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!!)
I have been reading your blog through my reader and wanted to start trying some healthier alternatives to the boxed processed foods we have been buying. I’m new to all of this and I guess it showed when I tried making these. lol
I have dough issues, though.
First my dough (King Arthur whole wheat flour) was very crumbly. I kneaded it and worked it for over 30 minutes. I couldn’t get it really smooth but gave up as my hands were aching. Then I worked at spreading the dough out for over 30 minutes. I used the plastic wrap (which did help! Thanks Trudi!) and got it thin enough. My problem was I could only get 7 poptarts out of this. Not even enough to feed my kids let alone husband and myself. So I’m not sure what I did wrong. :-/
My little 7 poptarts tasted ok. The crust tasted like cardboard. It was tough to cut and chew. The kids are eating it and seem to like it ok. I think that has something to do with the frosting I put on top to sweeten it a bit. lol
I used the amount called for in the recipe and I think the dough was probably think as a piece of cardboard. After an hour of working at this, I was hoping to have more of a reward for my efforts. lol
Any ideas on getting the dough to yield more? Is there a video I can watch on how to spread dough out? lol I’d like to try this again.
Thanks! :)
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Laura Reply:
August 17th, 2011 at 2:27 pm
I’m not sure what went wrong – my dough is never that difficult to roll out, so I can therefore get it much thinner, which makes it taste better.
You may want to add a little more yogurt next time or even a little water so that the dough won’t be so stiff and difficult to work with. That may help!
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Christine Reply:
August 18th, 2011 at 3:57 pm
Thank you, Laura, for your suggestion! The 2nd attempt came out much much better! :D
I blogged about it:
http://preparingforrain.com/2011/08/homemade-poptarts/
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Courtney Reply:
January 29th, 2012 at 11:09 pm
Laura,you do soak your dough, right? That may be what gives yours a nice texture. The recipe may need to be altered if using unsoaked dough. Just a thought. These look delicious and I plan to try them tomorrow! I don’t think I have jelly on hand, so I’m going to try to just blend up some frozen fruit for the filling. Yum!!
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Laura Reply:
February 2nd, 2012 at 11:22 am
Yes, I typically do soak the dough for this recipe, although not always. Hope they turned out well for you!
We have just made these for breakfast today. They look fantastic and I can’t wait to try them. I have had a moratorium on pop tarts for several years now and I’m glad to have found a healthier alternative. Thanks for the all the awesome recipes you share!!
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I eat poptarts occationally but they are full of calories & no good for me. This recipe & the wonderful photos of how to make them yourself is great & not healthy looking so I can eat them more often w/my breakfast coffee. Thanks a lot. I don’t think there is anything that can’t be found on the internet anymore. It’s amazing. Never thought I’d find a recipe for poptarts!!!
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I eat poptarts occationally but they are full of calories & no good for me. This recipe & the wonderful photos of how to make them yourself is great & healthy looking so I can eat them more often w/my breakfast coffee. Thanks a lot. I don’t think there is anything that can’t be found on the internet anymore. It’s amazing. Never thought I’d find a recipe for poptarts!!!
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Just made these with my kids… So yummy.. didn’t have plain yogurt so I used milk! Turned out fine… I will have to do this again!
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Your picture of the crust looks like it is made with white flour. I know you made them with whole wheat but when I used whole wheat for mine, they were too heavy and grainy, even though they were nice and thin. I use Montana white wheat but it still seems too heavy. What are you using for the flour? Thanks!
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Shanna Reply:
September 21st, 2011 at 12:06 pm
Summer, The first time I made these I did 1/2 Montana white and 1/2 Montana Golden wheat
(b/c I think it’s neat that I’ve been to their farm in Three Forks :) ) They
were still pretty whole wheat -ish, but not terribly over powering. I have
also made this recipe w/ all white and personally it’s my favorite as it really
brings out the flavor of the yogurt which is delicious, and is all around a better
pastry flour, imo. Next time I plan on using 3/4 white to 1/4 wheat and calling
it good. I’ve added cinnemon apple bits, honey (which leaks terribly), and jam.
I plan on using the E.D.Smith Raspberry Cherry Pomegranate Acai jam from Costco
because it has a more mature flavor (that my kids still love) and is only 25 calories/
6g sugar per tablespoon.
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Laura Reply:
September 22nd, 2011 at 9:48 am
I use freshly ground hard white wheat for these.
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I didn’t have plain yogurt on hand so I used buttermilk instead since I had it and needed to use it up-the poptarts turned out just fine and I didn’t even have to add any more flour to the dough. I used a bowl to cut out the dough so I ended up with circular poptarts but at least the circles were all the same size which made it easy to put them together.
