Channeling our inner child with these homemade strawberry mini pop tarts! Made with a soft and flaky crust and filled with a delicious juicy strawberry filling, these pretty pink pop tarts make the perfect Valentine's day treat. Made gluten free and vegan too!
Love is in the air and so is the smell of homemade mini pop tarts! Show someone you care with a plate of these pastries with sweet fruity flavors.
Each one is made with a simple gluten-free dough (that's easy to work with), filled with a sweet strawberry jam, and topped off with pink frosting. We even give you three different options so you can top your mini pop tarts how ever you'd like!
If you're not a strawberry fan, check out my popular blueberry pop tarts! Simply swap the filling in these bite-sized pop-tarts for the blueberry filling.
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Step by Step Directions
Step 1 : Prepare the strawberry "jam". This is a super simple strawberry style "jam". To make, start with fresh strawberries, chopped into pieces in a large mixing bowl. Add a tablespoon of maple syrup to the strawberries.
Use a fork or a stiff whisk to mash the strawberries until there is a bit of juice extracted. Then sprinkle in the chia seeds and mix to disperse. Set the bowl aside and allow the chia seeds to soak up the juices. This creates a thick jam-like consistency.
Step 2 : Mix the flours, water, and coconut oil. To prepare the dough for these vegan pop tarts, first whisk together the almond flour and tapioca flour. Add 4 tablespoons of cold water followed by 3 tablespoons of solid coconut oil. Mix with a spoon or rubber spatula until small clumps begin to form.
Step 3 : Add the maple syrup and more water (if needed). This is the last step in making the dough. Add the maple syrup to the mixture and stir well to form the dough. If the dough is looking too dry and is not sticking together, add another tablespoon of cold water until you can form a ball like the image above. If using a food processor or mixer, a large ball of dough should begin to form in the bowl at this point.
The dough will be a tad sticky which is okay! As you roll the dough out, it will become less sticky and more manageable to handle.
Step 4. Roll out the dough. To roll out the dough, sprinkle a little extra tapioca flour on top of a piece of parchment paper. Place the ball of dough on top and sprinkle, yes, a little more tapioca flour over top. This is how to best roll out gluten-free dough. The parchment paper and tapioca flour are a necessary evil.
Roll the dough out to about ½ inch in thickness. Be sure not to roll it out too thin as the dough will crumble. You want nice semi-thick pieces to work with. Using a heart shaped cookie cutter, cut shapes out of the dough. You should be able to cut 12 - 16 hearts which will make 6 - 8 mini vegan pop tarts.
Step 5 : Fill the pop tarts, seal, and bake. Take half of your heart shapes and place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. The other half of the heart will be the tops of the vegan pop tarts. Spoon a tablespoon of the strawberry jam on top of the hearts that are on the baking sheet. Make sure to place the jam in the center so there is enough to room the seal the pop tarts.
Once all the pop tarts have filling on them, and this is an important trick, press the palm of your hand over the other half of the hearts to spread them out just a bit. This will make the top piece of the pop tart a little bit bigger, and thinner, than the bottom. Because there is filling on top of the bottom piece of the pop tart, having a slightly bigger top piece is critical so there is enough to wrap over the filling.
Then, seal each pop tart with a small fork by pressing into the edges all around the shape. Finally, brush each with melted vegan butter, or an egg wash if not vegan, and bake in the oven until golden brown!
Can I Make These into Rectangles?
These strawberry pop tarts can be made in to practically any shape you want! If you prefer the classic rectangular pop tart shape, use a cookie cutter with that shape or use a pizza cutter to cut out your own rectangles.
Fill each rectangular pouch with the strawberry filling as directed, seal, and bake.
The Icing
The icing and the filling fight for the title of 'best part of the mini pop tarts' in my opinion. Because icing can be a personal choice, and because we like to mix things up over here, we've provided THREE different ways to ice your pop tarts.
Of course, there is fourth way which includes not icing them at all but who wants a naked pop tart?!
- Powdered sugar or monk fruit - this is the classic pop tart icing and by far the sweetest. To make it, simply whisk together powdered sugar or powdered monk fruit (this will be even sweeter but is a paleo-friendly option) with almond milk until thin and runny and add a little pink food coloring.
- Melted coconut butter - this is my personal favorite! Melt coconut butter over low heat on the stove. This can also be done in a double boiler. Be sure to stir continuously to prevent burning. If needed, add a little coconut oil to thin it out. Once melted, add the pink food coloring.
- Melted white chocolate - a fun twist to the traditional pop tart. To make these mini pastries a little more 'dessert-style' melt your favorite white chocolate over low heat on the stove. Like the coconut butter, this can also be done in a double boiler. Once melted, add the pink food coloring.
The images in this post were taken with the melted coconut butter icing option. This is my favorite as I love the taste of coconut butter and it makes for a thicker icing when drizzled over top of the frosted strawberry pop tart.
Expert Tips
- Make sure you use cold water and solid coconut oil for the dough. This helps keep the dough in tact and not warm and sticky.
- Don't let the dough sit out. I don't want to say you need to work quickly per se. But this is not the type of dough that can be made ahead of time and then rolled out. Once it's made, you'll want to roll it out on the parchment paper and cut it into shapes. Because this is a gluten-free dough, it's easiest to handle when it's fresh.
