Giant Brown Sugar Cinnamon Pop Tart – Gluten-Free and Vegan
Calling all pop tart enthusiasts! Super-size your childhood breakfast favorite with this giant brown sugar cinnamon pop tart that’s both gluten-free and vegan! It has all of the flavors of the classic, just bigger and tastier! A buttery, golden crust filled with a sweet cinnamon filling and frosted with a cinnamon glaze. Slice it up and share with your friends!
I think we all have fond memories of certain childhood foods. Pop tarts were personally a breakfast favorite of mine growing up. Unwrapping the foil pouches, placing them in the toaster, and impatiently waiting for the brown sugar cinnamon smell to waft through the kitchen.
Warm, sweet, crunchy. Even though they were slightly reminiscent of cardboard looking back, I can’t help to crave one of those brown sugar cinnamon pop tarts every now and then.
Since my celiac disease diagnosis, I haven’t had one. But, every once in awhile, I feel myself longing and craving for a bite of this childhood favorite. I often look at different toaster pastries at the grocery store waiting for one to pop up. Yes… there are gluten-free ones.
But my body still has a hard time tolerating dairy and eggs, probably still lasting effects of my damaged intestines from years of eating gluten. Every single toaster pastry or pop tart I can find at the store ALWAYS has eggs or dairy in it.
So it’s about time I’ve made my own! I was so excited to finally eat a pop tart that I decided to go BIG. I mean real BIG. Like a giant pop tart sized big.
YES! I made a GIANT brown sugar cinnamon pop tart AND I made it gluten-free AND vegan. Best decision I’ve made in awhile, let me tell you.
While it may seem a bit extra to make a giant pop tart, it also makes sense. A giant pop tart is basically just a pie, with more crust to filling ratio. Plus, I am sometimes kind of lazy and I figure if I don’t have to individually cut out rectangles of pastry, fill them all individually, and crimp all of the sides…. I won’t. I’m a bit of lazy baker at times, which leads to great things like giant pop tarts.
You can certainly make these into individual pop tarts if you wish, too. I fully support that decision too. Just make sure to shorten the bake time so they don’t burn. But really… isn’t it kind of fun to serve a giant pop tart for brunch?
In my quest to make this giant gluten-free vegan pop tart, I tested this recipe SIX times. Honestly… it was pretty great on the first try. But I wanted to be sure that it would work every single time so that you guys wouldn’t have trouble making it too.
My coworkers certainly enjoyed each of the recipe experimentations that I brought into the office. I needed some people that can actually still eat pop tarts to tell me if these babies tasted like the real deal. I’m so happy to say that most said they tasted even BETTER than the packaged pop tarts!
Table of Contents
Tips and Tricks for Making a Giant Pop Tart
- You want the butter (or dairy-free butter in this case) to stay cold. I like to freeze mine before putting it into the food processor.
- Roll out your rectangles of pastry dough and pop them into the freezer for at least 15-20 minutes. I think it is easier to handle the top layer without it breaking this way. If it breaks, that’s okay too. Just piece it back together. You’re covering it with frosting after all.
- Poke LOTS of holes in the top before baking. The first time, I only cut a few holes in the top of the dough to let steam escape and my pastry puffed up a lot. The more holes the better in this case.
- Let the pop tart cool before you place the glaze on top so it doesn’t run off the sides.
Entertaining for Brunch? Also Try These Other Gluten-Free Pastries
Brunch is one of those meals that is sometimes hard to make gluten-free. But serve this giant brown sugar cinnamon pop tart and your gluten-free brunch goers will love you to the moon and back.
Scones are also a tasty addition to any breakfast. Try my Gluten-Free Vegan Lemon Scones for a lemony treat. Is there anything better than a breakfast hash? I didn’t think so. This Sweet Potato, Apple and Sausage Breakfast Hash is so delicious when topped with a poached egg.
Did you know you can make your own breakfast sausage? It’s true! My blueberry turkey sausage is sweet, savory and bursting with blueberries!
Can’t forget the eggs! Fearless Dining has the best Turkey and Heirloom Tomato Omelette that is great for a gluten-free brunch. Did you really have brunch if you didn’t have a mimosa? This Apple Cider Mimosa from What The Fork is just what you need. Plus there’s only two ingredients!
Giant Brown Sugar Cinnamon Pop Tart Recipe
Who knew it could be so easy to make gluten-free and vegan pop tarts? You will love this tale on everyone’s childhood favorite. What’s better is we’re serving up a giant version – enough to serve 10 people!
Once you realize how easy it is to make this gluten-free treat, you’ll want to serve them for brunch all the time!