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Becki Reply:
January 16th, 2012 at 4:32 pm
OH!! circles!! what a great and easy idea! Thanks for sharing!
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I made these this morning with my 17 month old for a snack and they were a hit! I added a little to much yogurt, but they still turned out great! No they aren’t “healthy” per say, but it isn’t loaded in sugar, and it was nice for a treat.
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How did you keep the jelly inside..mine oozed all out….very good crust though!
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Laura Reply:
September 22nd, 2011 at 9:49 am
Maybe put a little less jelly in next time – mine did that the first time when I had over done the jelly!
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Gin Reply:
October 6th, 2011 at 2:04 am
How about adding a little water and cornstarch to the jelly?
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i am a new(er) mother and homemaker, and have always been intimidated by dough. I tried this recipe and it didn’t come out right. I must have over worked the dough too much, i believe. I put all the ingredients in the kitchenaid, kneaded for a couple minutes, then tried to roll it out. it broke horribly and i couldn’t even roll it out. so i tried to put some more yogurt and a dash of tempid water in, but then it got goo-ey and was like elastic when i rolled it out, bc it would keep stretching back. ah, im so frustrated, just ready to hang up my dough skills.. any ideas? my pop tarts turned out to be jelly rolls adn balls haha.
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Laura Reply:
September 26th, 2011 at 2:15 pm
Bummer that this was so frustrating!! I’ve not tried this in a mixer of any kind, so I can’t help you with this. I simply mix the ingredients and knead with my hands a few minutes. You might want to try adding a little extra yogurt initially when you’re mixing the dough up to see if it is a little more pliable. Also, I’m not sure what kind of whole wheat flour you’re using. I’m using freshly ground flour from hard white wheat. This may make a difference. If you have access to freshly ground white wheat, or even store bought whole wheat made from WHITE wheat instead of red wheat, that makes a big difference in whole wheat dough. White wheat is much easier to work with, in my experience.
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We liked this so much over at Copycat Crafts that we have decided to feature it today! You can view it here
http://www.copycatcrafts.com/how-to-make-homemade-healthy-poptarts/
We’d love it if you’d like to display a featured button! You can grab your button on the right hand side of your post. Thanks!
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I am new to your site and have wanted to try these since I found you a couple weeks ago. Made them this morning and they were very yummy. My 3 yr old ate the entire thing. My batch only made 6…I am not good at rolling WW dough yet, so mine were thicker and larger than yours:) Thanks for your great ideas!!!
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Thank you so much!! Just made these tonight! I tried them while everyone else was in bed and they were delicious and very filling! I really appreciate you posting all your recipes. I, too, am a mother of 4 growing boys 10, 8, and 5 year twins. I work full time on overnights 4 on and 4 off. Your recipes have inspired me to make one night a week that I am off work dedicated to making more healthful snacks for my boys and boycot the boxes! Thank you very much:)
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These look great and I was going to soak the dough but, soaking it in yogurt or any dairy medium isn’t actually effective. They have now found out that you must use apple cider vinegar (or lemon juice) and water to properly soak grains and that makes for a very different (and slimy) dough. Any thoughts? I was really hoping to make it work!
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Laura Reply:
October 27th, 2011 at 6:55 pm
Wow, I’ve not heard that about soaking in dairy not being effective. Do you remember where you read that? Thanks!
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what exactly is healthy about a cup of butter?
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Laura Reply:
November 19th, 2011 at 7:23 am
Yes, that is a question many people who are new to my website ask, understandably so!! Butter and other forms of real, saturated fats do not scare me in the least. I’ve done much research that shows that butter is actually a healthy fat because it is a real food, as opposed to many of the newfangled polyunsaturated fats that have been created. Here’s a post I wrote a while ago on this subject: http://heavenlyhomemakers.com/please-pass-the-butter-and-the-cream
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I LOVE THESE! I am vegan so I switched the butter for earth balance and yogurt for soy yogurt and it worked perfectly. thanks for the recipe :)
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Hi everyone, I was wondering if anyone has tried to used a premade refrigerated dough in place of the flour. Does anyone know the calorie intake for the homemade dough? The premade has 110 calories. I know this is supposed to be a healthy alternative to the store bought item, by I was just curious if anyone has tried it.
Thanks,
Jamie Coursey
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I didn’t think it could be that you could actually make healthy pop tarts! I always go to the store and see pop tarts and believe me I’m tempted. Now I can make this and feel less guilty for eating it. Pure happiness.
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Hey, these look really good. But I was wondering, what do you set the oven at and for how long do you bake them? Thanks!
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Laura Reply:
December 8th, 2011 at 6:11 pm
Bake in a 350° oven for about 25 minutes or until the crust is lightly browned.
