Everyone wants Taylor Swift's pop tart recipe, but I'll do ya one better. This one is whole wheat and a fun family treat!
Sometimes you just want a treat. I definitely don't deny my family treats, but I also don't just buy them at the store. If we want something fun we are going to make it ourselves. Not only does this teach the kids great recipes, it helps us sneak in just a bit extra nutrition.
I'm not talking about hiding veggies in strange spots or using no sugar ever. But I am learning how to "sneak" more whole grains into my family. You take a fun treat like a frosted pop tart and add fresh ground wheat? Then I don't feel so bad about serving these up with my coffee or even the kids' chocolate milk.
For more whole wheat treats, try out some donut sticks. I also swear by whole grains in chocolate cake because the flavour is masked!
Key Ingredients
Flour - Whole wheat pastry flour here, friends. And when you grind your own, you KNOW it's the real deal. But I won't tell if you sub in some all-purpose, either.
Fat - This is key to a great pastry dough, and it needs to be COLD. You can use butter, lard, anything like that which is solid.
Filling - Any sort of jam or jelly works here, and you can make several different types all at once, the perfect way to use up any languishing jars in the fridge.
Sugar - Just a touch for the dough so it's not too bland, and then the icing on top!
How to Make Whole Wheat Toaster Pastries
***See recipe card below for precise measurements and instructions.***
Step 1: Grate your COLD (even frozen is fine!) fat over the dry ingredients, and work it just until it is cohesive, with just enough COLD water to hold together.
Step 2: Split the dough in half, and start rolling it out.
Step 3: I am for roughly a 14-inch square, but you just want to make sure it is no thicker than ¼" and nice and even.
Step 4: Cut strips and then rectangles. We will be folding these in half which is why they seem large.
Step 5: Add filling to the end of each rectangle, keeping it centered, and not being too generous.
Step 6: Fold in half and crimp well with a fork.
Step 7: Chill for 20 minutes while the oven heats and then bake until golden!
Step 8: Let cool enough to enjoy before topping with a quick powdered sugar glaze.
Using Whole Wheat Flour
I love a fresh ground wheat aka whole wheat pastry - but I have to tell you, it is harder to handle. If you’re not skilled with pastry, and if you want these to look nicer without some rough edges, swap 1-2 cups of all-purpose flour in.
To make a fresh ground pastry you need to be willing for it to look a little rougher. There is my honest truth. When you’re rolling it out and it starts to get a little ragged, try patching it before you ball up and re-roll it.
But if you’re here for a whole wheat pastry, you’re probably after healthier foods, and you know these won't look like store-bought pop tarts but the whole point is we don't want to eat those, right? Plus these are much tastier…
I find it IS easier to handle if you do all your rolling and working with it before you chill it. This is because it's wetter until the whole wheat soaks up liquid after resting. So skip the normal "chill before using" step and it just gets 10 minutes to rest on the counter before you get going on assembling your pop tarts.
FAQs
You can make these two ways - if you want smaller ones, cut 3” strips and you’ll
get about 24-28 pop tarts. If you want bigger, roll 4” strips and you’ll get 20-24.
Try trimming edges to patch the not square parts of your dough to limit the
amount of times the dough scraps are re-rolled.
Soft white wheat berries will give you whole wheat pastry flour. You can also find bags of whole wheat pastry flour at the store if that's more your speed, and I know King Arthur Flour has a good one. You have to be careful that "whole wheat" bags at the store are truly whole grains, and don't have the bran sifted out.
If grinding your own, try and do it a bit ahead of time because it does heat up in the grinding process. This way it can cool down!
Temperature! You need cold ingredients and a cold dough so that the final texture is perfect. I like to put ice in my measuring cup and fill it up with water while I gather everything else. You don't need to be precise with water, it's more learning the look and feel of the dough, so it's best to just fill up your large one to use! You can also make this on a whim because frozen butter is easiest to grate. No remembering to thaw.
We use any jam, jelly, even pie filling, though you might need to chop the fruit some first. Just make sure it's not too watery so it doesn't leak out.
I go the lazy way and fold them so I only have to crimp 3 sides. Less change of leaking! But if you want them to have even more of a classic look, cut the dough the way I do and then cut each rectangle in half to make your sandwich.
Photos by Dante from Shire by the Sea
More Whole Wheat Treats
Hey friends, don't forget to follow me over on Instagram, cause if you like me here, I post there a LOT! I'm also on YouTube with tutorials and Facebook for all sorts of things.
If you like this recipe, I’d love if you reviewed it so others can find it easier. Sharing this recipe on Facebook or Pinterest is another way you can help us out at no cost to you. Thanks, xo Kate
Whole Wheat Pop Tarts
Ingredients
For pastry:
- 5 cups whole wheat pastry flour especially fresh ground soft white wheat
- ¼ cup sugar
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1 lb COLD fat tallow, lard, butter, or a mix!
- 8 - 10 oz COLD water
For Filling:
- 1 - 1 ½ cups thick jam/pie filling/jelly
For Icing:
- 2 cups icing sugar
- ⅓ cup milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
Instructions
To make the pastry:
- Measure flour, sugar, and salt into a bowl.
- Using a cheese grater, grate in your fat, and then mix in the water until you can form the dough into a good ball. You’re going to be wanting it a little wetter than an all-purpose flour pie crust, because the whole wheat flour takes time to soak up the water and hydrate.
- Let rest on the counter 10 minutes, unless your kitchen is super hot, then pop it in the fridge.
- Divide the dough in half and on a floured counter roll out to about 14” x 14”- it should be roughly ¼” thick; if not, roll it to be ¼” thick, however large that is.
- Patch things to make it square, then cut 3” or 4” strips. Cut each of these strips into sections 5-6” long.
- In the center of each rectangle, put 2 teaspoons jam for smaller squares or 1 tablespoon for bigger. Err on the side of less filling or it spills out and makes a mess.
- Fold the rectangle over to make it a pocket, and use a fork to crimp the edges.
- Let chill in freezer or fridge for 20 minutes, and turn your oven on to 425°F to preheat.
- Bake for 10 minutes, turn pans around, and 10 minutes more for smaller ones or 15 more for bigger…you want the edges to be browning, otherwise the bottoms will be too soft.
Icing:
- If you want to ice them, let them cool for 15 minutes or so, then you can drizzle icing. I like to move them all onto a piece of parchment close together, so I don't waste icing.
- Whisk together icing, and drizzle all over 'em!
Notes
- Use a thicker jam or jelly, or apple butter, anything that doesn't have too high of a water content.
- Let the pastry cool just enough to eat to ice it. This way it won't completely melt off.
- You can definitely cut squares and crimp all edges - but why take more time?
McKenzie Benton
These are sooooo good!! I made a fresh raspberry filling! Can you freeze the pop tarts? I wasn’t sure if they would be good after thawing!
[email protected]
Yes you can freeze them. Glad you enjoyed them!