Gluten Free Strawberry Poptart Bars!

Full credit is due- this recipe concept was not my idea!! The brilliant Butternut Bakery Blog was the first to post a strawberry pop tart bar recipe. When I stumbled onto her recipe on Pinterest I knew immediately I needed to work on a gluten free version for the club. I started the next day. It took a few trial runs to work out the kinks- and I had a few shortcut ideas I wanted to try out. This last batch was my favorite - but I do have some tips below on how to cut the prep time in half!

The texture/flavor of these bars reminds me of a sugar cookie meshed with shortbread. Its honestly SO good. With a layer of strawberry preserves in the center this recipe is a winner. If super sweet isn’t your cup of tea you can skip the glaze and sprinkles on top.

These bars freeze really well. I highly recommend making a batch to keep in the freezer as a treat. They would also make a fabulous dessert for a kids gathering/party.

Homemade or store bought preserves??

With my first batch I made a homemade mixed berry preserves for the center of the bars. It turned out fantastic - but ultimately lengthened the amount of time needed to make this recipe. I decided to switch over to store bought to simplify things. So honestly it is up to you. Either option is great.

Also don’t feel you need to stick to strawberry. Any fruit preserve will work great and taste good!

Using other gluten free all purpose flour blends

I don’t recommend it. No two gluten free flour blends are truly the same! My favorite brands are better batter and King Arthur measure for measure. But- I use them for completely different things. Better batter I simply adore as a bread flour and it works insanely well in cookie recipes! King Arthur bakes up perfectly tender and delicate muffins, biscuits, and scones. (among other things) But those have been my favorite recipes to use it in.

Better Batter Gluten Free Orginal Blend

This flour blend continues to amaze me. It can do so many things better than most other blends that I have tried. As a result its extremely popular. Around the holidays it tends to sell out everywhere. Usually its available on Amazon and at Walmart. Lately I have been ordering it from the Better Batter website directly. When they sell out- they tend to restock pretty quickly. Check back within a day or two if they are sold out when you look. I buy it in bulk now (Up to 40 lbs at a time) as I cant risk running out. I use it in too many recipes that we love.

What if you cant get your hands on it? This may be the case if you live outside the US. My friend Nichole from Gluten Free on a Shoestring has figured out a mock recipe for better batter. Her version should work great in this recipe! The owner (Naomi) of better batter has confirmed that the mix is similar to the official version.

Better Batter so kindly offered me a 30% off promo code to share with all of you! This can be used as often as you would like for every single purchase made directly on BetterBatter.com Use the code: BakingAngell30

Alternate shortcut version:

If you don't want to take the time to roll out the dough, freeze it and then sandwich them together- a thinner slightly spreadable dough can be made instead using a smaller 7x7 - or 8x8 pan , lining it with parchment and using a small offset spatula to spread half of the dough along the bottom of the pan. Then your fruit preserves. Finally top it with the second half of the dough doing your best to creating clean layers. This will yield thicker bars that may look a little imperfect as spreading the dough on top of the jam and keeping the layers separate isn't the easiest thing to do. BUT- the bars end up VERY good still even if they don't look perfect !! If you plan to use the glaze and sprinkles on top then it really doesn't matter if you get a perfectly clean spread of the top layer of dough. I absolutely loved the texture of the bars when I followed this method/recipe.

To make the bars this way I made my dough a bit thinner/more spreadable and used a small offset spatula. Use 169 grams of Better Batter (instead of the amount called for in the main recipe). They can be baked using the same time and temperature.

Gluten Free Strawberry Poptart Bars

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Yield: 16 bars

Author: Brittany Angell

Prep time: 25 MinInactive time: 60 MinTotal time: 1 H & 25 M

The texture/flavor of these bars reminds me of a sugar cookie meshed with shortbread. Its honestly SO good. With a layer of strawberry preserves in the center this recipe is a winner. If super sweet isn’t your cup of tea you can skip the glaze and sprinkles on top.

