 I thought these were beautiful and brilliant when I saw Heidi's post over at Adventures of A Gluten-Free Mom. If you have never visited her site, you must! She has a wonderful collection of recipes as well as information on living gluten-free and allergy-aware. I haven't eaten a REAL Pop-Tart(TM) since ...well...um...let's just say it's been a while. I don't even remember them all that fondly, either. As a matter of fact, I stopped eating them long before I rid my life of gluten. But when I saw the gorgeous pastries that Heidi made and realized they were free of all my offending foods, I suddenly developed a craving for these babies. However, I didn't think I would make them so soon. I mean, I'm a busy girl, and I've got LOTS of "must-do" baking this week. There's my brother's birthday and there are 3 October Angel Cakes to bake. No time for Pop Tarts, right? Wrong. Yesterday there was time, because I made time. And let me be as forthcoming as possible. It was not because I have toaster pastry-starved children drooling over the colorful boxes of the sugar-crusted grocery store variety of this treat. It was not because I want to be the perfect mother and go above and beyond the parental call of duty to make a nutritionally superior snack for my dear children. No, I made these "not Pop Tarts", as I like to call them, for me, me, me. Quite simply, I was hungry. Starving, actually. It was after 2pm, and all I had eaten the entire day was a Glutino Strawberry Breakfast Bar (thank YOU Glutino for the samples at Atlanta Gluten-free Vendor Fair last month!). And that was prior to 8am. Why such a gap in between feedings? Invasive dental procedure #5 (in just under 4 weeks) occurred at 9:30am. Consider yourself fortunate that this is a blog about delicious food and NOT about the other aspects of my life because I could go on and on about the dental at this point (ag-o-ny!). But back to the not Pop Tarts. They came into existence in my kitchen because I was hungry, and I felt that I deserved to have whatever I thought I could eat at that point. The first thing to "pop" into my head was that striking picture from Heidi's site. I had to make them. And am I ever glad I did! They are spectacular little treats, and so easy to put together! I hope you'll try them, and I hope you'll visit Heidi's site to see hers - they are MUCH more attractive than mine, but hey...it was a fun distraction and a nice treat in the midst of my pain, and my kiddos benefitted, too (yes! you know I shared!!). I did change things a bit. I did not use a packaged gluten-free flour mix - I'm not much on mixes - I just prefer to make my own mixes and blends and experiment (usually a guarantee for multiple attempts, but that's ok by me). And I added a little honey to my dough. I did not use shortening at all, mainly because I didn't have any in the house. I haven't bought shortening in ...years?...ever? As you can imagine, I did have plenty of Earth Balance Soy-Free buttery spread around, so I used it for all the fat in the recipe. I concocted a filling of my own (see Honey Apple Filling recipe at the end of this post) for half the tarts and used a seedless organic blackberry all fruit conserve for the other half. I followed Heidi's link for method and baking time with great results, but I'll include my info here as well. Gluten-Dairy-Egg-Soy-Nut-Free Not Pop Tarts 3 1/2 c. gluten-free flour blend*see below 6 ounces Earth Balance soy-free buttery spread 2 Tablespoons honey 1/4 c. ice water (and possibly an additional tablespoon or 2, if dough is too dry) Rice milk for tops of tarts before baking sprinkles, sugars, or frosting of your choice Fillings of your choice Oven: 350 Cookie sheet, lightly greased Cut Earth Balance into flour until small crumbs form. Drizzle honey over top, and add the water. Gently stir until mixture comes together into a soft dough. Roll dough between sheets of wax paper or parchment until approximately 1/8 -inch thickness (or just over). Peel off top sheet, cut dough (I used a pizza cutter) into sections that are approximately 4x7-inches (you will be folding these over after filling) and transfer to a lightly greased cookie sheet. To tranfer dough and keep it from falling apart, I simply flipped the bottom wax paper sheet (with dough on it) onto the cookie sheet (dough side down, wax paper side up) after making my cuts and discarding the rough edges, then I peeled away the wax paper. To fill the tarts, I placed a tablespoon or 2 (eyeball this, don't over-fill) of the filling on one half of the dough rectangle and spread it slightly (but not to edges). I used a small spatula to lift one edge of the dough in order to fold it over. Crimp edges with a fork to seal, brush tops lightly with rice milk and decorate with sugars or sprinkles (if you're using them), then bake for approximately 10 minutes, or until edges become slightly golden (overbaking = tough pastry). After the tarts cool slightly, drizzle with glaze (made from a bit of confectioner's sugar, vanilla extract, and enough milk to achieve "drizzle" consistency) if you wish. I definitely recommend that you check out Heidi's site and the original recipe link that she provides, and also that you give these tarts a try. And I love the filling ideas from Smitten Kitchen (not gluten-free recipes, but a site that I love and so will you!). *Here's the flour blend that I used for this recipe: 2 parts white rice flour 1 part EACH: sweet sorghum flour, millet flour, potato starch Whisk until thoroughly blended. Note: I think I'd like to try these with a blend that has more sorghum and less rice flour. I love the sorghum, especially in baked goods! And my Honey-Apple filling: 1/2 c. honey (I used a dark, floral honey from a local producer) 1 c. organic unsweetened applesauce 1 t. ground cinnamon 1 t. ground ginger 1/4 -1/2 t. mace pinch sea salt 1 T. potato starch 1 t. vanilla extract Combine all ingredients in saucepan and cook over medium heat, stirring occassionally. When mixture begins to boil, stir so that it does not stick and allow to just come to a full boil. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla. The mixture will be thick and spreadable.  This recipe is linked to Mom's Crazy Cooking: This Week's Cravings - Kid Friendly Recipes - Check it out! Comments10/15/2010 15:02
GORGEOUS Gigi, simply gorgeous!!! Heidi - you're too kind. I call mine the "rustic version" LOL. They really are very good...not at all like the PTs I remember from childhood. My younger daughter said they "don't make my mouth feel gross inside like the real kind do". I'd say that's a compliment! :) And yes, I think it is so awesome how we can borrow all these ideas, then craft a very unique and personalized recipe for our own family. I do this all the time - not because the original recipe isn't "right", but instead because of a dietary need, because I am lacking an ingredient, or because I'm feeling experimental (typically the later). Rennie 02/05/2012 20:19
I've made these twice now with my 12 year old. Y-U-M!!! These don't last long! I used a different combo of flours each time, and we used all-natural jams without added sugar. They kept well in the freezer. Good with or without glaze, and in my opinion BETTER than poptarts. WAY better. Great recipe! Hi, Rennie! Thanks so much for stopping by and letting me know!! :) Your comment will be posted after it is approved. Leave a Reply | 
 
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