Apple Cinnamon Pop-Tarts
If you’re anything like me, “Pop-Tarts” were a staple of your childhood. When I was little my mother would leave a box of them in a lower cabinet so my brother and I could get breakfast for ourselves on weekends, and she and my dad could sleep a little longer. My favorites were strawberry frosted and apple cinnamon. YUM!!! I never understood why they were called “toaster pastries” since they were so much better right out of the box!
The thought of eating a processed pastry full of genetically modified wheat, tons of sugar (including high fructose corn syrup) and a bunch of preservatives for breakfast (or any time) is totally out of the question at this point in my life. However, we all need a little something sweet now and then, so here’s my philosophy:
If I’m going to eat dessert, I want it to be made out of “real food,” without any chemicals, additives, or GMOs. I choose natural forms of sugar to sweeten my treats, and use the least amount needed to make them delicious.
In the “old days” if someone wanted cake or cookies, they had to bake them from scratch. I’m all for that! People actually had to use flour, water, butter, eggs, molasses and other “real food” ingredients. (Back then they weren’t genetically modified.) There were no boxed cake mixes or pre-packaged pastries filled with chemical additives, colors, and preservatives with a shelf-life of many years!! One must stop and ask, “What kinds of chemical preservatives are in food that contains eggs and milk, doesn’t have to be refrigerated, and can last in a box on a shelf for many years!” That’s definitely not something I want in my body. And while it does take some time and effort to bake from scratch, we shouldn’t be eating cake and cookies everyday anyway. They’re special treats. If we had to go the effort of standing in the kitchen and spending an hour baking every time we wanted some “junk” food we’d all be a lot thinner and a lot healthier!
- A bit of trivia – The first boxed cake mix was made in the 1930’s by P. Duff & Sons. It was invented to address a surplus of molasses. The concept didn’t really catch on until after WW2 in the 1940s and 50s when processed, convenience foods took over the food industry.
Following my philosophy of eating “real food” with minimal amounts of natural sugar, I’ve re-created the Apple Cinnamon “Pop-Tarts” of my childhood into a gluten-free, grain-free, soy-free, dairy-free, low sugar pastry. Trust me, they have all the taste and satisfaction of the “Pop-Tarts” you remember, but none of the guilt (and none of the chemicals or high fructose corn syrup.)
These Apple Cinnamon Pop-tarts are made with Otto’s Cassava Flour (a gluten-free, grain-free, nonGMO, non-inflammatory, whole-food, amazingly delicious flour!)
Otto’s Cassava Flour can be found in some specialty markets or online by clicking below.
Otto’s Naturals 100% Natural Cassava Flour Made from Yuca Root Bag, 2 Pound
These cassava flour Apple Cinnamon “Pop-Tarts” have just the right amount of natural apple cinnamon sweetness on the inside, and pure organic maple syrup sweetened crust goodness on the outside!
Let’s make Apple Cinnamon Pop-Tarts
*Full Printable recipe below*
Ingredients for the Dough:
-1 1/2 cups Otto’s Cassava Flour
-2 tablespoons organic maple syrup
-1 pastured egg
-1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum
-1/2 teaspoon baking soda
-1 teaspoon pink Himalayan salt
-1/2 cup Spectrum Organic Vegetable Shortening (or pastured butter if you tolerate dairy)
-1/2 cup filtered water
Ingredients for the Filling:
-3 organic apples – peeled and sliced
-1 teaspoon organic coconut oil
-2 teaspoons cinnamon
-1/4 teaspoon pink Himalayan salt
-2 tablespoons juice from an organic lemon
-2 teaspoons tapioca starch
Ingredients for Icing (Optional)
-1 cup powdered sugar
-1 teaspoon vanilla
-2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
-1 tablespoon filtered water
-Optional -1 tablespoon colored decorative sugar (If you want them to look like classic “Pop-Tarts”) I use TruColor Natural Sanding Sugars (Red).
TruColor Natural Sanding Sugars come in a variety of colors to meet all your baking needs! I love them because they’re made from Fruits, Vegetables, Roots, Seeds & Minerals! They contain NO SYNETHETIC FD&C DYES / NO ARTIFICIAL PRESERVATIVES.
