Truth be told, pop tarts aren’t something I ever had as a kid.  Maybe once or twice. With my mom being uber-healthy, they were never allowed in the house.  But really, can you go wrong with baked dough with jam in the middle?  I think not!

This was a recipe request from a reader, and I thought it would be a fun challenge.  They were actually really fun and easy to make.  The dough itself was very easy to work with.  Please note that its a wheat-free recipe, not gluten free.  I don’t have a huge comfort level baking with gluten free dough, as the texture can be quite tricky.  I did find that this spelt flour and oat flour combo worked perfectly!

As for the filling, use you favorite double fruit or lower sugar jam.

I learned 2 important lessons while making these pop tarts:

1) Pop tarts immediately out of the oven are very hot.  The jam WILL run down your shirt, and burn your hand!

2)  I confirmed the fact that I’m a “rustic” baker.  There was no uniformity with my pop tarts.  That’s perfectly fine, as they may not be the prettiest, but they sure taste darn good!

Healthy Pop Tarts

Makes 20

2 1/4 cup spelt flour (or whole wheat flour)
1 1/2 cups oat flour
1 tsp sea salt
1/2 cup Earth Balance or butter, melted
1/3 cup unsweetened applesauce (1 snack pack)
1 cup unsweetened almond milk (or milk of choice)
Jam or jelly (whatever kind you like), lower sugar or double fruit kind. I used raspberry & apricot.

Optional – Raw sugar sprinkled on top (could use sucanat, palm sugar or cane sugar)

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Grease a cookie sheet or cover with parchment paper.

In a large bowl, mix together the spelt flour, oat flour and salt.  Add in the melted Earth Balance or butter, applesauce & milk and mix with a wooden spoon until it forms into a dough.  On a well floured surface, knead the dough a few times, adding more spelt flour if needed if the dough is a little sticky.  Roll dough into a large thin layer. Cut into a big rectangle.  Cut squares or rectangles out of the dough, or even use a cookie cutter if you like.

Place 1 tsp of jam in the middle of a square of dough, and place another square of dough on top.  Use a floured fork around the edges to seal.  Cut a small slit on the top to let steam escape.

Place pop tarts on your cookie sheet (as many that will fit), sprinkle the tops with palm sugar (what I used) or raw sugar or sucanat if desired.  Bake for approx. 25 minutes or until it starts to get golden around the edges.

Roll out the remaining dough, and repeat the process until the dough is all gone.

Once completely cooled, place in a freezer bag and store in the freezer.  Re-heat them by popping them in the toaster!

Nutrition (per pop-tart)   Calories: 135   Fat: 5.7 g   Carbs: 18 g   Fiber: 2.6 g   Sugars: 1.9 g   Sodium: 174 mg   Protein: 3 g

p.s.  They were a hit with my 3 year old!