Giant Brown Sugar Cinnamon Pop Tarts - Gluten-Free and Vegan
Ingredients
Pastry:
- 2 cups gluten-free flour blend
- 2 teaspoons xanthan gum (if your blend doesn't already contain it)
- 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 cup vegan butter (very cold)
- 4-5 tablespoons ice cold water
Cinnamon Sugar Filling:
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
- 3 tablespoons gluten-free all purpose flour
- 3 tablespoons vegan butter (melted and slightly cooled)
- 2 tablespoons molasses
Cinnamon Glaze:
- 1 + 1/2 cup powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 tablespoon almond milk
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- In a food processor, add gluten-free flour, xanthan gum, salt and sugar and pulse to combine.
- Add cold vegan butter and pulse until butter is the size of peas, with some bigger pieces.
- Remove from food processor and place in a bowl, add in water one tablespoon at a time just until your able to pinch it together. You may not end up using all of the water.
- Pat into a flat circle and chill for at least 30 minutes.
- Once the dough is chilled, roll out into two rectangles about 8x11 inches each, about 1/4 inch in thickness. I like to place mine back into the freezer for 10 minutes for better handling.
- Preheat oven to 350F.
- To make the filling, combine brown sugar, cinnamon, gluten-free flour, melted vegan butter, and molasses in a bowl until a paste has formed.
- Place one rectangle of pastry dough on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Spoon filling onto the pastry and spread with a spatula, leaving about 1/2 inch border.
- Place other rectangle of pastry dough on top of the filling. Gently press the edges closed with your fingers. Crimp all the way around with a fork.
- Generously poke holes into the top of the pastry.
- Bake at 350F for 35-40 minutes, until the edges of the crust are lightly browned. Remove from the oven and let cool completely.
- While the pop tart is cooling, make the glaze. In a small bowl, combine powdered sugar, cinnamon, almond milk, and vanilla. Whisk until combined and no clumps remain. Spread over the pop tart and allow to dry completely before slicing and serving.
Nutrition
I’m Megan
A gluten-free food blogger from Chicago and lover of all things food, showing you gluten-free can be easy and delicious, too. Let’s make gluten-free stress free together! Read more…
oh yumm I have missed those, thanks for creating and sharing
I hope you enjoy, Jennifer!
Thanks for sharing! What brand of xanthum gum do do like?
Hi Vanessa! If the gluten-free flour blend I’m using doesn’t already have xanthan gum in it, I tend to use Bob’s Red Mill xanthan gum or NOW Foods xanthan gum as that’s what I easily find available in my area.
Would you be able to freeze these? How long would you say the life span of these are?
Hi Teresa, Yes! You can definitely freeze these. I tend to like to either freeze before baking or freeze after baking but before putting on the glaze. Then you can just rewarm in the oven and then top with the glaze to serve if that makes sense. They do last a good 4-5 days at room temperature though. Hope this helps!
Hi Megan, if I make these non gluten free, would I use butter and flour in the same measurements as you did? Thank you! Your giant pop tart is beautiful!!
Hi Kris! I have tested it with regular butter as well, so I know that for sure works. I think the regular flour with the same measurements would work, but I haven’t tried it. The gluten-free flour blend that I use tends to work 1:1 with regular all-purpose flour though so I think you should be good to go. Enjoy!
I made this last night using normal all-purpose flour and regular butter, and it turned out perfect. I just used the exact recipe quantities she listed here, but regular flour and butter.
Thank you so much for letting us all know this Lauren! I was thinking it would work but so glad you tried it!! 🙂
Did you use salted or unsalted butter?
Hi Nicole,
I used a vegan butter called Earth Balance buttery spread. If you want to use regular butter, use unsalted.
Have you ever made the dough the night before? Do you think it would be good in the freezer or frig. Or do you think I could prepare it all and keep in the frig overnight and then I would just have to bake in the morning and add the glaze. I thought this would be a fun surprise on Christmas morning but definitely don’t wanna do all that work in the morning, LOL thanks
Hi Rayell! Yes, this can work! I’ve done it a few ways before. You can make the dough even a few weeks in advance and then place in the refrigerator for a few hours to thaw before rolling out and proceeding. Once you fill the pop tart you can freeze it again before baking. It may just take a few extra minutes to bake if you bake from frozen. Just bake until you get that nice golden brown color. Alternatively, you can bake ahead of time and freeze the baked pop tart and let thaw at room temperature or warm in the oven that morning. Then put the glaze on top. Hope this helps!
Have you tried any other flavors? I’m beside myself with excitement over this!
Not yet! But I think I need to do a strawberry version next. If you have any flavor requests let me know!
Have you used coconut oil instead of butter?
Hi Stephanie! I have not tried it with coconut oil instead of butter yet. I would think that it should work with the same ratios. You will just get a different taste in the pastry.
