a bowl of whole grain cereal for breakfast.
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Danielle Reply:
January 18th, 2011 at 1:41 pm
Also healthier than eating something from a box. I dont think anyone is advocating this treat as a regular breakfast.
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Laura Reply:
January 18th, 2011 at 1:58 pm
I’m simply offering this recipe as a healthy alternative to poptarts, please feel free to do with it what you wish. Butter does not scare me in the least, as I have done much research about healthy, real fats.
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Marcia Furman Reply:
January 18th, 2011 at 2:50 pm
amen to that. i would never ever make something with that much butter in it! sounds so yummy though! ;]
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Crystal Reply:
January 20th, 2011 at 7:41 pm
I would never make something with that much margarine in it, but definitely would make it with all that butter in it! Butter is very nourishing for all, but most especially for growing children. :O) I wouldn’t make anything at all with *any* amount of margarine. :O)
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Crystal Reply:
January 20th, 2011 at 7:36 pm
Butter is extremely nourishing! The saturated fat in it will absolutely NOT clog your arteries. If you do a bit of research on the “experiments” used to fuel the new way of thinking (fats, saturated especially = clogged arteries and high cholesterol, etc.) you’ll find many holes and inconsistencies. Saturated fats are essential to a growing child’s brain and development. I suggest reading a bit of Dr. Weston Price’s works or Sally Fallon’s “Nourishing Traditions” to get you started in your “fats” research.
You don’t have to use jelly at all. There’s no reason you can’t use gently cooked real fruit or a nut butter or even a “breakfast” (eggs, etc.) filling with this recipe. Just keep in mind, if you want to put it into a toaster, you can’t make an actual pie of it. This is meant to be a pastry. You can “healthify” even further as you please, or you can make it just as “treat-like” as one wishes.
*I* would call this a healthy food. It may not be a complete breakfast in and of itself, but it is certainly healthy if you are using quality ingredients. (I, personally don’t recommend regular butter from the store. Granted it’s better than fake butters – margarines – but given the way our dairy cattle are treated today, I’d ensure the source of my butter. I buy organic butter produced locally where the cattle are allowed to eat their natural diet – grass.)
We are the “Butterton’s” at my house – bring on the butter! :O) Mmm, mmm good. And good for you!
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Thanks, so much for sharing this recipe. I agree with you about the butter-I would not use margarine-too many chemicals.
These are a great alternative to the boxed pop tarts.
Thanks again!!
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Newest follower (found you on Twitter). My kids love poptarts but they are so unhealthy. I am going to give these a try! Thanks.
Please visit us at http://thissahmsworld.blogspot.com and on twitter @thissahmsworld
Kristine
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Anyone know what I could substitute for the yogurt? My boys have milk allergies. I could sub yegan magarine for the butter, but dairy free yogurt is hard to find here.
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Laura Reply:
January 18th, 2011 at 3:47 pm
You could maybe try rice milk, coconut milk or coconut yogurt. BUT, don’t add in the whole cup of rice milk as a substitute for yogurt. Maybe just add a little bit at a time until it forms a dough…I’m afraid a cup of liquid might be too much since it’s not as thick as yogurt.
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I’m deff gonna go make these but try vanilla yogurt because thats all I have! =] Can’t hurt I guess.
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Christy G. Reply:
January 18th, 2011 at 6:31 pm
I made these tonight w/Dannon Vanilla Yogurt and they turned out great! :)
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I might have missed it in the comments (there are a lot), but can you use regular all-purpose flour? Would you need to adjust ingredients? I don’t have whole wheat on hand, but would love to try these.
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Laura Reply:
January 18th, 2011 at 4:09 pm
Yes, you can substituted white flour I would imagine with no problem. You may need more or less than the recipe calls for, so when mixing these, I’d add the flour a little at a time until you have the correct consistency!
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Love them! Made them tonight as a dessert to serve after supper. Everyone gobbled them up. Thanks for sharing!
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We love tarts. I usually make mine round and then fold them in half. Squishing the edges. The kids eat them right up. You can do them with anything inside (including peanut butter) and pick their favorite jellies. These are slightly different from my recipe, but basically the same.
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I think that making your own poptarts is a step in the right direction for healthiness, but I certainly don’t know that I’d call them healthy. Better than pop tarts you buy, but I’m concerned about flour, butter and sugar (jelly) being called healthy. They are what they are: fast and quick snacks, but they are empty calories and lack nutrients. Your kids would be much better served by making egg sandwiches or breakfast burritos or something like that.
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Carla Reply:
January 18th, 2011 at 8:49 pm
Have you looked at what Laura feeds her family on a regular basis?
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Emily Reply:
January 19th, 2011 at 5:16 am
Nope! I am not a follower and just made a remark about this particular recipe. I’m sure Laura makes decisions about what to feed her particular family that work for them. I’d never judge what someone else feeds their kids. We have unhealthy things in our house that we eat on a regular basis. I was just commenting that healthy is a word that gets thrown around a lot and something that looks more like a recipe for pie crust is probably not something that should be labeled healthy. Better than store-bought processed junk for sure, but it just struck me as ironic. It’s like how in our culture we view salads as healthy. Sure there are many that are, but salads with fried chicken, a pound of cheese, iceberg lettuce, and full-fat bottled ranch dressing is NOT, but that’s what a lot of peopel think of when they think ‘healthy salad’. A poptart is never going to be brain food, even if it’s homemade. I bet there are plenty of people who could use this recipe because they have kids who need calories in their diet and are picky eaters, so it’s a good thing to post. It’s just not a food i’d file in the ‘healthy breakfast’ category.
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I would think you could use sliced apples or peaches in these as a filling? Maybe apple butter? I’m sure there are a multitude of ways to reduce sugar and still have them taste yummy. Thanks for this recipe!
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Laura Reply:
January 18th, 2011 at 7:14 pm
Yep, any of these would be great!
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I have GOT to make these for my kids. They will LOVE them, and so will I. :) Sounds pretty tasty! Might try some apple butter in them, that would be heavenly, I bet. :)
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YUM! After reading all the replys to this post I must make home made poptarts – and teach the “chef wanna be” (16yo) how to make them and he can keep us stocked up on these. No more boxed stuff… YAY!
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OK, I hadn’t made yogurt for a while, so I couldn’t make these, but I got back into the swing of making our yogurt, so I made these. YUMMY! I don’t get the amount you get, though. Wonder if I make them too thick?
We’ve had them twice this week and since I doubled the batch today, we’ll have some tomorrow too. We all like them.
Oh, and I did the soak method and it turned out great. I subbed coconut oil for half (or more, when doubled) of the butter. Turned out perfect both times.
Thank you for this recipe!
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Laura Reply:
January 19th, 2011 at 9:14 pm
Yes, they may have been thicker than mine, but I’m glad they tasted so good for you!
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Oh my goodness, what a WONDERFUL idea!! I’m thinking these would be awesome filled with the pear preserves, pomegranate jelly, or apple pie filling I’ve been canning (recipes on my site, FYI :) ) Can’t wait to try this. I might even drizzle a little powdered sugar icing over the top, like toaster strudels. Not exactly *healthy*, but so good!! Thanks you SOOOOO much for showing us how to do it! My children thank you.
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