Click picture below to check out TruColor Natural Sanding Sugars so you will have them on hand for all your holiday baking!
Apple Cinnamon Pop-Tart Instructions:
It all starts with the apples! First, peel and slice 3 apples.
Place 1 tablespoon coconut oil into a pan on medium heat. Add sliced apples, 2 teaspoons cinnamon, 1/4 teaspoon pink Himalayan salt, and 2 tablespoons lemon juice. Cook 4-5 minutes until fork tender.
Place cooked apples into a food processor to blend into a smooth textured filling. For chunkier filling, place only half of the apples into the food processor and cut up remaining pieces into smaller chunks.
Make a slurry out of 2 teaspoons tapioca starch (which is made of yuca) and water. Add to apple mixture to slightly thicken it. Return to the stovetop and cook for a few more minutes to decrease any starchy flavor. Set apple filling aside while making dough.
To make the dough: In a large bowl, whisk egg. Add maple syrup and thoroughly blend. Then add Otto’s Cassava Flour, xantham gum, salt, baking soda, vegetable shortening or butter, and water. Blend with a spoon. When it gets all crumbly and difficult to mix, use your hands to fully incorporate ingredients.
Roll out half the dough onto parchment paper and cut into desired shapes and sizes with a pastry wheel or pizza cutter. These will be the bottom halves of the “pop-tarts.”
Transfer each cut-out pastry bottom onto a parchment lined baking sheet and fill with a heaping tablespoon of apple filling. Roll out second half of dough into matching sizes and shapes for the pastry tops. Then dip finger in water and run wet finger along the perimeter of each pastry bottom. Carefully lay each pastry top over the bottom pastry and filling. Press down along edges to seal. For a decorative effect press with a fork all around the edges.
Bake at 375 degrees for 25-30 minutes until edges begin to brown.
Place cooked pasties on a rack to cool. While cooling, make icing (if desired.) Combine powdered sugar, water, vanilla and cinnamon until smooth. Once cool, drizzle icing onto each pop-tart.
With these pop-tarts, you control the amount of sugar by deciding how much icing to put on top. Other than the icing, the only added sugar in 8 pop-tarts is 2 Tbsp of pure organic maple syrup (about 3 grams each.) I added the colored decorative sugar to make these appear more like classic pop-tarts, but this can easily be eliminated to minimize the sugar.
Drizzle desired amount of icing onto each pop-tart using a spoon.
Enjoy!!
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These Apple Cinnamon “Pop Tarts” freeze really well and can be quickly defrosted for a warm, homemade treat any time! Either microwave for 30-45 seconds, bake at 375 in the oven or toaster oven for 10 minutes, or leave out on counter for about an hour.
I get really excited when I’m yearning for a sweet treat and I remember that these are in the freezer!
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Purchase Otto’s Cassava Flour online here! so you can make these amazing grain-free Pop-tarts!!!
Otto’s Naturals 100% Natural Cassava Flour Made from Yuca Root Bag, 2 Pound
By ordering Otto’s Cassava Flour through our website we get a small percentage of the sale which helps to support the maintenance of Crazy For Yuca. There’s absolutely no additional charge to you. Thank you so much for supporting our efforts to bring you the latest yuca/cassava recipes!
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Healthy Eating Tip: What is Spectrum Organic Vegetable Shortening? It is expeller pressed organic palm fruit oil with some of its unsaturated fats removed to form shortening. Spectrum Organic Vegetable Shortening is a Non-GMO, Fair Trade certified, Rainforest Alliance certified, all vegetable shortening containing no hydrogenated fats. It has no flavor, no affect on the color of baked goods, and acts as a natural preservative extending the shelf-life of food. It adds flakiness to crusts, creaminess to icing, and crispiness to fries in a way that oil cannot. It has a high smoke point so there is no concern of rancidity at high temperatures, as is the case with many cooking oils. Spectrum Organic Vegetable Shortening has 1 ingredient – expeller pressed organic palm oil. Expeller pressing is a mechanical process that uses pressure to naturally extract oil from nuts and seeds. Expeller pressing is a much healthier process than chemical processing which uses hexane, a neurotoxic byproduct of gasoline production. A hexane residue can remain in the oil and the FDA doesn’t require testing for this. Since expeller pressing is more expensive and produces less oil, big manufacturers tend to use chemical processing. If choosing a vegetable shortening other than Spectrum brand, make sure the company procures their oils using sustainable methods that don’t contribute to deforestation, or displacement and mistreatment of native communities and workers, as has traditionally been the case.