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We have made these twice and they were a big hit! I used Greek yogurt in them and it was tasty. Even the mail lady got one as she was working extra early in the morning delivering packages for Christmas. She was amazed that they were homemade and I know it brightened up her day. Thank you for wonderful recipes to replace the “junk” that we gave up.
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Wow, can’t wait to try these with homemade jam! Just now discovered your blog when searching for how to freeze shredded potatoes-another winner! Thank you.
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My dad loves cinnamon pop tarts so I said I would find a way to make him homemade ones. Thank you for posting this recipe!
I used this website for the filling! Delicious! http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/cinnamon-filling-10000001962467/
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Laurie R. Reply:
January 31st, 2012 at 1:32 pm
Thank You!!!! I was looking specifically for this. You are an angel!
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I will be trying these today. My 8yr old daughter loves pop tarts, but I refuse to buy them. She asked for them for Christmas and got 2 boxes :) I will see what she thinks and that will be the ultimate test.
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Thanks for the recipe! I made these today. I also did circular shape, I used a mason jar lid to cut them out. I cooked down some apples and butternut squash with cinnamon and filled them with that. To me, that’s a lot better than sugar filled jam. No added sugar and a little vegetable! Brushed the top with melted butter and sprinkled with cinanamon. Perfect! Thanks again
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Wonderful idea for a sweet treat as a snack. Thanks so much for sharing!
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Laura- I made these last night and they turned out GREAT! I used all whole wheat flour and made homemade blueberry/orange compote filling. Also i used a light egg wash to help seal and sprinkled with sugar in the raw. Thanks for the inspiring take on a traditionally sugar filled snack.!
Emilee
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Ooooooh!! Myvhusband LOVES him some Pop-tarts. I am sooooooo making these for Valentine’s breakfast…Thank you!!
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Jen Reply:
April 9th, 2012 at 6:26 pm
I would the use heart shapes, if valentines day. You could make different shapes for different holidays… how fun! :)
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I made these last night so I could let them soak overnight but, the dough was very crumbly and really hard to roll out! I coudn’t get them very thin! I am getting ready to throw them in the oven we will see how they turn out! I saw that you said to add more yogurt! I will try that next time! Thanks for the great recipes!
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Do you have a gluten free recipe for these?
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LindseyforLaura@HHM Reply:
March 6th, 2012 at 10:25 am
No gluten free recipe yet. :)
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I haven’t tried this yet, but I soon will. I think I would have to argue with your critics saying this isn’t healthy though. I couldn’t find anything un-healthy about it.
You’ve got your whole wheat flour
Butter — (if using organic or even better homemade — then that’s an extra boost of nutrition
Yogurt — again, organic or even better homemade – super nutrition right there
Salt — himalayan sea salt gives you an extra boost of vital minerals in your diet
Jelly — using homemade, no sugar added fruit spread – can’t go wrong with that.
So that said, I think this is an excellent guilt free breakfast to break out to your kids as quick as you can make ‘em!
Thanks Laura!
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I cant wait to try these! i love pop tarts and cooking.I always wondered if you could make them homade pop tarts. I guess you can :)
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I just made these and followed a tip my SIL told me about. I used a pampered chef cut and seal. It worked great! No jam oozing out and and they all were uniform in size. My dough was easy to work with. I used homemade yogurt! I am so excited to surprise my kids with this treat! Thanks for this great recipe and website!
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Melissa Reply:
February 9th, 2012 at 5:46 am
I like that Idea. I was thinking about it when I read the recipe, cause I wouldn’t have uniform thingamajigs myself!
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Is there sugar sprinkled on these or is that the texture of the dough? Sorry, I can’t tell in the pictures and didn’t see in the recipe where it says to sprinkle sugar on them.
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Laura Reply:
February 7th, 2012 at 10:57 am
No, it’s probably just a little bit of flour you see on the top. :)
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When I make these I use my pizza cutter to cut the rectangles. I also just put jelly on half and fold it over – that way it fits every time!
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Is there anything I can use besides yogurt? We are just learning how to be a dairy-free family (for health reasons), and I don’t know all of the tricks yet.
Thanks!
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Cassie Reply:
February 15th, 2012 at 10:05 pm
Hi Amy, I was reading through the comments and saw yours, up top a bit there is a comment and it says “I LOVE THESE! I am vegan so I switched the butter for earth balance and yogurt for soy yogurt and it worked perfectly. thanks for the recipe”, so I think that might help you :)
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LindseyforLaura@HHM Reply:
March 6th, 2012 at 10:27 am
You could also try rice milk or coconut milk.