Ingredients

• 1 cup (16 tbsp) slightly softened salted butter or vegan butter
• 23 grams Organic Cane Sugar
• 1 Large Egg
• 2 Tsp Vanilla extract
• 1/4 Tsp Almond Extract
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 213 grams Better Batter Gluten Free Flour (original blend)
• 131 grams Blanched Almond Flour

Filling

• 3/4-1 cup of Strawberry Preserves. * Note: If making the shortcut version of this recipe you may only need about 1/2- 3/ 4 cup .

Vanilla Glaze

• 2 cups powdered Sugar
• 1 Tsp Vanilla Extract
• 3 Tbsp + 1 Tsp Milk (Regular or dairy free)

Instructions

1. You will need a quarter sheet pan to make these poptart bars. (Or a rectangular pan of similar size). Start by cutting two pieces of parchment that fit perfectly into the bottom of your pan. We will be using this parchment as the size reference when rolling out the dough. (I like to use Reynolds cookie baking sheet pre-cut parchment. I can cut one sheet in half and each side fits perfectly in my quarter sheet pan.) Set aside.
2. Make the dough: Add to the bowl of a stand mixer the butter & sugar. Cream for 30 seconds. Add in the egg, salt, vanilla and almond extract. Beat for another 30 seconds. Add in the Better Batter flour and Almond Flour and mix until a smooth dough forms.
3. Roll out the dough: Divide the dough in half. Sprinkle each sheet of parchment with better batter flour to prevent sticking. Place half of the dough on each pre-cut sheet of parchment. Sprinkle a bit more flour on top of the dough and roll it out on the parchment to cover the surface of the parchment. Be sure to roll it as evenly as possible.
4. Carefully lift the parchment holding the rolled out dough and place it into the quarter sheet pan. Lift the second sheet and place it on top. Cover with a towel and place into the freezer for 1 hour.
5. After the hour- preheat your oven to 325 degrees. Remove the pan from the freezer. Lift up the top later of dough using its parchment to pick it up. Spread the fruit preserves over the bottom layer of dough leaving about 1/2 inch boarder around the edges. Carefully flip over and place the top slab of frozen dough on top of the fruit preserves. Carefully removing the parchment from the top of the dough. Gently press around the edges to seal the dough shut to prevent ant preserves from spilling out while baking.
6. Place the prepared bars into the oven on a middle rack and bake for 33-36 minutes until golden brown. Remove from oven and allow the bars to cool completely.
7. Optional: Make the vanilla glaze by whisking together the powdered sugar, vanilla and milk. Pour it evenly over the top of the cooled poptart bars. Add sprinkles to the top. Allow the frosting to set before slicing the bars. (You can speed this up by placing the bars into the fridge or freezer briefly.)
8. Store leftovers at room temperature, the fridge or the freezer in a sealed bag or container.

Notes

Alternate shortcut version:

If you don't want to take the time to roll out the dough, freeze it and then sandwich them together- a thinner slightly spreadable dough can be made instead using a smaller 7x7 - or 8x8 pan , lining it with parchment and using a small offset spatula to spread half of the dough along the bottom of the pan. Then your fruit preserves. Finally top it with the second half of the dough doing your best to creating clean layers. This will yield thicker bars that may look a little imperfect as spreading the dough on top of the jam and keeping the layers separate isn't the easiest thing to do. BUT- the bars end up VERY good still even if they don't look perfect !! If you plan to use the glaze and sprinkles on top then it really doesn't matter if you get a perfectly clean spread of the top layer of dough. I absolutely loved the texture of the bars when I followed this method/recipe.

To make the bars this way I made my dough a bit thinner/more spreadable and used a small offset spatula. Use 169 grams of Better Batter (instead of the amount called for above). They can be baked using the same time and temperature as the above recipe.

Did you make this recipe?

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