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Now you can have fun, delicious "pop-tarts" without the guilt! Don't be deceived by the fact that these are gluten-free, dairy-free, grain-free, and low in sugar. These cassava flour "pop-tarts" have just the right amount of sweetness - with apple cinnamon goodness on the inside and a delectable flakey crust on the outside. Whether warm or at room temperature this satisfying treat really hits the spot!
- 1 1/2 cups Otto's Cassava Flour
- 2 Tbsp organic maple syrup
- 1 pastured egg
- 1/2 tsp xanthan gum
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp pink Himalayan salt
- 1/2 cup Spectrum Organic Vegetable Shortening or pastured butter (if you tolerate dairy.) Kerry Gold Butter is a readily available option
- 1/2 cup filtered water
- 3 organic apples - peeled and sliced
- 1 Tbsp organic coconut oil
- 2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp pink Himalayan salt
- 2 Tbsp juice from an organic lemon
- 2 tsp tapioca starch
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 1/2 Tbsp water. If icing is too thick, add additional water - 1 tsp at a time.
- 1 Tbsp colored decorative sugar to sprinkle on top of icing (optional.) For a classic Pop-tart look.
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Heat a large pan over medium heat. Add coconut oil.
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Add peeled, sliced apples to the pan.
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Add cinnamon, salt, and lemon juice. Cook 4-5 minutes until apples are fork tender.
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For a smooth textured filling, put cooked apple mixture into a food processor and blend for a few seconds until smooth. Don't over-blend. If a chunkier filling is desired, place only half the apples in food processor to blend, then combine with the rest of the cooked apples.
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In a small dish, mix 2 tsp tapioca starch with 2 tsp water to form a slurry.
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Place blended apple filling back into pan on the stovetop, add slurry, mix, and cook for a few additional minutes to remove any starchy flavor from the tapioca.
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In a large bowl, whisk egg. Add maple syrup and thoroughly blend. Then add cassava flour, xanthan gum, salt, baking soda, Spectrum Organic Vegetable Shortening or butter, and water. Blend into a dough, first by mixing with a spoon and then using your hands to fully incorporate ingredients. If dough is too dry, add additional water - 1 Tbsp at a time. If dough is too wet, add additional cassava flour - 1 Tbsp at a time.
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Roll out half the dough on parchment paper. This will form the bottom layers of the pastries.
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Cut dough to the size and shape desired with a pastry wheel or pizza cutter. This recipe makes 8 - 3" x 3 1/2" "pop-tarts" (depending how thin dough is rolled out) but can be made into whatever size or shape is desired.
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Transfer each cut-out piece of dough onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
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Spoon a heaping tablespoon of apple filling into the center of each cut-out piece of pastry, ensuring to leaving enough room around the perimeter for the top and bottom pastries to connect and be sealed together.
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Roll out and cut remaining dough to match the sizes and shapes of the bottom halves.
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Place 1/4 cup filtered water into a small bowl. Dip finger into the water and run wet finger along the edge of each pastry bottom.
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Carefully lay each top, cut-out pastry over bottom pastry with filling. Press down along the edges to seal. For a decorative effect press down using a fork around the edges of pastry.
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Bake at 375 degrees for 25-30 minutes, until edges begin to brown.
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Let cool before icing.
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Mix powdered sugar, cinnamon, vanilla and water until smooth. If icing is too thick, add additional water in 1 tsp increments until desired consistency is reached. Drizzle desired amount of icing over cooled "pop-tarts." Sprinkle with colored sugar if desired.
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Disclaimer– In Crazy for Yuca I write about my own personal health and diet journey. My experience and recipes are not to be considered expert advice or suggestive that anyone follow any particular diet protocol. Each person’s body and medical issues are individual and need to be evaluated by a medical professional. If you have any concerns due to your specific diagnoses, please consult your doctor before eating yuca.
YUM!! This brings me back to my childhood. How fun and cute!!!!
So glad you enjoyed them! 😃