- Make the top piece of the pop tart a little bigger than the bottom. This is stated in step 5 above but it deserves to be reiterated. To make the top piece slightly larger, gently press down on it with the palm of your hand to "squish" it out. This will spread the dough out making it slightly larger and thinner than the bottom piece. This is important so the top piece is big enough to wrap over the filling and be sealed shut.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes. I have a blueberry pop tart recipe that is very popular! It uses a similar chia seed based jam but with blueberries. However, if another fruit like raspberries or blackberries sounds more appealing, it should work in a similar fashion.
I have not tried this with another flour other than almond flour. However, if you don't have tapioca flour, arrowroot starch is a great substitute for the tapioca flour.
In place of the melted vegan butter, feel free to use melted coconut butter or a simple egg wash (a whisked egg with a splash of nut milk) if not vegan.
These pop tarts are best stored in an air-tight container in the fridge. When ready to eat, pop them in the toaster oven (not a pop up toaster) to heat. The icing will melt when doing this so if you plan on storing them for later, store the icing separately and drizzle over the pop tart after it's been toasted.
If your Valentine is more of a chocolate fan, these Valentine's Day Peanut Butter Cookie Bars are a must!
Check out these other pastry recipes!
PS : If you make this recipe, be sure to leave a star review and comment below! Also be sure to follow along with me on Instagram and Pinterest to stay up to date on all tasty recipes here at The Fit Peach!
Recipe
Strawberry Mini Pop Tarts
Ingredients
For the Pop Tart
- 1 cup fresh strawberries - chopped
- 3 tablespoon maple syrup - divided
- 1 tablespoon chia seeds
- 1 ½ cup almond flour
- 1 cup tapioca flour - plus more to roll out the dough
- 4 - 5 tablespoon cold water
- 3 tablespoon coconut oil - solid
- 1 tablespoon vegan butter - melted (sub melted coconut oil or a simple egg wash if not vegan)
Icing options
Powdered sugar option
- ⅔ cup powdered sugar or monk fruit
- 1 - 2 tablespoon almond milk - or any nut milk
- 1 drop pink food coloring
Coconut butter option
- ⅔ cup coconut butter
- 1 teaspoon coconut oil - if needed to thin out the coconut butter
- 1 drop pink food coloring
White chocolate option
- ⅔ cup white chocolate chips
- 1 drop pink food coloring
Instructions
For the Pop Tart
- Place the strawberry pieces in a mixing bowl with 1 tablespoon maple syrup. Mash the strawberries up to extract some juice with a fork or a stiff whisk. You still want some strawberry chunks so only mash until there is some juice at the bottom of the bowl.
- Add the chia seeds to the bowl and stir to distribute. Set the bowl aside to allow the chia seeds to soak up the juices. This is what will produce a thick jam-style consistency.
- For the dough, whisk together the almond flour and tapioca flour in a large bowl or in the bowl of a stand mixer or food processor. Add 4 tablespoon of cold water and the solid coconut oil and stir until small clumps form.
- Add 2 tablespoon maple syrup and continue to mix until a large ball of dough forms. If the mixture is still too dry and is falling apart, add another tablespoon of cold water until the dough is sticky and can form the shape of a ball.
- Sprinkle a little extra tapioca flour on a piece of parchment paper. Place the ball of dough on top followed by another sprinkle of tapioca flour. Roll or press the dough out to about ½ inch in thickness. Use a heart shaped cookie cutter to slice shapes out of the dough similar to cut-out sugar cookies. You should be able to get 12 - 16 heart shapes out of the dough. Place half of the hearts on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. The other half of the hearts will be the top pieces of the pop tart.
- Spoon a tablespoon of the strawberry "jam" on top of the hearts that are on the baking sheet. Be sure to place the filling in the center to allow enough room around the edges to seal the pop tarts. Once all the bottom halves of the pop tarts have filling on them, press the palm of your hand over the other half of the hearts (the top pieces) to spread them out a bit.This will make the top piece slightly larger and thinner than the bottom piece which gives it enough room to cover the filling. Place the top piece over top of the filling and seal the edges with a small fork. Only press down with the fork slightly and not all the way through the dough. Brush the melted vegan butter over top of the sealed pop tarts. Bake in the oven for 18 - 20 minutes until the edges are golden brown.
For the icing
- Powdered sugar option - In a bowl, mix together the powdered sugar or monk fruit with the almond milk until the sugar is dissolved. If needed, add another teaspoon of almond milk to thin out the mixture. Add a drop of pink food coloring to make it pink and drizzle over top of each pop tart.
- Coconut butter option - Melt the coconut butter in a pot or skillet over low heat. This can also be done in a double boiler. If needed, add a teaspoon of coconut oil to thin it out. Remove from heat and transfer the melted coconut butter to a bowl.Add a drop of pink food coloring and stir. Drizzle over top of each pop tart.
- White chocolate option - Melt the white chocolate in a skillet or pot over low heat. This can also be done in a double boiler. Like the coconut butter, add a little coconut oil if needed to thin it out. Remove from heat and transfer to a bowl.Add a drop of pink food coloring and stir. Drizzle over top of each pop tart
Hi Ansley! Would corn starch work in this recipe as a substitute for arrowroot starch? Thank you!
Hi Tracy! Yes, cornstarch will work just fine.
Hey! What temperature should these be baked at?
Hi Abby! They're baked at 350 F.