I’ve always been intimidated by homemade pop tarts… and sourdough pop tarts? Forget about it! But they are so much easier than they seem. I had these created in no time. It’s like making a miniature pie. Some even call these hand pies. But I prefer pop tarts, because hey everyone loves those. Read on to find out how to make these healthy sourdough autumn pop tarts.
How to make dessert healthy?
I titled this post the ‘Ultimate Healthy’ pop tarts. And they really are the healthiest pop tarts around! So how do you make dessert healthy? Well, you start by cutting out the sugar! Hopefully you all know by now that modern refined cane sugar is one of the worst things you can put in your body. I never use it in my kitchen or my recipes here. But you might not know that modern processed wheat flour is also quite terrible for your health.
Our human bodies did not evolve to consume high quantities of refined grains, especially grains today that are made from modern hybridized wheat that is often sprayed with glysophate (aka roundup) and is highly processed and refined to remain shelf stable for extended periods of time. If you are baking with this type of flour, you may be setting yourself and future generations up for digestive and autoimmune diseases, as well as the ever growing celiac disease.
Are grains really safe and healthy?
Yes, they can be! But, you have to choose the right type of grain and prepare it properly for optimal digestion. And it is best to remember the golden rule of nutrition, everything in moderation. So what do I mean by the right type of grain? Einkorn flour of course! Einkorn flour is an ancient heirloom wheat that has never been hybridized. Humans have been consuming einkorn wheat for over 10,000 years. If you would like to learn more about einkorn flour, click here. In addition, if you purchase here from my favorite company Jovial Foods, you can be sure their wheat is never sprayed with glysophate and it is 100% organically grown.
Now let’s take things one step further and properly prepare our grains. This means buying the flour in its whole grain form; whole raw wheat berries. Click here to purchase your own wheat berries. Once you have your wheat berries in hand you need to mill them into a flour. I use this mill attachment for my kitchen aid mixer. It’s incredible! It is less expensive than a stand alone mill and it takes up much less space to store. Plus it works like a charm! But if you don’t own a kitchenaid mixer, this grain mill is a great option. Click here to purchase. It is made from all wood and is a very aesthetically pleasing addition to your kitchen.
Now for the final step of preparation, you have to ferment your grains. This means sourdough! So you start by making a sourdough starter and then you’re ready to bake! Our ancestors never used active dry yeast, it didn’t exist. And that may be adding to our worldwide gluten intolerances. Our ancestors made their own natural yeast, aka sourdough starter, and it worked for thousands of years.
These sourdough pop tarts use freshly milled einkorn flour, barely any coconut sugar and sourdough discard. Now that is one healthy dessert!
(However, for this recipe you can easily swap the einkorn flour for regular wheat flour and the coconut sugar for cane sugar if you’d prefer)
How to make autumn apple butter filling?
For these poptarts I used apple butter filling. I just planted two apple trees in my front yard this year and we got about 30 apples! Granted, they did not look very pretty so I decided to turn them into apple butter, which is one of my favorite autumn recipes.
To make apple butter you simply peel and cut your apples (about 5-6 lbs worth) into 1/4″ cubes. Then place them in a crockpot and mix with 1/2 cup coconut sugar, 1 tbsp pumpkin pie spice, 1/2 tsp salt and 1 tsp vanilla extract. Cook on low heat for 10 hours. Then use an immersion blender to blend the butter until it is nice and smooth. Finally, leave the cover off and cook an additional hour on low heat. Stir occasionally. Store in an airtight container in the fridge.
The Best Healthy Sourdough Autumn Pop Tarts
I’ve always been intimidated by homemade pop tarts…and sourdough pop tarts? Forget about it! But they are so much easier than they seem. I had these created in no time. It’s like making a miniature pie.
Prep Time
15 minutes
Cook Time
30 minutes
Yield
4 large pop tarts
Meal
Dessert
Ingredients
For Crust:
- 150 grams fresh milled* einkorn flour or 125 grams all purpose flour (either einkorn or regular wheat will work)
- 8 tbsp cold butter
- 2 tbsp coconut sugar
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
- 1/2 cup sourdough discard
- 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
- 1 beaten egg (for egg wash)
For Filling:
- 1-2 tbsp apple butter per pop tart**
Notes:
*See above for how to mill your own grains and click here to purchase the best grain mill.
**See above for how to make your own apple butter.
Directions
- In a large bowl, whisk the flour, coconut sugar and sea salt. Then grate the cold butter into the flour mixture using a cheese grater. Cut the butter into the flour using a pastry cutter or two knives. Cut until it forms thick crumbs. (Click here to purchase your own einkorn flour.)
- Then add the discard sourdough starter and apple cider vinegar to the mixture and stir to combine. Form the dough into a ball and then place onto a sheet of plastic wrap. Flatten the dough slightly with your hands and then place a second piece of plastic wrap on top. Cover the dough completely in the plastic wrap and place in the fridge to chill for an hour.
- Preheat your oven to 350 F and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone mat. Remove the dough from the fridge and place on the counter. Remove the plastic wrap and turn the dough out onto a floured work surface. Then roll the dough into a large rectangle. It should be very thin, about 1/4-1/8″ thick. Cut the dough into 4 long rectangles using a pizza cutter.
- Brush the edges of the dough with the egg wash (this will help seal the pop tart). Then add 1-2 tbsp of apple butter (or your filling of choice) to half of each pop tart. Fold the rectangles in half and press the edges to seal with a fork. Brush the remaining egg wash on top of each pop tart.
- Bake for 30-35 minutes or until the tops are golden. Allow to cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Enjoy!
*Feel free to top them with a powdered sugar glaze, I left this off of mine as we do not use cane sugar in these recipes.
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