Apple Walnut Cinnamon Pop Tarts (Vegan)

Sweet flaky homemade pastry with a sticky apple walnut and cinnamon filling topped with a cinnamon sugar glaze, these pop tarts are naturally vegan, easy and fun to make.

I went through a phase of loving pop tarts as a child, the smell of them toasting takes me straight back to be younger again. Now, I haven’t had a regular pop tart for a long time, but these remind me of them so much. That said, the homemade pastry and filling for these Apple Walnut Cinnamon Pop Tarts are a lot more wholesome without any added ingredients and excess sugar – and you wouldn’t be able to tell.

There are a few steps to making these Apple Walnut Cinnamon Pop Tarts, which starts with a simple vegan pastry. While I haven’t tried this with GF flour, that’s next on my list! You could try the oat and almond pastry here for this, if you wanted, but I have not done so yet!

• Plain flour: the key to all good pastry recipes.
• Vegan butter (or margarine): this is key to the classic buttery taste of the pastry although vegan margarine works well, too. They key is to have the butter cold from the fridge and to touch is as little as possible – we want to keep the pastry cold. I haven’t tried this myself with coconut oil, but I know a lot of people who do use it for their pastry recipes, but I prefer the buttery element here. The butter is rubbed into the flour to create a fine crumble between your fingers – you have to get stuck in but it’s not difficult.
• Cinnamon: this adds the sweetness to the homemade pastry which doesn’t have any added sugar.
• Cold water: it is important you use cold water for the best pastry dough. Straight from the fridge is the best. Bring the crumbly dough together with only a couple of tablespoons of water – it’s surprising how little you need.

The next stage in these Apple Walnut Cinnamon Pop Tarts is to chill the pastry – don’t skip this step as it allows the homemade pastry to rest and firm up before rolling it out. You don’t need to be too neat when rolling the pastry out on a floured surface but aiming for an oblong will help when you slice the pastry into the pop tart pieces. 

I chopped mine into shapes 6cm x 10cm, but feel free to adapt this slightly depending on the shape of your rolled-out pastry. As long as they’re all the same, it doesn’t matter the dimensions. You could even go for squares! Roll the pastry out until you’ve used it all up but note that it becomes “shorter” and less pliable the more you tough it.

Simply brush the bottom pieces with some plant-based milk before adding the filling into the centre. Prick the top pieces with a toothpick a few times to allow the steam to escape and then place the top over the bottom. Crimp the edges with a fork all the around and brush with a little more milk before baking.

Speaking of the filling for these Apple Walnut Cinnamon Pop Tarts:

• Apples: this recipe first came to mind after a really fun virtual event with Great British Apples and Raymond Blanc to celebrate the apple season! I went for Cox apples as they’re some of my favourites, but any firm apple will do. Chop them small for the filling.
• Vegan butter (or margarine): again, you could also use coconut oil, it’s for frying off the apple pieces.
• Cinnamon: essential for the classic cinnamon apple flavour combination.
• Coconut sugar: just a little bit of added sweetness is needed for the filling to add a gorgeous stickiness and wonderful flavours. You could use light brown or caster sugar, too.
• Cornstarch: or arrowroot powder. This absorbs some of the excess liquid so the pastry cooks evenly and you don’t end up with a soggy (pastry) bottom! It gives the apples a lovely sheen and glaze.
• Walnuts: crumble these up for the filling or use another nut like pecan or almonds, too. For a nut-free option, use seeds or raisins.

That’s all there is to these Apple Walnut Cinnamon Pop Tarts. The hardest part is perhaps (as always) letting them cool enough to frost. I’ve opted for a really simple icing sugar glaze made special with some cinnamon. sprinkle on some more crushed walnuts and a sprinkling of cinnamon. These will keep well for a few days and you can warm them back up in the oven, too, for 5-10 minutes.

These Apple Walnut Cinnamon Pop Tarts are deliciously sweet, warmingly spiced and fruity with a cinnamon-sweet homemade pastry and a wonderfully seasonal filling. They’re special enough for dessert but easy enough for an afternoon snack with a cup of tea. They are naturally vegan, free of refined sugars, easily nut-free (swap out the walnuts for seeds or raisins) and a tasty family favourite.

I hope you will love these Apple Walnut Cinnamon Pop Tarts, too. If you are looking for more seasonal desserts and sweet things, how about my:

• Spiced Apple Cake
• Sticky Cinnamon Apple Galette
• Nectarine and Blueberry Galette
• Cinnamon Raisin No Yeast Swirl Buns
• Rich Vegan Chocolate Truffles

Apple Walnut Cinnamon Pop Tarts (Vegan)

• Servings: 6-8
• Time: 35 minutes plus chilling and cooling
• Difficulty: easy
• Print

Sweet flaky homemade pastry with a sticky apple walnut and cinnamon filling topped with a cinnamon sugar glaze, these pop tarts are naturally vegan, easy and fun to make.

Ingredients

Pastry:
• 250g plain flour
• 120g vegan butter (or margarine)
• ½ tsp cinnamon
• 2-3 tbsp cold water
Filling:
• 2 Cox apples, small cubed
• 1 tbsp vegan butter
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tbsp coconut sugar
• 1 tbsp cornstarch
• 30g walnuts, crushed
• 1-2 tbsp milk, to brush
Glaze:
• 100g icing sugar
• ½ tsp cinnamon
• 1 tbsp + ½ tsp milk
• To serve: extra crushed walnuts, cinnamon

Directions

1. Make the pastry: add the plain flour and vegan butter to a bowl and cut the butter into the flour. Rub the mixture between your fingers to form a fine flour. Stir in the cinnamon and then add 2 tbsp cold water. Bring together with a spoon then your hands, adding 1 more tbsp water if needed. Make the dough into a ball with your hands, wrap up and place in the fridge for 30-60 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, make the cinnamon apple and walnut filling: melt the vegan butter to a frying pan and add the apple, cinnamon and coconut sugar. Cook over a medium-high heat for 10 minutes until softening and sticky. Stir in the cornstarch to form a sticky glaze and then the walnuts.
3. Preheat the oven to 160Fan/180*C and line 2 baking trays with parchment paper. Dust the surface with flour and roll out the dough to an oblong about ½ cm thickness. Cut the pop tarts out – each one is about 6cm x 10cm. You may need to roll the dough out again to use up all the dough. Brush half of the oblong edges with the milk and fill the centre with 2 tsp of the filling. Leave space around the edge. Prick the other half of the oblongs with a toothpick about 10 times.
4. Place the tops onto the bottoms to cover the apple filling and crimp the edges with a form. Brush with the remaining milk and bake for 20 minutes until golden and crisp.
5. Allow to cool fully.
6. Make the glaze by stirring together all the ingredients and then spreading on top of the cooled pop tarts. Sprinkle over some extra crushed walnuts and cinnamon. Store in an airtight container.

I look forward to hearing what you think of these Apple Walnut Cinnamon Pop Tarts so please let me know in the comments below. If you make these, please tag me as I love seeing your creations. I’m @nourishing.amy on Instagram and use the hashtag #nourishingamy. I’m also on Twitter, Facebook and Pinterest  – please say hello!

With pop-tart love x

This recipe first appeared as a sponsored post by Great British Apples although this website post is not sponsored and all opinions are my own.