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Just made these this morning. They turned out great except they needed more jelly on the insides. I was trying to be careful because I didn’t want it to ooze out everywhere. Guess I was too careful! Oh well! Lesson learned.. Now time to devour! :)
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I’ve been looking at this recipe for a while now and I think today we will try it. I think it will make a nice treat for valentine’s day. :)
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I was wondering if these freeze well, like we could make a batch and freeze some for later use.
Very cool recipe! Thanks for sharing.
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Laura Reply:
February 15th, 2012 at 10:42 pm
Yes, these freeze well!
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Cassie Reply:
February 16th, 2012 at 11:31 pm
Thanks for the quick reply Laura! :D
Would you suggest freezing them already baked, and pop them in the toaster to heat up or?
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LindseyforLaura@HHM Reply:
March 20th, 2012 at 11:45 am
It would probably work best to freeze them after baking. :)
Okay tried these today and they are great thank you so much. A tip though to make it a little easier if anyone has the pampered chef cut n seal that works great instead of getting the traditional pop tart shape you get circles :). You use the cut n seal to cut out all your circles then put the jam inside put a circle on top and use the sealer to seal them up turned out great. :) thanks again for the recipe.
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we made this dough last night and experimented with it this morning. (I was a little hesitant to leave it out all night, but I followed the directions and it was a great consistency this morning)! we did some with blackberry jam, some with apricot, and a couple test samples with almond butter.
we rolled out half of the dough, added some garlic and parmesan and pre-baked for 10 minutes. I then added some scrambled eggs, ham and cheese and made a quick breakfast pizza. Everything turned out yummy!
thanks for sharing your recipes!
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I made these a couple weeks ago. They turned out awesome. I used only whole wheat flour and they were hearty and delicious. Instead of using jam I sauteed some frozen blueberries with orange zest and honey until it reduced to a compote. The only problem I had was the edges coming together. We also used an egg wash to make the golden and seal the edges . Happy baking!
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Could you please explain what you mean by “soak” the dough? I have never heard of this term.
Thank you!
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Laura Reply:
March 9th, 2012 at 9:20 pm
Here’s an article I wrote that explains that step: http://heavenlyhomemakers.com/what-it-means-to-soak-grains :)
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could i use coconut oil instead of butter in this recipe? or half a cup of butter and half a cup of coconut oil? looks delicious!
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Laura Reply:
March 9th, 2012 at 9:10 pm
Yes, that should work fine – either half and half, or exclusively coconut oil.
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I’ve made these many times but always have a problem with the inside oozing. Today I came across another recipe that calls for brushing the bottom piece with egg before putting the jam and top piece on. The edges seal up great this way!! (how many eggrolls have I made and this didn’t occur to me!?)
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My children (ages 4 and 3) and I just made these! We had so much fun!! My “orderly” mommy tried to come out as my 3 year old threw flour high (everywhere) in the air; but I pushed her aside and joined in the flour tossing! They are cooking in the oven right now and smell delicious!
Thank you for sharing with us all your yummy (healthy) recipes!!
Jessica
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Hi,
I have an allergy to yogurt. Is there another alternative to yogurt that I could use to make these?
These look so yummy! And I really want to make them!
Thanks!
Polly
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Laura Reply:
April 6th, 2012 at 7:45 am
You can use almond, rice, or coconut milk and it should still work fine.
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I realize they are MUCH healthier than the store bought version but at 200 calories each (if the recipe makes 15, about 160 if you make 20) I’d have trouble making these.
I know it’s the butter that throws the calorie count so high. Is there a lower calorie ingredient that could be substituted for butter? I can’t think of anything that would make a big difference off the top of my head.
They would certainly make a delicious treat of course!
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They are in the oven! What a great snack idea. Much better than anything processed. How often we are making cookies or cake and not caring of the calories!!!
Moderation!!!!
I rolled out the first half too thick, so they took a little longer to cook.
I did use a circle cutter for half and I think that will work great for little hands!
I might do a touch of icing just to make it a treat!
Thanks for the recipe!
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I have my 1st pan cooling right now and my 2nd pan still in the oven. They smell and taste wonderful!! I used all coconut oil instead of butter so I imagine they are not quite as flakey but still great. I also used kefir instead of yogurt because that is what I had on hand. For a special treat I filled them with Nutella. I also cut them them with a biscuit cutter which make it easier to make it uniform. The first batch I rolled out a little too think so took a while to cook but I got better as I went along. Next time hopefully I’ll have time to do an overnight soak.
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My daughter only likes chocolate ones. She’s not a fan of jams or jellies. Could I put dark chocolate chips in these?
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Laura Reply:
April 24th, 2012 at 8:02 pm
Sure, good idea!
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