If you like pop-tarts, you will love my Homemade Vegan Gingerbread Pop-Tarts. Made 100% from scratch, vegan and easy to make. They’re sweet, soft and shaped as gingerbread houses with a warming spiced filling, perfect for a Christmas baking session.
Vegan Gingerbread Pop Tarts
My absolute favourite pop tart flavour reinvented in this delicious gingerbread treat! Buttery shortcrust pastry is baked with a layer of spiced gingerbread sugar in the center. It smells just like a freshly baked gingerbread cookies, but tastes 100x better! Inspired by the classic pop tart, this treat has two layers of shortcrust pastry with a ginger sugar topped with vanilla icing for the ‘snow’. Pop on some christmas music, get your cozy jumper on and make a batch of these Christmassy treats to get you in the festive spirit.
Looking for more Christmas recipes, check out my AMAZING collection of the BEST Vegan bakes here.
How to make gingerbread pop tarts
When developing the recipe for the shortcrust, I was very drawn to having a gingerbread cookie flavour. I used a mixture of a few ground spices – ground nutmeg, ground cinnamon and of course ground ginger. By adding the classic spices along with the flour and butter, you’re left with a delicious pastry which melts in your mouth and has a gorgeous light spice.
Another ingredient I used to boost the richness of these pastries is light brown sugar flour. By swapping out regular caster sugar / fine white sugar and adding in a darker sugar, it gives more of a caramelised flavour and chewy texture.
To give the pastries the ultimate festive finish, they’re decorated with a simple 2 ingredient icing. This is piped over the gingerbread ‘house’ to replicate snow. It looks awesome! It’s an optional step as the pastries are delicious as they are but the added sweetness paired with the buttery pastry and spiced filling is absolutely scrumptious!
Ingredients you’ll need:
You are going to LOVE this recipe. Not only is it super simple to make and decorate, but you only need a handful of ingredients, most of which you may already have in your kitchen cupboard / pantry. If not, don’t worry.. I’ve listed them below so make sure to jot them down on your shopping list for your next grocery shop! Remember, you can find the fill written recipe, method and ingredient list in the recipe card at the bottom of this page.
- Plain / all purpose flour – You can use gluten-free.
- Ground spices : A mixture of ground cinnamon, ground nutmeg and ground ginger make the flavour of the gingerbread.
- Caster sugar: A fine white sugar.
- Light brown sugar.
- Dairy-free butter: Use dairy-free block butter which is chilled.
- Ice-water: A few ice cubes in a bowl mixed with plain water. This makes a simple ice water which is added to create the shortcrust pastry dough.
- Maple syrup: Alternatively use black treacle.
- Icing sugar: Be sure to sieve it before use to remove any clumps.
- Dairy-free milk: You can use any dairy-free milk for this recipe including soya, almond or oat.
Vegan Gingerbread Pop Tart Tips!
- Properly measure the flour – I say this in every recipe, and for good reason. It’s the number one reason why most recipes fail, especially for cakes and cookies. If there is too much flour, the pastry will turn out crumbly and dry. My number 1 tip is to measure the flour with a set of kitchen / food scales.
- Chilled butter – Before you start, make sure your butter is cold / chilled. This will help maintain the cool temperature of the pastry, which will help with baking. If you use butter which is softened or soft, it will be too moist to make the pastry and you’ll have to add in more flour resulting in a super dry pop tart.
- Mixing – After adding the flour, gently mix together the dough. Over mixing will create a tough pastry. Be careful not to handle it too much too, has the heat from you hands can melt the butter.
- Use cookie cutters – To get the perfect house shapes for the gingerbread pop tarts, use cookie cutters for best results. Alternatively, you can use a simple house stencil and cut out the shape by hand using a knife.
If you make, and love this recipe, please leave a ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ rating below. Thank you & happy baking! Make sure to tag me in your photos on Instagram , TikTok and Facebook! And if you want to pin this recipe for later, you can use the button on the recipe card, above or below this post, or on any of the photos. Happy baking all!
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Vegan Gingerbread Pop Tarts
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: 10 1x
- Diet: Vegan
Description
Easy Vegan Gingerbread house shape pop tarts with a spiced filling and icing. Easy to make and perfect for Christmas baking.
Ingredients
Ingredients for the pastry
- 240g of plain flour ( you can use gluten-free)
- 1 teaspoon of ground ginger
- 1/2 teaspoon of ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon of ground nutmeg
- 2 tablespoons of caster sugar (plus extra for sprinkling)
- 220g of dairy-free block butter (cold and cut into small cubes)
- Ice-water (see method 2)
Ingredients for the gingerbread sugar filling
- 200g of light brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon of ground ginger
- 1/2 tablespoon of ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon of ground nutmeg
- 2 tablespoons of dairy-free butter
- 1 tablespoon of maple syrup
Ingredients for the icing
- 80g of icing sugar
- Dairy-free milk
Instructions
Method (pastry)
- In a medium sized mixing bowl, sift together the flour, spices and sugar. Add in the cold / cubed butter and mix until it resembles sand. You can mix by hand or in a food processor.
- Add in the ice water 1/2 tablespoon at a time until the dough comes together. It may require 1-2 tablespoons of ice-water. You want the dough to be smooth and slightly sticky, but not too dry or wet.
- Wrap the dough in some grease proof paper and place into the fridge for 30 minutes – 1 hour. This will help to prevent sticking when you roll it out.
- Preheat oven to 170°C fan and line 2 baking trays with grease proof paper.
- Lay a sheet of grease proof paper on your worktop and dust with some flour. Don’t add too much flour as it could effect the pastry when baked. If there is excess flour in the pop tarts, simply brush it off before baking.
- Roll out the dough in-between 2 sheets of floured grease proof paper until its a large rectangle. You’ll want the dough relatively thin. Use a house shaped cookie cutter to cut out the shapes then place on the lined trays. You can keep re-rolling the excess dough to use it all up. Alternatively you could use a stencil and cut out the shapes using a knife.
Method (gingerbread filling)
- In a small bowl, add in the sugar, spices, butter and maple syrup. Mix until well combined.
- Spoon and spread the filling to half of the pastries. Make sure there’s about 1/3 inch open space around the edge of your pastries, then brush the edges with some dairy-free milk.
- Place another pastry shape over the filled shape. Using your finger, press down the edges to stick them together to create a parcel, then press together with a fork to seal.
- Brush the tops with dairy-free milk and sprinkle over some granulated sugar (optional). Bake in the middle of the oven for 20-25 minutes. You’ll know they’re ready when the pastry turns golden and the pastry has puffed up.
- Once baked, remove from the oven and allow to cool before icing.
Method (icing)
- In a small bowl, add in the icing sugar. Make sure to sieve it to remove any clumps / lumps.
- Add a teaspoon of dairy-free milk in at a time until it turns into a toothpaste consistency. If it ever turns too runny, add more icing sugar. If too thick, add more milk. You want it to ribbon off the spoon.
- Transfer the icing into a piping bag and snip off the tip.
- Use the icing to create the gingerbread house ‘snow’ design (refer to photos for example).
- Allow the icing to set at room temperature for 10 minutes then tuck in and enjoy!
Notes
To store: Keep the pastries stored in the fridge, allow to come to room temperature before enjoying. Best eaten on day of making or within 2 days of making.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 20-25 minutes
- Category: Pastry
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
These are so easy to make and look so festive. I had fun making them with the kids x
Author
Thank youuu:) SO happy you enjoyed!!