I made these yesterday and just let me say….WOW!! These are WAY better than any store bought junky pop tart!! The flaky crust paired with the brown sugar filling and frosting is just incredible! The crust to filling ration is perfection. My four boys have been begging me to make pop tarts for some time now and these have set the bar high. I plan on trying different flavor combos soon. Thanks for sharing this delicious recipe!
Oh this makes me so happy Mandy!!
These look great! I am unable to have molasses. Do you think I can make the glaze with substituting the molasses for maple syrup?
Hi Jaclyn! I haven’t tried this but I would substitute the molasses for 1 tablespoon of maple syrup. The molasses is stickier than maple syrup so you don’t want to make the filling too liquidy so I wouldn’t do a full on 1-to-1 swap for those too. But the maple syrup should give it some good flavor. Enjoy!
These are wonderful! I made a big one yesterday, however I think the filling is a little too sweet or me. Any recommendations on how to make it a little less sweet?
Hi Miranda! The filling may be a little hard to make less sweet because it’s mainly brown sugar. You could try using less brown sugar, but I’d worry it wouldn’t fill the whole pop tart. Another option is to use less glaze on top and do it more as a drizzle so the pop tart isn’t as sweet.
Would you think using almond or coconut flour would allow for the same results?
Hi Anastasia! I haven’t tried it with either so I can’t say for sure. I know coconut flour is highly absorbent and normally requires eggs when used for baking so I don’t think that will work. The almond flour could work but I haven’t tried it yet. I’ll try to test out that variation this week!
Have you tried this with any other fillings, like fruit?
Hi Alicia – You can see my strawberry pop tart recipe here https://www.adashofmegnut.com/giant-strawberry-pop-tart/ – I did a lot of testing with it and found that using premade preserves works a bit better than making your own fruit filling as you want it to be super thicker (which is why I also add cornstarch to thicken it up even more in the recipe) but you can make your own fruit filling if you’d like. Just make sure it’s very thick so that it doesnt ooze out the sides of the pop tart. Hope this helps!
It would be helpful to see photos of what the dough looks like during the process of making it. Step 4 says to pat the dough into a flat circle then chill, but should the dough be put in plastic wrap so it doesn’t dry out? Also, when you transfer the rectangle shaped dough to the freezer, is it already on parchment paper? This may seem common knowledge, but to someone who is not used to making pastries, the extra tips and visual aids are a huge help. Also, this came out very sweet. Next time, I will use less brown and powder sugars.
I made this recipe yesterday, and it was worth the time investment just for that pie crust! I made it exactly as written, except I cut the 8 1/2 x 11 rectangles of dough into 4 equal pieces and made 4 pop tarts. Perfect. What i learned was that you really have to be sure the edges are crimped! Lots of the filling came out in baking, but the finished product was still more that sweet enough! In fact, that’s my only real criticism…the filling was a bit too sweet and too heavy on cinnamon for us. So next time I would spread the filling thinner and cut the cinnamon in half. All personal taste. My kids (fully grown) loved these, and we will experiment with savory fillings!
Hi. I am so excited to make these but I do not have a food processor. Is there anything else I could use in place of one?
Followed the recipe exactly and it made about half as much dough as it says it does! The glaze also doesn’t form into a liquid at all to put on top of the pop tart. It was basically just powdered sugar so I had to keep adding almond milk. After cooking, the bottom part of the pastry is pretty hard and the whole thing is also just way too sweet.
Hi Sarah,
The recipe does actually make as much dough as it says it does. Unfortunately, I think you did not roll it out thin enough if you didn’t get enough dough and the bottom of the pastry was too hard. The glaze should be very thick because you don’t want it to run off the sides of the pop tart. It’s not a normal thin glaze. The pop tart is very sweet, just like the original. Sorry this pop tart did not seem to work for you!
This was exactly what I was looking for! Easy, quick and incredibly delicious! Safe for all my food allergies but tastes good enough for those without allergies! I can understand some people saying it is a little sweet, but it’s a treat so I enjoyed it! Also you may need a bit more almond milk for the glaze but it was easy to adapt. I can’t wait to make this again to share with friends! Thank you for this recipe!
Yum! So good! I didn’t have a food processor, so I used a potato masher to mix the butter into the flour and I couldn’t quite get my dough rolled out large enough to match the recipe (so I left about 1/4 of the filling out), but this was way better than I anticipated! Will absolutely make again! I’m eyeing up that strawberry pop tart recipe too 🙂 Thanks for posting this!
Thank you so much! My family has lots of food allergies, so this was great. One of my daughters is allergic to corn, so I omitted the xanthan gum — and it was still GREAT! Another daughter is allergic to cinnamon, so I left that out too. This is such a great recipe to have though – looking forward to trying your other flavors!
This looks so good! What a great way to still enjoy a fun breakfast while sticking to the good stuff!