Pop it like it’s hot

Poppin’ these paleo pop tarts like I’m back in the 5th grade skipping down the street with my Lisa Frank Trapper Keeper in clean white Keds. Except these aren’t your average sugar laden pop tarts. Made with clean ingredients so you can happily snack while you Skip-It. Totally aging myself at this point, but if you want to take a trip down memory lane, check out the dEATs for these Paleo Pop Tarts with Strawberry Chia Jam.

Lately I’ve been curious about all those newfangled grain-free flours, but also uber confused. Anyone else? Most white or wheat flours are bleached and tough to digest, whether you’re Celiac or not. And there are tons of alternatives that deliver the same results with added nutritional benefits. Here’s a quick overview of some of the most popular options:
1.) Coconut Flour is a good alternative for white or wheat flours in baked goods with the added benefits of healthy saturated fats, fiber to aid digestion and a low glycemic load so that your blood sugar won’t spike. It’s great for those interested in a paleo or vegan diet and is a main ingredient in these paleo pop tarts!
2.) Oat Flour is a gluten-free flour has a lot of the benefits of your morning oatmeal and those vitamins and minerals are even easier for your body to digest in flour form. Benefits including lowering cholesterol, fiber that keeps you pull longer and immunity-boosting power.
3.) Tapioca Flour is primarily used as a thickening agent (for example, a good replacement for cornstarch). It’s one of the purest forms of a starch, so while it has almost no sugar or fat and is low in calories, it doesn’t add much nutritional value beyond carbohydrates. Tapioca flour derives from the root of the cassava root and is bleached, so it’s a more processed version of cassava flour.
4.) Cassava Flour is made by grating and drying the cassava root. It’s high in vitamin C and low in fat, calories and sugar, without much more added nutrient benefit.
5.) Arrowroot Flour is another good thickening agent similar to tapioca flour (and used in this recipe). Unlike tapioca flour, it maintains more nutrients since it isn’t processed with high heat, which depletes a lot of the benefits. It’s a good source of fiber, potassium, iron and B vitamins. It’s great in sauces, baked goods or as a coating to add crispiness to veggie fries.
6.) Almond Flour is loaded with vitamins and minerals including magnesium, copper, potassium, calcium and heart-healthy L-arginine. Almonds have been shown to lower bad “LDL” cholesterol and are also high in fiber. It’s incredibly versatile and used in my 5-ingredient cacao pancakes.
7.) Buckwheat Flour, believe it or not, is wheat and gluten-free. It’s actually derived from a seed and is packed with B vitamins, manganese, zinc, iron and folate. It’s a high-protein option that is often used in pancakes.
8.) Rice Flour is often used in gluten-free pastas. Brown rice flour is always a better option over white rice flour since milling and polishing brown rice to convert it into white rices destroys much of the B vitamin, iron, manganese and phosphorus content, while completely depleting the fiber and essential fatty acids.
9.) Sorghum Flour is a heavier flour that delivers high quantities of fiber and antioxidants. It also contains tannins, which are thought to help obesity. However, it works best in small quantities or when paired with lighter gluten-free flours.
10.) Teff Flour was the least familiar to me. It’s the world’s smallest grain and is high in B vitamins, phosphorous, calcium and iron. It supposedly aids circulations, boosts the immune system and improves circulation as well as PMS symptons. Like sorghum, it is a heavier flour, so used alone can make baked goods heavy or course.

Now let’s dive into exploring some of these newfound flours! We never really had pop tarts growing up because they’re pretty nutritionally devoid. These paleo pop tarts are super clean and full of nutrients from a base of coconut flour, mashed banana, arrowroot flour and maple syrup for an added touch of sweetness. While you can load these with store-bought jam, I was also curious how hard (or easy!) it would be to make my own jam. And surprise, it was super simple and keeps for a few days in the fridge. I found other uses for the strawberry chia jam beyond just toast – it was a great addition to a bowl of creamy oatmeal and a perfect use for strawberries that otherwise would have gone bad in the next day or two.

Admittedly, these pop tarts do take time and patience, but are a fun afternoon activity, especially when decorating is involved! I’d suggest using plenty of coconut oil when rolling out this dough and cutting. You may also want to consider refrigerating the dough for 20-30 minutes to reduce the stickiness. I decorated these with Pearl Butter adaptogenic coconut butter for the fun colors and superfood boosters, but you could definitely use any raw coconut butter. I’d suggest heating over the stove vs the microwave since it is easy to burn coconut butter, which gets gritty when heated too quickly.

Now, let the fun begin! Hope you enjoy traveling back in time with these Paleo Pop Tarts!

Paleo Pop Tarts with Strawberry Chia Jam
Serves: 4

Ingredients:
Pastry Dough
-1/4 C maple syrup
-1/4 C ghee (or unsalted butter)
-1/4 C water
-1 tsp vanilla
-1/4 tsp salt
-1 ripe banana, mashed
-1/2 C arrowroot flour
-1/2 C coconut flour

Strawberry Chia Jam
-2 1/2 C strawberries, chopped
-4 T maple syrup
-2 T chia seeds
-1 T fresh lemon juice

Icing
-Your favorite raw coconut butter, melted (shown: Pearl Butter Smarty Pantsuit)

Directions:
Step 1: Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees. Add the syrup, ghee (or butter), water, vanilla and salt to a medium sauce pan. Bring to a boil on the stove top, then remove from the heat.
Step 2: Add the arrowroot flour, coconut flour and mashed banana. Mix until it forms into a dough. Option to refrigerate for 20-30 minutes to make it easier to work with the dough (reduces the stickiness).
Step 3: Roll the dough on a piece of parchment paper to a thickness of 1/4 inch. Cut into rectangles with a pizza cutter or knife, greasing with coconut oil as necessary to avoid sticking. You should be able to make roughly 8 rectangles or 4 pop tarts.
Step 4: To make the jam, add the strawberries and maple syrup to a medium-sized sauce pan. Stir together over medium-heat on the stove top for roughly 5 minutes, or until the strawberry mixture becomes watery. Lower the heat and mash the strawberries until you obtain your desired texture.
Step 5: Add the chia seeds to the pot. Cook for an additional 5-7 minutes on low heat until the jam thickens. Once thick, remove from the heat, add the lemon juice and allow to cool.
Step 6: Spoon 1-2 T of the jam over half the rectangles. Top the rectangles with the remaining pastry rectangles to form the pop tarts. Seal the edges with a fork. Place the parchment paper on a baking sheet and bake in the oven for 25 minutes, or until the edges are golden brown.
Step 7: Allow the pastries to cool. Heat a couple tablespoons of coconut butter over the stove top. I placed in a metal measuring couple directly over the heat, stirring frequently. You could also use a double broiler. Just make sure to heat at a low temp, stirring frequently to avoid burning or creating a gritty texture. Once viscous, drizzle the coconut butter over the top of the pop tarts and enjoy once fully cooled!

You may have extra dough and will likely have extra jam. Feel free to make thumbprint cookies with the extra dough/jam and store the jam in a sealed container in the fridge for up to a week.

Recipe adapted from A Girl Worth Saving